Shoulder angel

A shoulder angel is a plot device used for dramatic and/or humorous effect in fiction, mainly in animation and comic books/strips.

In the ancient midrash, Genesis Rabbah, the concept appears in connection with Isaac's deathbed blessing for Jacob (see figure and caption, right.)

In Japanese Buddhism, the Kushoujin are a pair of beings – Dōmyō (同名, Same Name) and Dōshō (同生, Same Birth) – which sit on a person's shoulders, observing and reporting all his deeds.

In Ancient Greek philosophy, Plato writes in Phaedrus about a speech given by Socrates that splits the soul into three parts: a "charioteer," or the man that participates in everyday life, a "good horse" that knows of self-control, moderation, and shame, and a "bad [horse]" who "does everything to aggravate its yokemate and its charioteer."

The bad horse, who "barely yields to horsewhip and goad combined," tempts the charioteer in matters of eros and lust.

In Tintin in Tibet (1960), Snowy is tempted by his demon to lap up Captain Haddock's whiskey leaking from his rucksack.

Founder Dave Thomas is indecisive about the new recipe, and his shoulder angel and devil are him dressed in a white and red suit respectively.

In the webcomic Sluggy Freelance (beginning in 1997), all three of the main characters have been shown debating with their shoulder angels and demons, each of whom reflects aspects of their respective hosts: Riff's are both unwilling to commit to a course of action, saying 'don't know' when asked for guidance; Torg's are both childish; and Zoe's demon dresses in revealing outfits, while her angel wishes she could dress in the same fashion.

The Oscar-winning Disney short Lend a Paw also featured Pluto being influenced by a shoulder angel and devil.

In Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a Disney animated series aimed at preschoolers, Pete has similar manifestations—though simply colored white and red rather than depicted with wings and a halo/horns and a pitchfork, respectively.

[citation needed] In the feature film Cloud Atlas (2012), Old Georgie (Hugo Weaving) whispers bad and good advice to Zachry (Tom Hanks).

After Guido Reni
A guardian angel in a 19th-century print
"When [Isaac] told Jacob, “Come closer that I may feel you, my son,” (Gen 27 21) Jacob urinated onto his calves, and his heart became as soft as wax, and God assigned to him two angels, one on his right and one on his left , in order to hold him up by his elbows." Genesis Rabbah 65:19 [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]
Modern cartoon
A Dunkin' Donuts commercial from 1987 using the shoulder angel and shoulder devil trope