In Joseph Campell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Cambell explains that a hero's journey is broken into three crucial steps. The first step is the call to adventure and Star Wars provides one of the most classic example in all of film. Luke Skywalker lives a rather mundane life on a farm on Tatooine. All of his friends have gone off to be star ship fighters of the Republic, and he aspires to do the same. He fits the archetype features of a hero: orphan, alone, and mysterious origins All of this changes, however, once Luke accidentally triggers the holographic message Princess Leia stored inside R2-D2. It’s the old damsel in distress archetype and is what sets Luke’s entire journey in motion. It’s his call to adventure. The message also serves in pushing him along to the next stage of mono myth… the refusal of the call.
The refusal of the call begins when Obi-Wan(Ben) Kenobi request Luke to travel to Alderaan with him to learn the ways of the force. Suddenly the audience can see Luke's built in insecurities and fears. Minutes ago he was pleading with Uncle Owen to leave but now, when the moment or call arrives he pessimistically refuses it. This refusal of the hero is very important because it shows how he is still a normal human who has attachments and a sense of responsibility. If Luke were to simply go off and leave his responsibilities and his aunt and uncle it would seriously discredit him as a hero. It is this human factor that allows an audience to find themselves in the hero. "i always thought it was an accessible, human story...I mean I didn't have to act science fiction" (71). Having Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru killed by Stormtroopers is a perfect way for Luke to cross over the threshold. With them killed not only does Luke not have any restrictions, but now his passion to become a great Jedi like his father is his driving force.
The final stage of the hero is when he is trapped in the belly of the whale and must adapt to his new surroundings to survive. When Luke is trapped in the Death Star he must use his wits and know how to rescue Leia(Goddess). At this point Luke must face the unknown without entirely being prepared because, he was expecting to land peacefully on Alderaan, not get captured in the Death Star. Other key event is the apastasis. This event occurs when Obi-Wan is struck down by Vader, and Luke is horrified at the sight of his mentor's death and moves him a step closer to becoming a real hero. Star Wars is a great story to show Cambells' steps of a hero.
I like the way you stated that the call was the stereotypical damsel in distress because the only part of the message is Leia’s plead for help. After seeing it Luke becomes obsessed with it for a moment demanding the whole message be play and only when he fails at this does he begin to move on. In regards to the refusal of the call I think an extremely important aspect of the refusal is that Luke is afraid and when he has the chance to escape instead he chooses the very human reaction to stick with what is safe and non-threatening. When his only family I would also think that Luke is filled with some sort of hatred and motivation to retaliate against the Empire. This is also a very human experience. These emotions are important because they are typically not considered positive reactions but they fuel his heroic deed. Therefore, beyond being human Luke uses his weaknesses to become a heroic figure. Similarly, I think it important to realize that Luke was warned against becoming a Jedi because it was dangerous juxtaposed with the fact that Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru got killed being peaceful people who were not adventurous points to the idea that it is impossible to have a safe life with no risk. In truth one might even be better off being in danger because he or she would be prepared for things to go awry.
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