Kellogg: Star Wars Trilogy

By popular consensus, Luke Skywalker is considered to be the true hero of the Star Wars trilogy. Luke undergoes a full transformation from farm boy to galactic hero, and succeeds by defeating the evil Empire. By the end of the trilogy, Luke adapts the persona of a contemplative hero.

Throughout the trilogy, Luke’s actions closely follow Joseph Campbell’s outline, “Characteristics of the Hero.” In A New Hope, Luke meets his mentor, Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. According to Pfeiffer, “A key element to the story has Luke under the spiritual guidance of Ben Kenobi” (Pfeiffer 108). During their meeting, Obi-Wan watches Princess Leia’s message, who asks Obi-Wan to deliver the Death Star plans to the planet of Alderaan. Obi-Wan then asks Luke to leave Tatooine to accompany him on his quest. This scene in particular is the Call to Adventure, as outlined in Campbell’s hero’s journey. According to Campbell, this step “signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown.” Obi-Wan and Luke eventually do leave Tatooine and embark on their journey to a “zone unknown.”

Soon after Obi-Wan and Luke leave Tatooine, they recruit Han Solo, an outlaw smuggler who serves as their pilot. While aboard Han’s ship, Luke undergoes what Campbell calls the Road of Trials, the first part of a hero’s initiation. During this phase, “The hero is covertly aided by the advice, amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper whom he met before his entrance to this region.” Under the guidance of Obi-Wan, Luke attempts to use the Force for the first time, by defending himself against an orb. Initially, Luke fails to defend himself. Obi-Wan then blinds Luke by placing a helmet on his head, and instructs Luke to feel the Force. Luke ultimately succeeds by fending off the simulated orb, and completes the first step of his initiation.

In the second film, The Empire Strikes Back, Luke finds himself in what Campbell calls the Belly of the Whale. This phase of Luke’s heroic transformation occurs when he travels to the planet of Dagobah, where he trains with Jedi Master Yoda. Campbell states, “[I]nstead of passing outward, beyond the confines of the visible world, the hero goes inward, to be born again.” Luke knows that he must hone his skills of the Force before he can face Darth Vader, so Luke leaves behind the Rebellion and travels inward to the planet of Dagobah to continue his training.

By the end of the trilogy, Luke has proven to be a contemplative hero rather than a civic hero. A contemplative hero plays a large role in the community, but does so by isolating himself. Luke left behind his friends and the Rebellion when he traveled to the planet of Dagobah to train with Yoda. While it may appear that Luke has the left the Rebellion to fight the war on their own, he actually leaves so that he can sharpen his skills of the Force, which ultimately helps him to hold his own when confronting Darth Vader and the Emperor in The Return of the Jedi. Han Solo fits the description of the civic hero, who is more imbedded in the community. By the final film, Han serves as a leader in the Rebellion community, and fights the physical battle on the frontline of war, whereas Luke strives to defeat evil altogether.