Michael D. Miller
Blog Prompt Week 3
Star Wars Trilogy
Hero
v. Hero
Campbell writes that in order for the hero to begin
his journey to become a man, his father figure cannot remain a part of his
life, as evidenced by the death of his father figure, Uncle Owen. Campbell
describes that the hero must called to adventure, refuse, and then accept the
adventure, receive the help in the form of a supernatural aid, leave the safety
of his home and venture into the unknown, face danger in order to save the
village (galaxy) from evil, and face many adventures of trials to develop his
skill and confidence, meet and be tempted by the goddess, and then atonement
with the father.
In the Star Wars
trilogy, it is clear that Luke Skywalker is the contemplative hero as his
journey is purely spiritual. Luke Skywalker is a male character who lives with
his aunt and uncle on the planet Tatoonie. Luke is working as a farmer and
harbors a deep desire, nobility of purpose, to join the rebel forces in the
fight against the Empire. Luke’s surrogate father, Uncle Owen, is a reminder of
his duties and responsibilities on the farm. The call to adventure for Luke
Skywalker begins with Luke revealing the images of Leia pleading “Help us
Obi-Wan, you’re our only hope.” This plea eventually leads to the meeting with
Obi-Wan. The full disclosure of the call comes when the entire message is
revealed to Obi-Wan and he in turn summons the help of Luke to join him in his
journey to help the rebel alliance defeat the Empire. It is not until his
family is murdered and the farm is destroyed by Imperial Storm Troopers that
Luke is allowed to accept his call to adventure.
Luke leaves his home
planet on his journey into the unknown the point of no return, the crossing of
the first threshold. Luke and Ben request the help of a smuggler, Han Solo, to
get the plans of the Death Star to the rebel alliance. The Empire has constructed
a Death Star to destroy the rebel bases in their evil plot to rule the galaxy.
Obi-Wan Kenobi assumes
the role of his surrogate father and spiritual guide in the use of the Force,
the supernatural aid, on Luke’s journey. Luke finds another spiritual aid in
the form of Yoda, the Jedi master. Yoda is the supernatural aid guiding Luke
through the maze of his mind to open him up to accepting the nature of the
Force so that it may guide him and prepare him to face evil.
The belly of the whale occurs
when Luke, Ben, and Chewbacca are captured by the Imperial forces. The road of trial for Luke occurs when he fights
to rescue and save princess Leia from the Imperial Troopers. Luke finds Leia
being held captive in the detention block, meeting of the goddess, and he soon
develops feeling for the princess, the temptation of the goddess.
The atonement with the
father, Luke faces Darth Vader in the Empire Strikes Back and learns that he is
his father. Initially, Luke hates Darth Vader because Vader killed his father
and Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Luke feels that there is still some good in Darth
Vader. Vader tempts Luke to the Dark Side by inviting him to join him and
together they can rule the galaxy. Luke refuses and throws himself off the
platform into the abyss only to be saved by princess Leia. Luke again confronts
Darth Vader in the Return of the Jedi and tries to redeem him and bring him
back to the side of good. Dark Vader kills the Emperor in order to save Luke
and in the end Luke redeems Anakin. The forces of evil have been temporarily
disrupted. Luke’s status is elevated to that of a god-like figure because of his
defeating evil and becoming a Jedi Knight.
On the other hand, Han
Solo is the civic as his journey is on that involves growing closer to becoming
a part of the society that he chooses to protect. Han Solo is a male character
with no family, with the exception of Chewbacca, and his birth rite is unknown.
He appears to be a self-made man. His chosen profession at the time of this
story is that of a smuggler, with outstanding debts to the underworld, and
wanted by the Imperial forces.
Han Solo’s hero’s journey
begins with his call to adventure by accepting the transport of Luke, Ben and
the two droids on their journey. Crossing the threshold, Solo’s ship is
captured by the Imperial forces as they lay hidden inside the belly of his
ship. An opportunity presents itself and they escape from the ship and soon
rescue princess Leia, meeting of the goddess. Han has to fight side by side
with Luke to ensure Leia escape. Han and Leia are at odds with one another, but
it is soon revealed that they care for one another. Their relationship
blossoms, but Han feels threatened by her feelings for Luke, tempting of the
goddess.
Han is again called to
adventure by Luke when Luke asks for Han’s help in destroying the Death Star.
Han refuses the call by stating that it is not his fight and he is only in it
for the money. Han later returns and saves Luke life and the Death Star is
destroyed. Han is repeatedly tested on his road of trials through his
determination, fighting ability and piloting skills. He facilitates the escape
from the hands of the Imperial forces through his cunning tactics by blending
in with the trash, flying through an asteroid field to evade Imperial fighters,
and he saves Luke from dying in the snow storm to name a few.
Han Solo is rescued
from the clutches of certain death at the hands Jabba the Hutt and takes up the
fight again for the alliance. He takes on the role of commanding a group of
allied soldier on a mission to destroy the base that supports the shield around
the Death Star. Han and his group of fighters are successful. He grows closer
to princess Leia and returns to world as a hero where he is free to live his
life with Leia. Han Solo transcends from smuggler to achieving a higher status
in society.
Both Luke Skywalker and
Han Solo are hero’s in the Star Wars trilogy. There is no doubt that each serve
to protect the rebel alliance and save the galaxy by defeating the forces of
the Dark Side. Their paths to accomplish this mission are very different. Luke’s
battle is with the forces of evil such as Darth Vader and the Emperor. Han is
actually fighting imperial storm troopers and engaging in suspenseful space
battles with imperial fighters. Their strategy is actually two-fold in the
sense that Han is fighting the body of evil and Luke is fighting the head of
evil. Together they defeat the immediate threat of the evil forces of their
time. The story might not work so well of there were only one hero or the
other. The audience might not relate to the Luke’s hero journey because it is a
spiritual one, as that of a monk. Even though the character of Luke is central
to the plot of the trilogy, his ongoing role is less exciting but is still very
much climactic. Luke’s journey requires more internal thought on the part of
the audience. On the other hand, Han reflects more of the common man and his
hero journey is filled with action and adventure that can be expressed by the film
maker with exceptional special effects. In the end, the audience emotionally
connects with one or more of the central characters; the story of good versus
evil makes for a suspenseful plot and give the audience a sense that through perseverance
and sacrifice good can win.
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