In my opinion, Luke Skywalker is the clear hero in
this Star Wars Trilogy. He posses all
of the attributes of what we would consider to be a hero today. We see the various ways that Luke’s character
develops from the very beginning to the end of the trilogy. Luke would clearly
be considered the contemplative hero while Han Solo would be the civic hero. They are both heroes in a sense, but Luke has
more characteristics than Han. Throughout
the trilogy we see the hurdles Luke has to overcome in order to reach his
potential as a true hero. In each movie
we see the breakdown of the three steps.
After the first movie, it seemed as though he had already developed into
a full grown here, but it was evident when he faced the Dark Side. After encountering run-ins with his father,
Darth Vader, it was clear that Luke was still maturing. Luke had to look within himself to figure out
a way to defeat his own temptation for power and to understand who he was
fighting for. The scene where he was
going against the Dark Side showed a hurdle that he had to overcome in order to
grow as a hero.
What makes him
different from Han is that Han is considered a civic hero. Han is a hero but a different type of
hero. He is a hero on a smaller level. Han is the type of hero that is complimentary
to Luke. He enhances the attributes that
Luke has and develops him into a stronger character. When Han comes to help Luke in the first
movie when he was defeating the Dark Side, it shows how both of them grew. Luke also became more mature as a part of the
journey to becoming a full hero.
I think a main
part of him becoming a hero was when he saw he finally came on good terms with
his father. He finally understood his
father and Darth Vader finally understood him.
Luke’s journey to becoming the hero he was happened because he was able
to triumph throughout the series. When Luke
realized that he had something to fight for after he left home, he finally
realized who he was. It was almost like
he became in tuned with himself and his purpose in life. The fact that he did what his father
originally wanted to do and didn’t fall to the Dark Side makes him a real hero.
Smith - Comment
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with your analysis of the relationship between father and son. I agree with you that Luke Skywalker is the contemplative hero in the Star Wars trilogy. His obstacle to overcome the Dark Side is extremely important and I understand why you commented on this. The Dark Side, in my opinion, is the common ground for the father and son relationship because of their common struggle against it. Darth Vader fought and lost that struggle, however, as you wrote, Luke was able to do what his father could not. I think you should have worked in some specifics from the readings about the hero’s journey and also from the Pfeiffer reading. I think it could have brought more depth to your argument. Your constant use of ‘he’ caused me some confusion, especially when reading the last paragraph. I really liked how you brought in Han Solo as the Civic hero. Your argument remained for Luke to be the main hero in the trilogy, but you still consider Han a hero in his own right. George Lucas did not believe that Luke would be enough to captivate the audience so I am glad that you made sure to name Han as another hero in the trilogy.