Two Heroes
Luke
and Han both serve as a hero in the Star Wars trilogy in my opinion. Luke
obviously is the contemplative hero by taking the more spiritual side of the
hero, while Han is the civic hero who stays within the confines of the society.
By evaluating three steps in the hero's journey, one can find that both Luke
and Han fulfill the steps but in different ways. The three steps to be evaluated
will be the departure's call to adventure, the initiation's road of trials, and
the return's rescue from without.
Firstly,
let us evaluate the Call to Adventure. In the departure, Luke's call to
adventure was both a physical and mystical sense. At first, he is hesitant to
leave his home planet, but upon seeing his family's home and his family
destroyed, Luke was left with nowhere else to go. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi also
offered him the extra incentive of learning the ways of the Force if he left. In
a way, destiny summoned the hero via Obi-Wan Kenobi (Pfeiffer 58). However,
Han's call to adventure is different as he leaves for different incentives. The
original incentive for Han was money, something that is very linked to society.
Everyone in society uses money, but very few used the Force.
Secondly,
we can evaluate the Road of Trials. It may seem very evident for Luke that his
road of trials came in the Episode V, when Luke underwent Yoda's training in
order to attain mastery of the Force. However, if one were to search for Han's
road of trials, it can be argued that it is a little more difficult. I believe
that Han's road of trials comes when he finally gets turned in to Jabba the
Hut. His capture and inprisonment are both manifestations of society's confines
of money. Meanwhile, Luke's road of trials is obviously a spiritual one.
Lastly,
the Rescue from Without is evident for both Luke and Han in Episode V and VI.
Luke's rescue occured after his first encounter with Darth Vader and was
hanging on the pole, in which Leia proceeded to rescue him. Leia's natural
intuition with the Force and the world saved Luke, thus again symbolizing the
supernatural context. Meanwhile, Han's rescue from without occurs on a more
physical and societal level when Luke and Leia come to rescue him from Jabba
the Hut.
Luke
and Han both become a hero in the trilogy, but the means and context by which
both do so differ and makes an excellent side-by-side analysis between the
contemplative and civic hero.
Raven Richard
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to compare the two characters Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Analyzing what type of characters they are is also essential to understanding who they are in relation to the movie. I think this student brings up a good point about how Han was in connection physically while Luke and Leia were in connection mentally or spiritually. Luke and Leia were more in tuned with the force than Han. I agree that this is a main factor in determining who exactly is the contemplative character. I also like how this student brings up a comparison of the trials that Luke and Han had to face. I do agree that it is quite difficult to figure out the clear path of trials Han went through in relation to the development of his character. Luke’s road of trials presented itself as being more evident. We saw his transformation, and we also saw his connection with the force getting stronger as the trilogy progressed. Luke having a connection with the force allowed him to be a more in depth character. They were more angles to him that the audience had to discover. This also made him fit the characteristics of a hero according to the author.