Luke Skywalker's Heroic Journey
Luke Skywalker’s Heroic Journey
In classic mythology, the hero goes through a heroic journey; in modern mythology, the journey is no different. Luke Skywalker is the hero in “Star Wars: A New Hope” and goes through the three necessary phases in order to earn that title. Each plays an important role in the story, and is very similar to the ancient Greek heroes.
Luke’s departure was similar to another hero of ancient Greece: Theseus. Theseus was raised by his mother who told him stories of his father being away in a distant land. This made Theseus curious enough to one day “depart” from his home land and set off on a heroic journey, establishing the call and departure. Luke Skywalker lived with his uncle on the planet of Tatoonie where R2D2, the droid, showed Luke a holographic message from the damsel in distress, princess Leia. He was mesmerized by her beauty and was told of his father having died many years ago. He then meets his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, who helps him learn the Force and travel to the Death Star with the droids, Han Solo, and Chewbacca by their side.
The hero must the enter the “belly of the whale”: when they are “initiated” and fully accepted to being a hero. Luke and the gang fell down the garbage chute, which is juxtapositional to the time long ago when Jonah from “Jonah and the Whale” was thrown off a ship and swallowed by a whale. Once everyone had fallen into the garbage chute, Luke encountered a water snake that took him under the water, symbolizing the official change to a hero.
Luke’s mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, got Luke a pilot to take them to the Death Star, where princess Leia was being held hostage. Their pilot, Han Solo, was also Luke’s foil. With the help of his friends, droids, and princess Leia herself, they managed to successfully “rescue the goddess” and escape the Death Star.
The final Phase of a hero’s journey is the return. This begins when the hero takes a “magic flight”. In Luke’s case, an army of people furious with Darth
In classic mythology, the hero goes through a heroic journey; in modern mythology, the journey is no different. Luke Skywalker is the hero in “Star Wars: A New Hope” and goes through the three necessary phases in order to earn that title. Each plays an important role in the story, and is very similar to the ancient Greek heroes.
Luke’s departure was similar to another hero of ancient Greece: Theseus. Theseus was raised by his mother who told him stories of his father being away in a distant land. This made Theseus curious enough to one day “depart” from his home land and set off on a heroic journey, establishing the call and departure. Luke Skywalker lived with his uncle on the planet of Tatoonie where R2D2, the droid, showed Luke a holographic message from the damsel in distress, princess Leia. He was mesmerized by her beauty and was told of his father having died many years ago. He then meets his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, who helps him learn the Force and travel to the Death Star with the droids, Han Solo, and Chewbacca by their side.
The hero must the enter the “belly of the whale”: when they are “initiated” and fully accepted to being a hero. Luke and the gang fell down the garbage chute, which is juxtapositional to the time long ago when Jonah from “Jonah and the Whale” was thrown off a ship and swallowed by a whale. Once everyone had fallen into the garbage chute, Luke encountered a water snake that took him under the water, symbolizing the official change to a hero.
Luke’s mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, got Luke a pilot to take them to the Death Star, where princess Leia was being held hostage. Their pilot, Han Solo, was also Luke’s foil. With the help of his friends, droids, and princess Leia herself, they managed to successfully “rescue the goddess” and escape the Death Star.
The final Phase of a hero’s journey is the return. This begins when the hero takes a “magic flight”. In Luke’s case, an army of people furious with Darth