Pride In Skywalker And Oedipus The King
Wang 1
Alex Wang
Mrs. Sager
9th Honors pd.3
1 May 2015
The Deadly Sin, Pride
Within all ancient literature and script, the quality of Pride has always been coupled with evil.
The Bible stigmatized it as one of the seven deadly sins with its victims subject to eternal damnation, and in the world of Dante Alighieri, the proud were tortured in the deep abyss of Hell. As the protagonists of the Greek Tragedy
Oedipus the King and
Star Wars
, Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker are both entangled into a tragic plot, with their own extreme pride as the impetus to all actions.
Regarded as messiahs of their respective worlds, they swiftly turn proud and arrogant. With both
Oedipus Rex and Anakin Skywalker sharing a hamartia of hubris, they cause their own ultimate …show more content…
Blinded by arrogance and pride, Anakin Skywalker and Oedipus develop prejudices and false assumptions which prompt them to turn against their allies. As a hero in the Clone Wars, Anakin’s pride outgrows the councils of Yoda and the admonitions of Obiwan, which are meant to aid him in a time of uncertainty. Any contradiction to his will is seen by the narcissist Anakin as a hindrance to his pursuit of power and a deliberate act of betrayal. Particularly, as Padmé, his beloved wife, pleads him in desperation to return from the “dark side”, the enraged Anakin shouts, “Liar! You are with them!
The Jedi turned against me. Don’t turn against me!” (
Star Wars Episode III
). This clearly shows that a combination of pride and fear has turned Anakin paranoid, as even an expression of love is seen to be an act of defiance. His lack of trust eventually leads him to betray the Jedi alliance, and facilitated …show more content…
Anakin, after his marriage with Padmé, keeps on seeing visions of “pain, suffering and death” (
Star Wars Episode II
). His premonition that Padmé would die makes him anxious to save her by any means, which becomes the chief factor in his decision to join Darth
Sidious. For instance, despite Yoda’s counsels: “Death is a natural part of life. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side” (Star Wars Episode II), Anakin still tries to defy the “inevitable” by joining the “dark side” because he cannot restrain his love for
Padmé: “You’re asking me to be rational. That’s something I can’t do” (
Star Wars Episode II
).
Ironically, by joining the “dark side”, he becomes prone to anger and hatred, which eventually leads him to kill Padmé and Obiwan, the very people whom he once swore to protect. Similarly, a crucial cause of Oedipus’s downfall is his unwillingness to accept his fate. In doing so, Oedipus must reject the very idea that the gods are in control of the lives of the mortals, which is the ultimate proclamation of hubris. In fact, it was the very decision to leave Corinth that leads him
Alex Wang
Mrs. Sager
9th Honors pd.3
1 May 2015
The Deadly Sin, Pride
Within all ancient literature and script, the quality of Pride has always been coupled with evil.
The Bible stigmatized it as one of the seven deadly sins with its victims subject to eternal damnation, and in the world of Dante Alighieri, the proud were tortured in the deep abyss of Hell. As the protagonists of the Greek Tragedy
Oedipus the King and
Star Wars
, Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker are both entangled into a tragic plot, with their own extreme pride as the impetus to all actions.
Regarded as messiahs of their respective worlds, they swiftly turn proud and arrogant. With both
Oedipus Rex and Anakin Skywalker sharing a hamartia of hubris, they cause their own ultimate …show more content…
Blinded by arrogance and pride, Anakin Skywalker and Oedipus develop prejudices and false assumptions which prompt them to turn against their allies. As a hero in the Clone Wars, Anakin’s pride outgrows the councils of Yoda and the admonitions of Obiwan, which are meant to aid him in a time of uncertainty. Any contradiction to his will is seen by the narcissist Anakin as a hindrance to his pursuit of power and a deliberate act of betrayal. Particularly, as Padmé, his beloved wife, pleads him in desperation to return from the “dark side”, the enraged Anakin shouts, “Liar! You are with them!
The Jedi turned against me. Don’t turn against me!” (
Star Wars Episode III
). This clearly shows that a combination of pride and fear has turned Anakin paranoid, as even an expression of love is seen to be an act of defiance. His lack of trust eventually leads him to betray the Jedi alliance, and facilitated …show more content…
Anakin, after his marriage with Padmé, keeps on seeing visions of “pain, suffering and death” (
Star Wars Episode II
). His premonition that Padmé would die makes him anxious to save her by any means, which becomes the chief factor in his decision to join Darth
Sidious. For instance, despite Yoda’s counsels: “Death is a natural part of life. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side” (Star Wars Episode II), Anakin still tries to defy the “inevitable” by joining the “dark side” because he cannot restrain his love for
Padmé: “You’re asking me to be rational. That’s something I can’t do” (
Star Wars Episode II
).
Ironically, by joining the “dark side”, he becomes prone to anger and hatred, which eventually leads him to kill Padmé and Obiwan, the very people whom he once swore to protect. Similarly, a crucial cause of Oedipus’s downfall is his unwillingness to accept his fate. In doing so, Oedipus must reject the very idea that the gods are in control of the lives of the mortals, which is the ultimate proclamation of hubris. In fact, it was the very decision to leave Corinth that leads him