[Snaggletooth]

And here is a slightly shorter one on the power of myth and the Hero's journey. And how the journey Luke Skywalker takes on his growth throughout the original trilogy of Star Wars relates to the standard "Hero Myth". I got an A on this one too.




"If the Myth Fits…"

Every generation has its heroes. From knights to thieves, paupers to princes, they entertain, amaze and delight the child in everyone. Viewers cringe at the sight of the hero losing and cheer when he succeeds. Heroes give the general public a way to escape the boring everyday life and for an hour or two become the savior of the world, or even the galaxy. In the case of Luke Skywalker of Star Wars, the dustbowl planet of Tatooine serves as a staging ground for a great adventure. The transformation that Skywalker finds himself going through is a rite of passage of sorts. Over the course of three films the character progresses from backwater farm boy to savior of the galaxy. Although set on a grand scale, Luke’s journey, or rite of passage, can be generalized by the change in attire through the three films.
At the onset of Star Wars, Luke is dressed in white, the color most often associated with purity. He has not encountered any trials greater than what he plans to do next weekend. Luke knows very little of the galaxy outside his uncle Owens moisture farm. In his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell puts forth an outline of a hero’s journey. The first phase of this journey is separation. Luke loses the only family he has ever known and sets out to fulfill his destiny. As Campbell puts it, “[The] hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder”(30). Skywalker ventures into the harsh world of reality where he must face trials previously unimagined.
As the Star Wars trilogy folds out, so too does Luke’s own story. In Empire Strikes Back, Luke is seen to be wearing gray. He is no longer oblivious to the ways of the galaxy. There is less of the wide-eyed wonder evident in his gaze, as the farm boy has become a soldier. Much of his youthful idealism is gone as well. Skywalker knows what evil lies in the stars he once gazed into longingly. Slowly he realizes that in order for balance to return to the galaxy he needs to ”Learn the ways of the Force, and become a Jedi Knight like my father”(Luke Skywalker). Much like Arthurian legend, Luke must “pull the sword from the stone and reveal himself as the natural leader”(Braudy 10). The sword in this case is the hidden talent within Luke. All that holds him back is the stone of self-doubt. Once this hurdle can be overcome, he can set forth upon the second portion of Campbell’s hero outline, initiation. Doubt is a major stumbling block in the dark and brooding second act of the trilogy. Much like an opera, where the second act is more dark and sinister than the first or third. Evil it seems has triumphed over good. The future, like his attire, is gray from young Skywalker. His inability to see beyond his doubts places his loved ones in danger as well as himself. Ultimately he has to confront the embodiment of his fears, his newly found father, Darth Vader. Though the encounter is not fatal, Luke loses his right hand to his father’s blade. The loss of his hand signifies a greater loss, innocence. Luke’s faith in his judgment has been tested as well. His desire to realize his potential as a Jedi, coupled with the desire to turn his father, blinds him to the evil that is within his father.
While none are nearly so graphic, almost all sons have a confrontation with their father in some form or another at the onset of manhood. It is a hero’s rite of passage to outgrow his father’s shadow, or illuminate that shadow in order to redeem his father. In the final chapter of the trilogy, Return of the Jedi (A title that still has many critics wonder which Jedi is returning, Luke, Darth Vader, or the Jedi order in general?) finds Luke now clad in black. Skywalker is not so young anymore, and the loss of his hand/innocence joined with the events surrounding his father have brought the once white and innocent farm boy to the galactic opposite, a full fledged Jedi Knight of lore. Gone are the childhood dreams of becoming a pilot. All that remained was the desire to have his father back, regardless of what Vader had become. The darkness of the galaxy had tainted Skywalker, it infected him and he lost a limb to it. The rite was no longer so clear-cut any more. In reference to the rite of passage, Campbell has this to say in his book Myths to Live By, “The old imagery now carried a new song- of the unique, the unprecedented and induplicable human sufferer; yet equally a sense of the “grave and constant” in our human suffering, as well as a holy intimation of the ungainsayable “secret cause,” without which, the rite would have lacked its depth dimension and healing force (59). In the case of Luke Skywalker, the so-called “secret cause” is to gain redemption for his father. Had Darth Vader not been Luke’s father most of what Luke goes through would have been unnecessary as well as unjustified. The cause drives Luke to turn himself in to his father’s soldiers is his love of his father. As he puts it, “there is good in him, I can sense it”(Skywalker). This unwavering faith in his father comes to fruition as his father is redeemed and returned to the Force and the other fallen Jedi. Through this the Hero completes the loop and fulfills his destiny and Campbell’s hero outline, return. The return in this case is Vader’s redemption and reversion to Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s true father.
Although a common thread, the trilogy moves through the many stages of development of the Campbell prototype. The hero need not have a name or a face, but only the emotional transition that is so important to the development of a character. The film hero is yesterday’s tall tale and myth from ancient times. The moods and development are timeless and destined to remain long after the credits have rolled and the aisles are cleaned.


























Works Cited
Star Wars. Dir. And writ. George Lucas. Prod. Gary Kurtz. Music by John Williams. With Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, and Alec Guinness. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977.
Empire Strikes Back. Dir. Irvin Kershner. Writ. George Lucas and Leigh Brackett. Prod. Gary Kurtz. Music by John Williams. With Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels and Alec Guinness.
Return of the Jedi. Dir. Richard Marquand. Writ. George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. Prod. Howard Kazanjian. Music by John Williams. With Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Sebastian Shaw and Alec Guinness.
Campbell, Joseph. “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” Pantheon Books, New York. 1949

Campbell, Joseph. “Myths to Live By” Viking Press, New York. 1972

Braudy, Leo. Genre and the Resurrection of the Past, taken from “Shadows of the Magic Lamp: Fantasy and Science Fiction in Film” George Slusser and Eric S. Rabkin Eds. Southern Illinois University Press. 1985 (p.1-13)

Bibliography
Campbell, Joseph. “The Inner Reaches of Outer Space” St. James Press, Ltd.1986

Campbell, Joseph. “The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension” Viking Press, New York. 1969

Eliot, Alexander. “The Timeless Myths” The Continuum Publishing Company.1986

Berlien, J.F. “Parallel Myths” Ballantine Books, New York. 1994

Braudy, Leo. Genre and the Resurrection of the Past, taken from “Shadows of the Magic Lamp: Fantasy and Science Fiction in Film” George Slusser and Eric S. Rabkin Eds. Southern Illinois University Press. 1985 (p.1-13)

[Brujah]

geez and here I thought this thing would die shortly after number 100... but ooooh no... you just keep posting...

did I mention I have a penis yet?

ack! a rabid squirrel is after my nuts!

[Spanish Warpig]

On page 16 OBH asked who has read every post, after those stories i hope no one has(turns toward OBH lowers head in shame of his sleep deprived friend) and dont deny it.
i can say i tried, but i want do know who sufferd through them.

[Spanish Warpig]

any way here is the current dinner menu at my dads restaurante


Dinner at Bread And Ink

Today's Soup. 3.25 cup 4.50 bowl
Pan-Fried Oysters. Served with chipotle aioli. 8.50
Chevre and Toasted Hazelnut Salad Warm herb marinated chevre served over arugula dressed with a Hazelnut dressing $7.50
Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Tapenade Tender greens and asparagus tossed with a lemon pepper vinaigrette and dotted with a black and green olive tapenade. 7.75
Fresh Atlantic Salmon Cakes Atlantic salmon mixed with red peppers, onion, and celery fried until crisp and served with a red pepper rouille 8.25
Caesar Salad. The classic Romaine salad with garlic croutons, anchovies, and Parmesan. 6.75/8.25
Add grilled chicken breast or salmon. 3.00
Greek Salad. Greens with hummous, feta cheese, tomatoes, red onion and olives. 6.75/8.25
Forest Mushroom Pate. Served with crostini and crudités. 6.75
House Salad. Tossed with a creamy herb vinaigrette and parmesan. 5.50
With Bleu cheese add 1.00
Spring Vegetable Cassoulet With Cannellini, fennel, turnips, baby carrots, onions and celery. Topped with herb and garlic breadcrumbs and served with asparagus dressed with a hazelnut vinaigrette. 12.50
Early Spring Raviolis Ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, and parmesan filled pasta, tossed with sautéed onions, roasted tomatoes, drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette and topped with chevre. 13.50
Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine Served over creamy soft polenta with a rich reduction of red wine and beef stock. 16.50
Scampi e Procuitto Large Mexican Gulf shrimp are sautéed with procuitto di Parma, white wine, garlic, shallots, crushed red pepper and tossed with fresh spaghetti. 17.00
Lamb Loin Chops Marinated in extra virgin olive oil with rosemary juniper and garlic pan-broiled and served with a mustard and shallot glaze. 16.50
Petti di Pollo Tagliati Chicken breast cut into strips, marinated with rosemary, clove and extra virgin olive oil coated with fresh bread crumbs and parmesan cheese sautéed and tossed with parsley and garlic. Served with fettuccini tossed with pesto and seasonal vegetable. 14.50
Grilled Salmon Sandwich. Served on a Greek roll with grilled red onion, pickled ginger,
Wasabi aioli and a small salad. 9.25
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sandwich. With tomato, red onion, harissa aioli and mango chutney. Served with house salad. 8.75
Bread & Ink Hamburger. 1/3 pound Painted Hills ground chuck, served on an onion bun with lettuce, pickle, tomato, onion, homemade condiments and home fries. 7.50 Add cheddar,
Gruyere or bleu. 1.00
Add grilled onions. .75 Add pepper bacon. 1.00
Lox Plate. Nova Scotia-style smoked salmon with tomato and onion on bagel or bialy. 7.95
Blintzes. Tender lemon-ricotta filled crepes with sour cream and raspberry jam. 7.50

A service charge of 17% will be included for parties of six or more.

[Spanish Warpig]

and here are the lyrics to A lighthouse Tale by Nicklecreek.

I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves
I keep my lamp lit, to warn the sailors on their way
I’ll tell the story, paint you a picture from my past
I was so happy but joy in this life seldom lasts

I had a keeper he helped me warn the ships at sea
We had grown closer til’ his joy meant everything to me
And he was to marry a girl who shown with beauty and life
And they loved each other and with me watched the sunsets in to night.

And the winds crashing around me the sun slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me of what has been… and what can never be

She’d had to leave us my keeper he prayed for the safe return
But when the night came the weather to a raging storm had turned
He watched her ship fight but in vain against the wild and terrible wave
In me so helpless as dashed against the rock she met her end

And the winds crashing around me the sun slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me of what has been… and what can never be

Then on the next day my keeper found her washed up on the shore
He kissed her cold face that they’d be together soon he swore
I saw him crying, watched as he buried her in the sand
And then he climbed my tower and off the edge of me he ran

And the winds crashing around me the sun slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me of what has been… and what can never be

I am a light house worn by the weather and the wave
And though I’m empty I still warn the sailors on their way

[Spanish Warpig]

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I get the 500th post in this thread.

_________________
And Pig ponders, Why do people play HW when they know I'm just going to shoot them in the head?

[ This Message was edited by: Spanish Warpig on 2002-04-22 03:03 ]

[ This Message was edited by: Spanish Warpig on 2002-04-22 03:04 ]

[ This Message was edited by: Spanish Warpig on 2002-04-22 03:04 ]

[hoaxie]

<-------- is still in the middle of reading the Kristen story. They are just on their way to lunch.

[OSU Snipe Shocker]

WOOOOOOO

HOAX IS READING MY STORY!!!!!

Tell me what you think of it when you are finished!

_________________
I WAS (back in august of 02) just better than you, thats all.

[FragFailure]

YES Mulisha, j00 sux0rz

Sorry guys I can't read the short novels. My attention span is too short.

_________________
Yes, I'm still around


- PWG member 2001
- TVB founder and leader 2001-2004
- The Ville's Vegas Bashes I-V
- T.V.L. (Ville TFC League)
- The Originator of the Off-Topic Posts

[hoaxie]

Okay, Snipe... will do.

[hoaxie]

Snipe...

Nice story. I just finished it. Nice flow, very descriptive. Nicely executed alliteration. Kept me captivated. Good job!

[BitterBeerFace]

[FragFailure]

It's a beautiful in Chicago. The Cubs are in last place.

_________________
Yes, I'm still around


- PWG member 2001
- TVB founder and leader 2001-2004
- The Ville's Vegas Bashes I-V
- T.V.L. (Ville TFC League)
- The Originator of the Off-Topic Posts

[Dahak]

and the red sox are in first.. aaah.. happiness.. now if only this could last till october!

[hoaxie]

I can always tell when a Cubs' home game is on. It's the only ball park to have a brick wall behind home plate.