Luke's Heroic Quest: The Monomyth in the original Star Wars trilogy

I would now like to demonstrate the various steps and elements of the Monomyth in more detail by giving examples of how George Lucas used it in the original Star Wars trilogy. Please note that for the sake of limiting this exposition to a bearable length and the fact mentioned above – that the universality of Campbell's thesis is doubtful and an exact match therefore rarely seen in distinct stories –, I will not reproduce every point of the Hero's Journey from The Hero with Thousand Faces, but choose an approximate organization that, to me, seems appropriate to the material.

The Beginning of any Heroic Quest is the hero in his ordinary, mundane world. In Star Wars this would be Luke Skywalker bored to death as a seemingly simple farmboy on Tatooine.

In this situation, the hero then receives a Challenge that causes him to leave the ordinary world. This challenge is often delivered by some kind if 'herald'. In Star Wars the little droid R2D2 brings Luke Princess Leia’s request for aid, before Obi-Wan Kenobi further elaborates on the nature of the challenge, asking Luke to join the quest to save Leia (and, for that matter, the galaxy).

At first, the hero usually shows some Reluctance to accept the challenge. Luke refuses Obi-Wan's request and returns to the farm of his uncle and aunt, but joins after finding out they have been killed by the forces of the evil Empire.

In the next step, the hero is prepared for his quest by receiving Training and Advice from a Mentor. Two such instances are in the original trilogy: Obi-Wan Kenobi begins Luke's training in Star Wars, introducing him to the magical ways of the 'Force' of the Jedi Knights, while Yoda later completes it in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Marked by the start of his training is also the start of his overall process of learning and development, as the hero undertakes a Crossing into a Special World – often one of magic and wonders – where he encounters various dangerous trials and menacing foes, but also finds some allies. In Star Wars, Luke embarks on his quest to save Princess Leia and soon finds himself in space and finally on the Empire's 'Death Star'. As the quest continues, also over the course of the two sequels, he encounters villains such as Darth Vader, the evil Emperor and Jabba the Hutt, but also finds friends like Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian.

To reach his ultimate goal, the hero must head into the most dangerous place of all, frequently referred to as the Fortress of Evil or the Inmost Cave – or in more commonplace vocabulary, one might simply call it the lion's den. The ultimate goal is to rescue Leia and destroy the Death Star in Star Wars or to defeat the Emperor and turn Darth Vader back to good for the entire trilogy. To reach all of these goals, Luke has to venture into the lion's den in the form of the two Death Stars first in Star Wars and then again in Return of the Jedi. There are also some 'minor' lion's dens in between to reach smaller goals, e.g. the Could City of Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back or Jabba's Palace in Return of the Jedi.

Emerging victorious from all trials and dangers, the hero takes possession of some kind of Prize or Reward which can have many different forms: mere survival in a hazardous situation (like Luke surviving his first face-to-face encounter with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back), a material reward in the literal sense (e.g. Luke and his friends secure the Death Star plans in Star Wars) or the saving of a companion (e.g. Luke and his friends saving Leia in Star Wars and then Han Solo in Return of the Jedi).

Another form of reward which is so important that I would like to treat it as a point of its own is the gaining of some kind of special knowledge or wisdom that starts a process of Transformation. Here the hero faces an especially excruciating and terrible ordeal and as reward gains knowledge that transforms him into an even greater hero. For example, Luke faces Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, gets an arm cut off and is nearly killed, but also learns that Vader is actually his father, allowing him to face the task of defeating the Emperor in an entirely new way.

Finally, having reached his goals, the hero leaves the special world behind and makes a Return to the ordinary world – often to further enrich his community or after already having done so in the process of his adventures. In the Star Wars trilogy, Luke returns after defeating the Emperor, thereby restoring peace and justice to the galaxy. His return also contains the implicit promise that he will become the leader of a new Jedi Order which will maintain this newfound peace.

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