Star Wars Observation

[Doc Milo]

I don't know if this has been a topic of interest before or not. But today, talking Star Wars with a collegue, I made an interesting (at least to me) observation about Anakin/Vader's character.

This observation stems from the line in AotC where Anakin laments the death of his mother, and how he comments that he's good at fixing things, yet he couldn't fix this. It got me to thinking that Anakin is a mechanic. He can fix mechanical things. But when it comes to living things ... to relationships, to death, he can't fix those things. He doesn't have the skills. So, when spiraling down to the dark side, he hadn't the skills to fix himself, a living being, from being twisted by evil.

But, then Anakin becomes "more machine than man." The Mechanic becomes the machine (on a side note, does anyone else see the parallel of Sidious/Palpatine/Emperor's obsession with using droid armies, and his ultimate weapon becoming mostly droid himself -- Vader, the cyborg Sith droid). Once the love of his son finally brings the Anakin side of Vader out, we see that Anakin is able to fix what was wrong, and turn back to the light side. But what Anakin fixes, mainly, is mostly a machine. He has been transformed into the one thing that he can fix -- a machine!

I don't know if this makes any sense or not -- but, as I said, it was just a passing observation I found interesting to ponder....

[Nathanial K'cansce]

It might be because it's really late, the fact that I've spent the past 12 or so hours (minus an hour or 3 for food and a Less than Jake concert) working on calculations figuring out the 'perfect' design for my project, or the fact that I'm sleepy, but that makes a lot of sense. It's like... it fits so perfectly!

[JMK]

I had made the connection before that Anakin the mechanic eventually becomes a machine.


Once the love of his son finally brings the Anakin side of Vader out, we see that Anakin is able to fix what was wrong, and turn back to the light side. But what Anakin fixes, mainly, is mostly a machine. He has been transformed into the one thing that he can fix -- a machine! I think you can interpret this 2 ways: the way you just described, or sheer triumph of the human spirit over the domineering machine prison Anakin was trapped in.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by JMK
I think you can interpret this 2 ways: the way you just described, or sheer triumph of the human spirit over the domineering machine prison Anakin was trapped in.


I tend to agree. A lot of it, as Obi-Wan so eloquently points out, depends greatly upon our own point of view. Both are certainly valid however.

No matter how one sees it, the description you give, Doc, is some great symbolism that weaves together the entire story quite nicely.

[Jedieb]

There are so many ways to play with this idea. I see Anakin's salvation coming from him finally letting go of his desire to control life and ultimately cheat death. It's his desire to cheat death and not accept it as a natural part of life that leads him to the Dark Side. When he sacrifices himself for his son he finally lets go. He gives up his life, the Emperor, and the Dark Side.

Anakin's reliance on his Vader suit to keep him alive is just tragic. The machines he was so good at fixing eventually enslave him. They're the only thing that end up keeping him alive. Only when he is released from them is he once again truly whole.