The Hero Cycle as Pertains to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back
Luke conforms to several elements in the life pattern of the archetypal hero:
• In the past episodes, such as A New Hope, Luke begins as a foster child, isolated from his biological parents (the villain formerly known as Anakin Skywalker and his deceased mother) and undergoing restlessness in his environment on Tatooine (Campbell).
• After enduring the beginnings of a quest, destroying the threshold guardian present in the first Death Star and undergoing an initiation as a hero in the Rebel Alliance. These youthful heroic journeys continue with more tests for approximately three years, and Episode V opens with new challenges for Luke: Obi-Wan Kenobi exhorts Luke to travel to the Dagobah system and train under Jedi Master Yoda. The manner in which Luke handles this opportunity causes his descent into a hellish netherworld that further characterizes the hero cycle (Campbell).
• Several archetypal characters appear in The Empire Strikes Back who typify the hero cycle additionally. Yoda represents the mentor (sage), providing Luke with aid, knowledge, gifts, powers, and advice that Luke's restless ego prevents him from heeding. The Emperor, who makes a mere cameo appearance in comparison with his malevolent role in Return of the Jedi, portrays the devil figure, an incarnation of pure evil. Emperor Palpatine offers Luke a powerful place on the Dark Side of the Force if he accepts Darth Vader's offer to join the Empire. Luke declines only after losing a gruesome light saber duel - and his right hand - to Darth Vader (note the zeugma there). Leia, who Luke does not yet know is his sister, represents the double, or twin character. When Luke's egotistical insistence on trying to single-handedly save his friends ends his Jedi training unwisely (premature evacuation), Yoda ensures Obi-Wan Kenobi that Luke is not their last hope, but that "there is another," indicating that Leia still holds a promise in her commitment to the Rebellion without the bane of an excessive ego. Finally, Han Solo plays the part of the scapegoat, whose freezing in carbonite expiates the group's follies in their attempt to escape the Empire, in which they have eventual success, thanks partially to Han (Campbell).
• Thus, I hope that you as our viewer leave this site with a greater appreciation of the hero cycle and its implications for the themes present in Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back. The archetypal characters reinforce Luke's continuation in the hero cycle as he descends into some of the darkest tests he experiences throughout the entire trilogy. To delve deeper into Luke's personal struggles with his own ego and the lessons he learns on his quest to gain full enlightenment as a Jedi, access the link below this passage.