>>> The psychology of "ANAKIN SKYWALKER" <<<
hello friends steemians ... With the premiere of the new trilogy of Star Wars, it seems that the passion for the saga has returned to wake up. However, despite the fact that the new films have a good enough criticism and have reaped great benefits in theaters, they lack something that was present in the two original trilogies. I am referring, of course, to the character of Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin Skywalker, later known as Darth Vader, was one of the central characters of the first six films, and one of the icons of film history. The Chosen One of Prophecy, within the universe of the saga, is undoubtedly the most complex character of all those who make up the original tapes.
However, understanding some actions of this character can be somewhat complicated. Why did he go from being a warrior who fought for peace to becoming the right hand of a tyrant who oppressed the entire galaxy? In this article we will examine the psychology of Anakin Skywalker to discover it.
The psychology of Anakin Skywalker: understanding the most famous Star Wars character
Although the three prequels are not as appreciated by fans as the original trilogy, they hide the keys to understanding the psychology of Anakin Skywalker. In fact, The Phantom Menace, The Attack of the Clones and The Revenge of the Sith focus almost exclusively on the development of this character.
In them, we can see the story of Anakin, who begins as a child and ends up murdering an entire town and destroying the Jedi temple. Later, already converted into Darth Vader, he plunged the galaxy into terror for decades, before redeeming himself and returning to the light side of the Force.
What caused these sudden changes in Anakin's personality? The keys must be looked for in their history.
The ravages of a tough childhood
To understand the psychology of Anakin Skywalker, we have to go back to his childhood. Living on the planet Tatooine (a desert with hardly any resources and brutal living conditions), he and his mother are slaves of a scrap merchant. Little Anakin will have to worry about the welfare of his mother from his earliest childhood.
The absence of a father figure, according to a large number of studies, can bring many complications in the life of a child when he becomes an adult. Among other things, it may be one of the reasons why the person ends up generating an avoidant attachment, a way of behaving that we can observe in Anakin, especially in his relationship with Padme.
People who exhibit this type of attachment avoid expressing their emotions and try to be completely self-sufficient. This is something we can observe in the psychology of Anakin Skywalker, who puts his own decisions ahead of the advice of his teachers, despite appreciating and respecting them.
On the other hand, Anakin presents a great number of traits of children of high abilities. However, being very intelligent means more problems for the little one he solves at first: it brings him conflicts with his master, makes him feel different and makes him very innocent and idealistic. All these traits will influence your fall to the Dark Side.
Adopted by the Jedi
When he meets Obi Wan and Qui Gon Jinn, Anakin believes that he has found a way to get rid of his bondage and be able to help others. This is something very important for him, since one of his complaints in the first film is that nobody helps those who need it. For the young Anakin, the Jedi represent all the good things in the world, which is why they are idealized. Unfortunately, even though joining the Jedi seems all that the young Skywalker can wish for, doing so will bring many complications.
- When leaving with Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan, Anakin will have to abandon his mother to his fate. She is the only person who has shown her unconditional affection, and although the technology of the Star Wars universe is very advanced, it seems that she will not be able to communicate with her again while they are separated.
- Although Qui Gon is convinced that Anakin will be in charge of destroying the Sith and bringing balance to the Force, the Jedi Council does not want to train him. Claiming that he is too old, but with evident fear for the possible future of the child, they refuse to accept him as a Padawan. This causes a strong sense of rejection in Anakin, who will gradually lose faith in the Council.
- One of the most important features of Anakin Skywalker's psychology is its independence. However, Jedi masters try to impose a large number of rules to avoid causing harm. This, added to the damage he suffered when he was rejected, makes him keep a growing rancor.
Some very turbulent relationships
Throughout the three prequels, we can see how Anakin goes from being an innocent child to a rebellious teenager, to later becoming a narcissistic adult. Confident of his superiority over others, but at the same time insecure and unable to open up to others, the young Skywalker feels isolated and misunderstood by others. On the other hand, the relationships that he maintains cause him a lot of problems:
- Obi Wan Kenobi, his teacher, has a role more as an older brother than as a mentor. Although it is seen that both enjoy an excellent relationship, you can also see certain features of competition in the behavior of the two.
- Padme, his wife, is a person Anakin has been in love with all his life, and therefore he has idealized her. This is not helped by the fact that they spend most of their time separated, so they can not really get to know it; and in addition, both need to keep their relationship secret because if discovered, Anakin's position among the Jedi would be compromised.
- Chancellor Palpatine, one of the people Skywalker most admires, is actually a Sith master who wants to corrupt him. Therefore, Anakin forms a toxic relationship with him, in which the Chancellor causes insecurity in both direct and indirect ways.
Due to the complications present in his main relationships, and his isolation from the rest of the world, Anakin feels very lonely and insecure in his dealings with others. This will lead to his fall to the Dark Side later.
Betrayal of their ideals
When Anakin, already a young Jedi, discovers that the dwellers of the sands have murdered his mother, anger blinds him and kills the entire population of this race on Tatooine, including women and children. This act goes against all the ideals that Skywalker had maintained until then, and it makes him even more arrogant and full of anger.
On the other hand, throughout the first three films Palpatine is putting him against the Jedi Council, making him see that the interests of his teachers are contrary to his. When Anakin discovers that Padme is pregnant, and begins to have premonitory dreams about her death in childbirth, she seeks advice from the Chancellor. At that moment, he reveals that he is actually a powerful Sith master, and that the Dark Side of the Force can save his wife.
Worn by doubts (a central element of Anakin Skywalker's psychology), the young Jedi denounces Palpatine to the Council, but when he sees how Mace Windu threatens to kill him, he comes out in defense of his mentor. Thus, he betrays the Jedi and becomes an apprentice to Darth Sidious.
Under the orders of his new teacher, Anakin (already turned into Darth Vader) begins to commit a series of atrocities that cause him to fall more and more into a spiral of hatred and self-destruction. Among them, the most striking are the destruction of the Jedi Temple and the murder of all the children who were inside, next to the attack on Padme when she rejects him.
After losing everything and being about to die after facing Obi Wan, Palpatine rescues him and makes him his servant. Thus, although Anakin hates him for everything that has made him lose, he has no choice but to join him because of his isolation from the rest of the world and his total contempt for himself.
However, it is this hatred for the Emperor that allows, in The Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader to sacrifice himself to save his son Luke by murdering his master. In this way, he is able to return to the Luminous Side and reconnect with Obi Wan, his master, in the form of a Force ghost.
I know this movie, yeah it's really cool