THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
It is the sense that destiny is somehow calling you, placing you on a quest for treasure you can scarcely imagine, yet cannot live without. Joseph Campbell terms this feeling The Call To Adventure, and this is what young Luke Skywalker feels the first time he notices an Academy enlistment poster tacked to a wall in Anchorhead. Just a flash across his vision as his uncle pulls him down the street, Luke is nevertheless forever changed by the adventure and excitement he sees embodied in the valiant men and women pictured there. And at this moment, the future Jedi knows his destiny lies not with moisture vaporators and landspeeders. At this moment, and forever after, Luke Skywalker belongs to the stars.

"And you must have courage...
There is no security in following the call to adventure"

SUPERNATURAL AID
Lost in the freezing wind and snow on the ice-planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker has wandered for hours. He is scared and bleeding, far from his friends and shelter. As Luke begins to slip out of consciousness and into the arms of death he hears the voice of his mentor and friend, Ben Kenobi, and he summons the strength to stay alive.

In nearly every epic adventure, from the tales of Camelot to the saga of Star Wars, the hero has had a guide or mentor to teach wisdom and provide the protection needed to continue the hero’s quest. King Arthur had Merlin; Luke is lucky enough to have both Obi-Wan and Master Yoda aiding him in the struggle to fulfill his destiny and become a Jedi Knight.

"[One’s path] is not always easy to find.
But it’s nice to have someone to give you a clue"

 

THE ULTIMATE BOON
Standing alone in the forest of Endor, Luke Skywalker ignites the funeral pyre holding the remains of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith is no more, vanquished by the love between a father and son, and as Luke watches the flames consume Vader’s empty armor, he can feel his father’s presence in the Force. Gone too are Luke’s naive dreams of glory, left behind with the family and friends he has lost along the way. He is a man now. A Jedi. And along with the pain of what was left behind come the knowledge and wisdom won by completing a journey begun a long time ago on a dusty planet far, far away.

Luke Skywalker has found his place among the stars.

"The goal of the hero’s journey is yourself,
finding yourself"

 

THE ROAD OF TRIALS
Deep in the swamps on Dagobah there is a hidden cave, dark and cold; strong with the dark side of the Force. "A domain of evil it is," Yoda tells Luke, "and into it you must go..." Strapping on his weapons, Luke enters the cave and faces the most formidable obstacle he has yet to encounter in his quest to become a Jedi: Himself. "My enemy’s face is my own," he realizes, discovering for the first time his own capacity for evil. It is a sobering moment for the young apprentice.

For the Hero to reach his destination, he must travel what Joseph Campbell terms The Road Of Trials, a path where barriers become stepping-stones if only the traveler, like Luke Skywalker, is willing to learn what each of these challenges has to teach him.

"Where you stumble,
there lies your treasure."

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL/GEORGE LUCAS
On a spring day in 1962, on a quiet country road in Modesto California, George Lucas totaled his tiny sports car and nearly died. The experience was life changing for the young man, forcing him to recognize his own mortality and allowing him to wonder for the first time about his place in the world. It was during this period of self-reflection that Lucas discovered Joseph Campbell, and the spark that became Star Wars began to glow.

Through Campbell. Lucas discovered the idea that humanity's search for self-discovery has been the same forever, and that the myths and stories from ages past are simply an attempt at solving life's mysteries. Star Wars is not a simple story. Hidden among the laser blasts and light sabers are themes of friendship, redemption and sacrifice; of honor, compassion and courage. Star Wars speaks of truths as old as humanity, and tells a story told a thousand times over a thousand years in a thousand different lands - The story of The Hero’s Journey.

"Furthermore, we have not even to risk the Adventure alone,
for the heroes of all time have gone before us"

THE FORCE
In his writings, Joseph Campbell speaks of an "indefinable, inconceivable mystery... that is the source and end and supporting ground of all life and being." He is speaking here of nature, and of the energy that connects humanity to its surroundings, but he is also describing another source of power, explained by Yoda in this way: "Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter."

"Simple tricks and nonsense" to some, a tool of evil to others, the Force is a way of life, a part of life, to the Jedi, allowing him to find and unlock his own hidden potential. Mythology is the force that helps us to solve the mysteries inside us, says Campbell, "and therein lies [our] eternity"

"Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities
of the human life"

LEIA
She has always dreamt that someday a shining new Republic would rise from the ashes of Palpatine’s Empire, and it is to this goal that she has devoted her heart. Thus, she is completely unprepared for the emotions she begins to feel when a scruffy-looking scoundrel named Han Solo blasts into her life. Leia’s feelings for Han start her on her own quest for self-discovery, her own particular Hero’s journey. Finding in herself is a capacity for love she never knew she had, the love of a wife for her husband, a sister for her brother, and above all, the limitless, unbounded love of a mother for her children, Princess Leia Organa discovers, as the new Republic takes shape around her and her family, that she is truly, and completely, happy.

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned
so as to have the life that is waiting for us"

 

HAN SOLO
Han Solo has spent his life trusting in three things: his ship, his blaster, and himself. The Corellian pirate has always told himself that if he couldn’t spend it, he didn’t want it, and up until now that’s been true. But now, that philosophy seems as empty as an Imperial promise, and Solo realizes that things have changed. Somewhere along the way his heart was opened and he has begun to discover what life is about, where the real rewards can be found. He has friends whom he would die for, and a cause he believes in.

And he has Leia. She came back for him, she risked her life to save him, and when he sees the love in her eyes, he can’t believe his luck.

"He was not an angel or a saint, but a living, questing man of deeds
gifted with paired virtues of courage and compassion"

 

VADER
As the life-support systems in his armor begin to shut down and darkness falls across his vision, Lord Darth Vader summons the last of his strength and, just for once, looks on Luke with his own eyes. Surprised at the strength of emotion he feels in the heart he once thought was dead, the former Jedi draws his final breath looking into eyes holding both sorrow and love - love strong enough to reclaim the humanity in a man who has long since given himself up for dead. Closing his eyes for the final time, Anakin Skywalker allows himself a smile and thinks of how the lifetime of darkness shrouding his heart has been vanquished by the simple and undying love between a father and son.

"Find a place where there's joy,
and the joy will burn out the pain"