The Influence Of The Shadow On The Story Of Star Wars

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Carl Jung is known for his analytical psychology. He believed all people were connected by their collective unconsciousness, which is populated by archetypes. Archetypes are hidden forms and patterns which every human being experiences. Since they are hidden, it is best to look at mythology and religion do deduce the archetypes. In fact, mythology is full of them. Archetypes such as the patriarch, the young man and the trickster can be found in the Greek gods Zeus, Apollo and Hermes. But, can these archetypes also be deduced from moderns stories, such as Star Wars? In this essay I will explore the impact of the archetype the Shadow on the story of Star Wars. One of the most important archetypes in the Jungian theory is the Shadow archetype; the evil inside. The Shadow is part of one’s individual unconsciousness, it represents the negative aspects of one’s personality. The Shadow is in fact a manifestation of a person’s flaw. This archetype, or personality side, begins to form during childhood, Once a child discovers morality and societal rules, the child will try to separate its flaws from …show more content…

According to the theory of Jung, when one’s shadow is repressed long enough it will take over the ego-conciousness. This happens to Anakin when he goes back home to save his mother from the Tusken Raiders, thereby disobeying the Order. When he discovers that his mother has been killed by the Tuskens, he becomes enraged and kills all of the members of the tribe, even the children. After that he flies back to the planet of the republic and the Jedi Order, Coruscant, and speaks with Padmé. During his conversation Anakin once again projects his own shadow onto Obi-Wan; he believes he is an all-powerful Jedi and Obi-Wan is just jealous of him and is trying to hold him back. But after raging at Obi-Wan, Anakin confesses to Padmé that he killed all of the Tuskens and tells her he should be better than

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