The Forces of the Dark Side by Acacia Prechtel

The Forces of the Dark Side

By: Acacia Prechtel

“Anger, fear, aggression... the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny,” says Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. Emotions influence everything a human does. Emotions have their purpose, but losing control of them is dangerous. Anger clouds judgment. Fear causes anger, sadness, and rashness. Aggression causes destruction. The Force can only be used when a person’s emotion are under control. As soon as a Jedi loses control of their emotions, they can no longer control the Force. The emotions of the dark side, fear, anger, and aggression, are the hardest to control. Luke learns how to control each one through out episodes IV, V, and VI of Star Wars.

During Yoda’s teaching, Luke loses his concentration because he feels afraid for his friends. Luke cannot keep the images of his friends in pain from his mind, no matter how hard he tries. Perhaps, if he had been able to clear his mind he would have realized that it was a trap designed to capture him. The best course of action would have been to stay and train with Yoda, and have enough power to save his friends. However, in Return of the Jedi Luke realizes that he has to face his fear and control it to confront his father.

When Luke goes into the cave on Degobah he sees himself in Darth Vader’s clothes. He is afraid of going to the dark side because he sees how easy it could be to give into his fear. In his last battle with Darth Vader, he overcomes his fear. He is given the opportunity to go over to the dark side, but he doesn’t let himself.

When Luke faces Darth Vader for the first time, he is angry. His anger fuels his desire to save his friends. Because of this he falls into the trap that Vader and Landa have set for him. If he had kept his mind clear and his emotions under control, he would have realized the trap. As it was, his anger clouded his reasoning. He blindly attacked Darth Vader. He did not have his wits about him and his emotions kept the Force from being easily accessible.

Luke is not very aggressive. However, when he gets angry he does not think twice about using his aggression. He fights for his friends no matter what. His friends are considered his weakness because he immediately moves to aggression to save them. He is on the attack as soon as they are in danger. Many people would love a friend like this, but a Jedi must control all emotions. During the fight with his father in the carbonate chambers, Luke loses control of his aggression. Luke did not learn to control his aggression until his final fight with his father. He wanted his friends to be safe. The Emperor threatened Luke’s friends so Luke attacks the Emperor. Had he controlled his aggression, he could have seen that his friends were safe. Instead, he went farther over to the Dark Side.

Luke is not an angry person. Nor is he fearful or aggressive. He has these emotions when his friends are in danger. By the end of The Return of the Jedi, Luke realizes that being in control of his emotions lets him have at least some control over the situation at hand. When his emotions aren’t controlled, then none of the situation is in his control. Slowly but surely, Luke becomes a Jedi master. At the end of The Return of the Jedi, Luke brings back the legacy of the Jedi. He controls the Force, he masters his emotions and he still has his friends. The challenges were not too much for him to overcome.