Why didn't Luke fall?

[Lord Pounder]

Anakin was in close frequant contact with a Sith Lord for much of his adulthood while Luke only met his Sith Lords briefly.

[vakundok]

Anakin wanted too many things at once. And as these goals conflicted each other, his inner conflicts opened him to the influence of the dark side.
Luke wanted more than one thing parallel only once and even so, he would have also fallen without the help of his friends (Bespin, remember?).
(Opinion based only on the movies and their novelisations.)

[Knife]

Boil it down and Anakin was a slave at first but after that he was spoiled. He got everything he wanted and had a serious sense of entitlement as the choosen one.

Luke, while not a slave in his youth, had a hard, healthy life. More stabble and had to work for most of his accomplishments.

Anakin fell in a whinney, spoiled fit because he didn't want to loose the shit he thought belonged to him. Luke didn't fall because he didn't want the easy way and was willing to go the hard (death) way for what he wanted.

[Stravo]

Boil it down and Anakin was a slave at first but after that he was spoiled. He got everything he wanted and had a serious sense of entitlement as the choosen one.

Luke, while not a slave in his youth, had a hard, healthy life. More stabble and had to work for most of his accomplishments.

Anakin fell in a whinney, spoiled fit because he didn't want to loose the shit he thought belonged to him. Luke didn't fall because he didn't want the easy way and was willing to go the hard (death) way for what he wanted.

Along those lines could it also be reflected in their final goals?

Luke wanted to be a Jedi Knight.

Anakin wanted to be the most powerful Jedi EVER.

I can see where one would lead to the darkside fairly quickly.

[Knife]

Along those lines could it also be reflected in their final goals?

Luke wanted to be a Jedi Knight.

Anakin wanted to be the most powerful Jedi EVER.

I can see where one would lead to the darkside fairly quickly.

True, but that goes back to Anakin's spoiled nature where he gets everything. He gets to be a Jedi, he gets some of the most famous and powerful Jedi as his Masters, he gets special status as getting trained even though he was too old, he is powerful and is the choosen one, so why not be the MOST POWERFUL JEDI EVER.

Luke, why he wanted to be a Jedi for some what selfish reasons, actually got wrapped up in fighting in the Rebellion, so being a Jedi evolved into another way to fight in the Rebellion and to defeat the Empire.

[Stofsk]

What selfish reasons?

[Stravo]

So Anakin's like that gifted child whose parents never set any limits for him. If Yoda or Obi Wan or someone told him "No, we don;lt care how powerful you are you have to go through the trials like everyone else." or set some sort of boundaries for him then maybe he might have turned out differently. As it was everyone treated him special, save that Palpatine treated him most special of all.

[Stofsk]

So Anakin's like that gifted child whose parents never set any limits for him. If Yoda or Obi Wan or someone told him "No, we don;lt care how powerful you are you have to go through the trials like everyone else." or set some sort of boundaries for him then maybe he might have turned out differently.

How do you figure? Anakin wasn't unique in falling to the dark side. Sora Bulq, Asaji Ventris, and indeed the war itself turned quite a few Padawans and Knights to the dark side through sometimes simply putting forward a convincing argument.

As it was everyone treated him special, save that Palpatine treated him most special of all.

No he wasn't treated special. He was treated like everyone else. Indeed, this is what Anakin was griping about: "It's all Obi-wan's fault! He's holding me back!" Couple this with a bizarre theology from the Jedi, with a desire to repress emotions, and without being taught the capability to deal with strong feelings, and you've got a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. And I'm not just talking about Anakin.

[Knife]

What selfish reasons?

He wanted to be a Jedi, like his father. When he hooked up with Obi, there was really no compelling reason to be a Jedi, in Lukes view, other than his Father was one and he just discovered it.

Obi had other reasons, of course, but didn't tell Luke.

So it was rather selfish, Luke just wanted to be a Jedi at that point because his father was one. He out grew it, as I mentioned but...

[Knife]

So Anakin's like that gifted child whose parents never set any limits for him. If Yoda or Obi Wan or someone told him "No, we don;lt care how powerful you are you have to go through the trials like everyone else." or set some sort of boundaries for him then maybe he might have turned out differently. As it was everyone treated him special, save that Palpatine treated him most special of all.

I think so, if you observe Anakin's behavior in AotC's, it's classic spoiled brat. "I can do this and this, but they won't let me." "I'm better than they are, and they're holding me back because of it." "Whaaaaa whaaaaa!" "Now that no one is looking, I'm going to go show em how good I am."

He's a fucking brat who never had some one slap the shit out of him to show him boundries and concequences.

[Stofsk]

What selfish reasons?

He wanted to be a Jedi, like his father. When he hooked up with Obi, there was really no compelling reason to be a Jedi, in Lukes view, other than his Father was one and he just discovered it.

Obi had other reasons, of course, but didn't tell Luke.

So it was rather selfish, Luke just wanted to be a Jedi at that point because his father was one. He out grew it, as I mentioned but...

Um, no. He wanted to become a Jedi like his father... because the Empire had just swooped down and butchered the only family he had ever known.

And he wanted to join the Rebellion or the Academy, but couldn't because of his commitments to Uncle Owen. This wasn't selfish, he wanted to join something greater than he was, to make a difference. He was just reluctant. He rejected Obi-wan's offer until the Empire forced his hand.

He is quite literally the opposite of selfish. He put himself second and his Uncle first, no matter how unhappy he was about it.

[Stofsk]

He's a fucking brat who never had some one slap the shit out of him to show him boundries and concequences.

So how is he a brat if all his life has been lived in service of others - namely, the Jedi Order - principally due to the fact that Jedi training is inferior and leads down to inflexibility? You said it: no-one slapped him for being a brat. At the same time, no one commended him when he did something neat, all he got was criticism from Obi-wan.

[Knife]

He's a fucking brat who never had some one slap the shit out of him to show him boundries and concequences.

So how is he a brat if all his life has been lived in service of others - namely, the Jedi Order - principally due to the fact that Jedi training is inferior and leads down to inflexibility? You said it: no-one slapped him for being a brat. At the same time, no one commended him when he did something neat, all he got was criticism from Obi-wan.

On the whole, the Order serves. But when you get down to the individual, they just go out on missions as ordered by the council. I can see it getting rather impersonal that way. Sure, ultimately, you serve the Republic, but day to day you just do what your told.

The inflexability of Jedi training also leads to Anakin's spoiled ways. He is powerful and can do shit others his age/rank can't. He know's he's special, he knows he's better than others. Yoda or Mace should have come down and whooped his ass and put him in his place at some point.

"Learn your place, get ass whooped by Yoda, you will young Skywalker."

Obi constantly tells Anakin that he needs to learn his place, but never actually puts him in it. Obi allows Anakin to be spoiled (as any spoiled kid needs parents to allow him/her to be spoiled).

[Crown]

He's a fucking brat who never had some one slap the shit out of him to show him boundries and concequences.

Don't worry, he will, soon ... in 13 days the Mack-Daddy will teach him a lesson he will not easily forget ... [size=0]Down Vymple, oh and by the way I got my greedy little mits on the music video, thanks a tonne anyway.[/size]

[Montcalm]

Last night i watched my recently acquired copy of AOTC's DVD and i think Anikin got angry easily and seems to have a hard time controling his anger,while Luke i think got angry only once in ROTJ.

[Knife]

He's a fucking brat who never had some one slap the shit out of him to show him boundries and concequences.

Don't worry, he will, soon ... in 13 days the Mack-Daddy will teach him a lesson he will not easily forget ... [size=0]Down Vymple, oh and by the way I got my greedy little mits on the music video, thanks a tonne anyway.[/size]

I read the book, I know. Quite happy about that part too.

[Admiral_K]

I think the most apparent reason he didn't fall is because he saw what happens to those that fall (i.e. The Emperor and Vader).

From the time he fought "vader" in the cave at Dagobah, he essentially vowed that he would not become him. Learning of his fathers fate further instilled within him that desire to not end up like his father. When he finally cuts off Vader's hand and then sees the paralel in his own hand being cut off, he realizes where he is headed and is able to stop himself.

Essentially, Luke had a prime example of what happens to someone like himself once he journeys down the dark path. Anakin had no such example. All he saw was Palpatine kicking Jedi Ass and ruling the galaxy.

If Vader weren't his father, but rather another powerful force user, he may very well have turned in the end.

[Petrosjko]

Luke was on the verge of turning. He might well have killed Vader, if not for cutting off Vader's hand and getting that sudden slap of reality.