A Hand for a Hand
At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader duels Luke Skywalker and cuts off his hand. When Luke and Vader duel again in Return of the Jedi, Luke momentarily gives in to his desire for revenge, furiously attacking Vader until he cuts off his hand. However, he catches himself and resists Emperor Palpatine’s urging to finish off his defeated enemy, declaring, “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” In a certain sense, this is perfect retributive justice by the principle of lex talionis (”an eye for an eye”): Luke does to Vader exactly what Vader did to him, and then restrains himself from doing Vader any further harm.
This is in direct contrast to Vader’s own actions when he was Anakin Skywalker. At the end of Attack of the Clones, Anakin duels Count Dooku, who cuts off his hand. When Anakin and Dooku duel again in Revenge of the Sith, Anakin defeats Dooku by cutting off both of his hands. Like Luke, Anakin briefly pauses, considering how to act toward his defeated enemy, knowing that to kill an unarmed prisoner is “not the Jedi way.” However, at Palpatine’s urging, Anakin gives in to his desire for revenge and cuts off Dooku’s head.
Luke does to Vader what Vader did to him, but remembers his Jedi ideals, masters his desire for revenge, and goes no further. Anakin is mastered by his desire for revenge, wreaks disproportionate vengeance on Dooku, and abandons his Jedi ideals in the process.
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Characters: Anakin Skywalker / Count Dooku / Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker
Films: Episode II: Attack of the Clones / Episode III: Revenge of the Sith / Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back / Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
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Interpretive Tools: Ring Theory
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