C-3PO and Small Aliens
In all three episodes of the original trilogy, C-3PO has a run-in with a group of small aliens. In each case, these diminutive aliens are primitive, animalistic, and unruly, in sharp contrast to the fastidious, intellectual, etiquette-oriented “protocol droid” C-3PO.
In A New Hope, C-3PO is captured by the Jawas on Tatooine. He initially hails the Jawas in the desert, thinking they will save him, but is entirely unable to stand up for himself when they enslave him and sell him to Owen Lars.
In The Empire Strikes Back, after he is blasted into pieces by Stormtroopers on Bespin, C-3PO is nearly smelted down by the Ugnaughts, who try to throw his dismembered body parts into a furnace.
In Return of the Jedi, C-3PO is captured by the Ewoks on Endor. These small aliens quickly mistake C-3PO for a god and begin to worship him, but even when they think he is a deity, C-3PO is – as with the Jawas and Ugnaughts – completely unable to assert himself. It is only after Luke Skywalker helps C-3PO demonstrate his “magic” powers with a clever use of the Force that the protocol droid tames the Ewoks, telling them a story that brings them into harmony with the Rebel Alliance.
Throughout Star Wars, animalistic aliens like the Jawas, Ugnaughts, and Ewoks are symbolically associated with the appetites: the impulses and instincts (such as hunger, aggression, and fear) that the human person shares with the animals. It is telling that, throughout the original trilogy, C-3PO is at the mercy of these small, animalistic aliens, just as he is at the mercy of his own animal appetites.
In A New Hope, C-3PO is completely dominated by his fear of physical danger and discomfort, which is why he falls into the power of the Jawas in the first place. In The Empire Strikes Back, C-3PO is saved by his partnership with the animalistic Chewbacca, but constantly and ungratefully upbraids his rescuer even as he is totally dependent on him. In Return of the Jedi, Luke – the agent of spiritual balance – draws C-3PO towards healthy integration with the Ewoks, helping him to tame and harness them rather than being cowed by them.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: C-3PO
Films: Episode IV: A New Hope / Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back / Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
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Concepts: animals / appetite / fear / primitives
Interpretive Tools: Tripartite Soul Theory
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