Don't Be Destroyed
At the climax of The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader defeats Luke Skywalker in a duel and tries to compel him to join the dark side. Menacing Luke with his lightsaber, Vader threatens, "Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did." Vader tries to overwhelm Luke with fear, giving him the two options the Empire always presents to its subjects: compliance or death.
Vader's reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi undermines his threat, though. In A New Hope, Vader struck Obi-Wan down with his lightsaber, but Luke knows that Obi-Wan was not truly destroyed; he has heard Obi-Wan's voice and seen his ghost. From the perspective of the average bystander, it would appear that Vader won the duel and Obi-Wan lost, but Luke knows that Obi-Wan spoke truly when he told his opponent, "You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
Perhaps this knowledge helps Luke to resist Vader's threats, ultimately choosing to fall to his presumable death rather than give in to the dark side. For a Jedi, to die is not to be destroyed, and when death is not feared, the threat of death loses its power.
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Characters: Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker / Obi-Wan Kenobi
Films: Episode IV: A New Hope / Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
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Concepts: death / fear / victory and defeat
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