Greedo
In A New Hope, the bounty hunter Greedo corners Han Solo in the Mos Eisley Cantina. The allegorical significance of Greedo's name is plain: he is a greedy villain who wants to kill Han for money.
Moreover, Greedo's name and role in the story reveal a larger truth about the place of greed in Han's life. Greedo is a representative of Jabba the Hutt, the greedy master to whom Han is enslaved. Although he presents himself as a cynical mercenary who only cares about money, Han is not necessarily a naturally greedy person: it is Jabba who compels him to make money the driving force of his life, first by employing him as a smuggler and then by putting a price on his head. Because of Jabba, Han has to be greedy just to survive; when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker accept his exorbitant price to ferry them to Alderaan, he excitedly tells Chewbacca, "This could really save my neck."
Han's conflict with Greedo, then, reflects his complicated relationship with greed. Greed threatens to control him, but he kills Greedo just as he will ultimately overcome the greed inside himself.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Greedo / Han Solo / Jabba the Hutt
Films: Episode IV: A New Hope
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
READ MORE ABOUT…
Follow The Jedi Archives on…