Luke's Light and Dark Hands
In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader cuts off Luke Skywalker’s right hand and reveals that he is Luke’s father. The cyborg hand that Luke receives shortly thereafter is a physical reminder of his kinship with Vader: he has it because of Vader, who severed his biological hand in nearly the same moment that he revealed their biological relationship, and it literally makes him more like Vader, who also has a cyborg hand.
In Return of the Jedi, Luke’s internal conflict between the light and dark sides of the Force, between the teachings of his Jedi mentors and the dark tendencies he has inherited from his father, is symbolized in the contrast between his two hands. The left hand is light and natural, while the right hand (which, like Vader, he covers with a black glove) is dark and technological.
Yoda taught Luke, “Fear, anger, aggression – the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight.” At multiple points in Return of the Jedi, Luke uses his right hand – his dark, technological hand – to act fearfully, angrily, or aggressively, like his father. At Jabba the Hutt’s palace, he uses it to perform Vader’s signature move, choking a guard with the Force. Later, in moments of fearful impulse, he uses it to grab weapons and start fights beneath the thrones of both Jabba and Emperor Palpatine.
Ultimately, when Luke angrily cuts off Vader’s right hand and sees that it is a cyborg hand, like his, he recognizes that he is in danger of becoming like his father. Remembering that, per Yoda, “A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack,” Luke masters his aggression and uses his left hand – his light, natural hand – to throw away his weapon, declaring, “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
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Characters: Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker
Films: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back / Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
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Concepts: aggression / anger / cyborgs / fathers / fear / hands / light and darkness / nature and technology
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