ST Luke vs Rey character contrasts: True belief vs doubt. Vengence vs Optimism.

While much has been said about the comparisons between Luke and Rey, let's look at some of differences that may have helped contribute to Rey's ability to pull ahead in her Force sensitivity sooner than Luke did at roughly the same age.

Many view the progression of Force knowledge as something completely linear. Like ascending from Kindergarten grade by grade. As a father, and man with siblings who teach, and and a man with many friends who have young kids it's never been more abundantly clear to me that young people take to different things in different ways regardless of their respective potentials or where they may eventually plateau later on in learning. Some kids take to different areas of learning immediately. It's similar in sports where a teen phenom in one sport may be regarded as the best in their class only to be eclipsed by others later on. Learning isn't linear. Understanding can vary and it's often excellent teachers or coaches who help to unlock the kinds of mental hurdles holding potential savants back.

1) In Luke's case it was largely a strong belief that he knew most of what he needed to know and that he was ready to fight. Many think of Luke as this massive dreamer and while he did dream of fighting in the Rebellion he wasn't particularly imaginative until after he had help from two excellent Jedi masters. He was fairly submissive and doubtful early on. He had largely accepted that there was a good chance he would remain on Tatooine. He wasn't desperate enough and as idealistic as he was in comparison to most... Rey is even more so, especially considering her much harder upbringing and existence. Luke didn't believe it was possible at first to defend without his vision. A big part of A New Hope is actually Luke going from feeling reasonly sure that he knows all he needs to and doubting what's possible to becoming a true believer that ANYTHING is possible. The Death Star run was all about that. It was the biggest hurdle holding him back and it continued to be when he met Yoda. It's why Yoda was so disappointed initially. Do or do not. There is no try. That is why Luke failed.

2) Rey's biggest strength and weakness is that she is naive. She believes people quickly. She dreams massively. She wants to see the good in people. She wants to believe in the Force immediately. The idea of Force ghosts wouldn't surprise her. She was born a true believer and this one single advantage and lack of doubt is the first thing she has over Luke that allows her to take to the Force in ways we haven't seen before. She takes to it because she immediately believes that everything is possible with the Force and her desperate situations almost act as an adrenaline to further accelerate that process.

3) Luke still had a lot of anger about this man who "killed" his father. Deep down he was vengeful whether he knew it or not. That anger was holding him back and while I believe that Obi-Wan knew this immediately... He also felt he was one of their last hopes and that training would have to be accelerated regardless of these two initial hurdles.

4) Rey full of hope rather than anger. She has convinced herself that her parents will return. It takes an elder telling her that they won't for her to finally let go and move forward. Coming to terms with that may have been painful but it's not the same as revenge, which is a harder issue to resolve. Obi-Wan couldn't help Luke resolve his vengefulness because that would have involved sharing the family secret and he didn't believe he was ready for that kind of thing. That was Obi-wan's judgement call and for all we know it did hold Luke back from truly embracing the light in a way that truly flowed through him.

5) There has been an awakening at this point in time in the galaxy. All experienced Force users have felt it. Something has changed. The Force is stronger for some reason and since the Force has a way of attempting to find balance it's conceivable that because of the increased Force use on the Dark, and the lack of Force use among the Light, that Rey ultimately channels more of the Light.

SUMMARY

The Force is mysterious. It's not something that everyone takes to in the same way under the same timeframes, just as learning anything for all of us varies from person to person, with some of us taking to certain aspects more naturally than others, only to later be surpassed by others who started slower but who will finish higher. Mental hurdles have already been established as part of the cannon in holding some exceptional Force users back so should we really be surprised that occasionally some, who lack those same mental hurdles, may take to some of the earlier aspects more easily? The Force is largely about belief and not a half-assed belief but one where there is no doubt at all. The awakening further complicates things and allows for the very real possibility that Force power is increasing due to lack of use among those who can wield it. It also can't be overstated how much In the end, mastery of the Force in all aspects can only be determined with time. It really doesn't matter how quickly one takes to any one thing. What determines true mastery is where one ultimately plateaus.

 

Anyone have a better thread title suggestion to get this discussion going more?