Lit What Makes a Jedi/Sith?

Everybody chill out, mmmmkay?

 

I’ve read that some people consider it the height of foolishness, and a sign of Luke’s “incomplete” training that he cast aside his lightsaber when facing the Emperor in RotJ. However, I’d like folks to re-consider that scene in light of this bit from the RotS novelization (edited for brevity). It’s the battle between Yoda and Sidious, from Yoda’s point-of-view:

 

So another illustration that tricks, raw power and battle prowess are not what makes one a Jedi Knight can be gleaned from AotC in the personage of Anakin Skywalker.

In that movie, in terms of “tricks,” he is able to sense an individual suffering from across the galaxy, which appears to be a feat peculiar to Skywalkers. It also looks like he uses the Force to soothe a savage beast, an ability that is apparently unique.

In terms of battle prowess, consider the circle of survivors at Geonosis. The vast majority of them were Council Masters, along with a couple of Knights, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme; and Anakin was distracted by the task of keeping Padme safe. You know who else fought at Geonosis while distracted?


This guy, another Council Master IIRC.

Another sign of Anakin’s battle prowess is that Dooku, supposedly one of the finest swordsbeings in the Order, looked wore out after putting Anakin down.

So raw power on par with the Grand Master of the Order, skill-at-arms to surpass Knights and Masters, but still not considered a Jedi Knight himself. Why? The short answer is that he’s a whiny hothead. When you’re wailing that you’re being held back, then you’re not actually being held back

 

I'm more inclined to chalk that up to Yoda sensing a disturbance in the Force caused by the most powerful being in the galaxy completely losing it. But your point works also.

 

Which brings us back to: what is the difference between a Sith and a Jedi who is motivated by concern for self?

 

NIAWYC, but what –really- is the distinction between a Sith from a Jedi who has the very same outlook?

My argument has always been that there isn’t one, save that using the term “Sith” is acceptable, but for some reason the term “Dark Jedi” sends some Star Wars fans into a fire-breathing frenzy of nerd rage.

Likewise, it’s my assertion that the vaaaaaast majority of Jedi training isn’t about learning how to do tricks with the Force, it’s about how to be a Jedi. That’s how Luke could learn in months what Jedi Masters normally stretch out over the course of years. That’s also what Obi-Wan was getting at when he said that he’d failed Anakin.

Similarly, I’d say that the majority of Sith training is centered on how to be a Sith. Look at it this way: a neophyte Sith, or Dark Jedi, or whatever, is like an atomic bomb. Sith training teaches them how to take that explosive, highly destructive reaction and turn it into a thermonuclear reactor. That’s one way I would interpret Sidious’ musings that “the Jedi use understanding to gain power, while the Sith use power to gain understanding.”

 

I’m well aware of what the EU answer to each and every one of the questions I’ve posed. However, I also am of the opinion that the EU answers fly in the face of the on-screen evidence, especially (for example) the notion that Luke Skywalker was some sort of half-trained n00b.

Think about it: this is the Jedi version of a Hail Mary pass against the two most powerful and evil beings the galaxy has ever seen. If it fails, the galaxy is well and truly screwed. Possibly for all eternity. Do you really think that Yoda would do a slapdash job of training Luke, given the stakes?

 

He waited until a few seconds of Luke's return to go *poof* I always interpreted it as "My work here is done," rather than "I can't go on."

 

Another point to consider about Luke's supposed half-done Jedi training: One particular school of thought asserts that they learn about the Force constantly, from birth until they're considered Knights in their late teens/early 20's, or Master when they're in their late 30's/early 40's. For sake of discussion, let's assume that this is correct; they train from infancy. Now consider this group here:



They look to be about 5 or 6 years old. Let's be generous and say they're five. Let's also be generous and say that they didn't start this particular regimen until they were three years old. Now consider-



This suggests that what normally takes an "average" apprentice Jedi two or three years to learn, Luke Skywalker figured out in about five minutes. So however many weeks or months Luke was on Dagobah was plenty of time for Yoda to teach him all the "tricks" of the Force. I assert that Yoda was trying to teach Luke how to be a Jedi. Which is ironic, considering that Vader told Luke that he wanted to complete his training, which -in a way- he actually did.

 

I think the Sith also teach self-mastery as well. Compare RotS Vader to ESB Vader. In RotS, Vader wigged out and choked the crap out of the woman he loved, the woman for whom he became Darth Vader in the first place. All at the very sight of Obi-Wan. In ESB, when his best chance at realizing all his ambitions slipped from his fingers, Vader basically went, “well…[censored],” and calmly walked away.

 

Another point my wife made about the speed of Luke's training relative to OT training: it's the difference between a regular student taking a foreign language course during their four years of high school, compared to doing deep-immersion for a couple of months by travelling to a foreign country. To which I would add that the traveler is a linguistics genius being accompanied by a bilingual native.