Why Did Vader Go On Living?

he really had nothing to leave for. his wife was gone as was his kids(so he thought) so why would vader choose to continue using his life in that suit?

 

Because the had the galaxy, and power.

 

Yeah, you wonder why. He lost his wife, children, made an enemy of his best friend, realized he'd been duped, lost a lot of his power, destroyed the galaxy and was encased in a suit. LOL.

But I think it could have been a couple of things.

Either the power he had was enough to keep him going, like a dark side heroin fix or something that he did not want to walk away from, or else, as I like to think, that goodness that was still inside him, buried deep, kind of remembered that whole "chosen one" and "balance to the force" stuff and remained living because he knew he had an important destiny to fulfill, even if he didn't know exactly what or how it would all play out.

 

well said, am-pm

 

I think it's fairly evident in ROTS that Anakin's true motivation is POWER.
"I'm not the Jedi I should be.... I want more"
Even as far as saving Padme is it for her? No.
"I cant live without her."
Then you have the whole "I can overthrow the Emperor....." speech before he chokes her.
He's about greed and power at this point and anyone who gets in his way.... well u know.
That's why he lives.
Power... Unlimited Power.

 

That's an excellent question and really the only flaw in Lucas' vision for Anakin's fall; atleast in the way it's presented on the screen. Once Padme is dead his whole purpose for falling away and following Sidious is dust in the wind. I suppose one could say that he lived for power or the chance to one day become the Sith Master; but it's pretty weak character motivation for Anakin specifically. Then again, Anakin may have just gotten lost in himself and shut down. What took over was the instinct of Sith Apprentice to obey his Master. If it had been me; I likely would have ejected myself into space or made a desperate attempt to kill the Emperor.

Perhaps he was motivated to finnish the Jedi Purge or help complete the Emperor's vision of the Empire.

My sincere guess though is that Vader was primarily motivated to stay alive so that he could find and destroy Obi Wan. Episode Four: "We meet again AT LAST. When I left you I WAS but the LEARNER, NOW I am the MASTER"

I think this question could have been nicely fleshed out in the moment Anakin expresses his hatred to Obi Wan on Mustafar. Instead of wasting a perfect opportunity to establish motive with something along the lines of "Kill me now or face my wrath later. I will survive this day's threachery and exact my vengeance on you" all Anakin sais is "I hate you!".

I dunno, I suppose "I hate you!" essentially sets up the same relationship since there's enough visual conflict on the screen to suggest revenge on Obi Wan was the main reason to stick around. I myself have been in squabbles where after the fact the feeling to finnish it lingered for a short time. And in the case of the Sith; they're fueled by these kinds of thoughts so it would never dispell over time. Still though establishing a clear cut motive for Vader to hang around is important when Padme is removed as a motivation to be evil in the first place. There should have been something to eliminate the guess work.

Besides Obi Wan is perfect as source of hatred because it's primarily his actions that separate Padme from Anakin in the first place; atleast in Anakin's mind. I mean that was the whole reason Anakin even bothered to fight him, to get him out of the way.

 

I partially disagree here. When Anakin says "I feel lost. I'm not the Jedi I should be, I want more, and I know I shouldn't" he's expressing that despite everything he has learned from the Jedi something inside him is seeking more but he'd like to get rid of that feeling. He just can't because it's become a part of him. I think that's a bit different than wanting power. He craves it but at this point he wants the craving to go away. It's the same sensation he has when he tries to explain to Padme that he should have spared the lives of the Tuskans because as a Jedi he knows better and really is supposed to excell to a higher expectation than non force powered beings. Having that power is huge responsibility that must be put in check daily through self humbling.

I've always felt this craving was due to Sidious coaxing his ego since Jake Lloyd assumed the role; which is counter productive to the humbling aspects of Jedi teaching and discipline.

Perhaps this is what you meant as well. I just wanted to clarify what I feel that scene is intended to say. Many have mistaken that scene as Anakin feeling that he deserves more power when he sais "I'm not the Jedi I SHOULD be; I want MORE" but the other parts of the dialogue "I feel lost" and "I know I shouldn't" reveal (in my humble opineon) that it's a cry for help from Anakin.

 

Exactly!

 

I'm sure he also wanted to live to be able to kill palpatine or at least be the catalyst that sent into motion the events/people that would. I'm sure he knew that palpatine d****d him and was waiting for the right time to strike, as we see with his pursuit of luke.

 

Hate is what kept him going after being put into the suit. Especially the hate for Obi-Wan.

 

Hate was definitely a factor. But I'd have to say that it was self-loathing more than anything else. I think he's literally of two minds once he embraces the Dark Side. The Vader side which truly believes the Jedi are traitors to the Republic, that power is the answer to all, that everything he did he did for Padme.

But there's the small quiet voice inside of Anakin Skywalker who whispers that the Jedi were true he only chooses to believe in their betrayal to justify his actions. That if he really did do it all for Padme, he would have walked away with her on Mustafar. That he chose power for power's sake alone and killed everything he ever loved to get it.

So it's all about hate. He believes hates the Jedi and later the rebellion for turning against his Emperor. What he really hates is himself for shackeling himself to another slavedriver with eyes wide open. He lives to make himself suffer as he believes he deserves to.

 

did he have a choice? he is the chosen one - only the force can determine when he can check out.





and YYZ-2112 - excellent post - you see deeper.

 

First - while he was on the slopes of Mustafar, he thought that Padme was alive. So for that bit, he didn't have a reason to die beyond the entire loss of limbs, burned beyond recognition thing. His hate and stubborn determination got him past that. As a side note, I really wouldn't want to fight someone who had such strength of will that after being delimbed and burned alive, he stayed conscious. And kept pulling himself up the slope(ouch).

But beyond that, after Palpatine told him he killed Padme? I'm guessing Palpatine had to give him some therapy. Depressed Sith Lords are no fun. I'm also guessing that Vader harbored enough hate for Palpatine himself to want to keep living until he could defeat him. Their relationship was weird.

 

I'm guessing Palpatine had to give him some therapy. Depressed Sith Lords are no fun.

Prosiac and other uppers. That would explain a lot of his actions in the OT. Yodas on shrooms and Vaders on uppers.

 

I think Vader owed a life-debt to Palpatine.

 

In the new Vader book, Rise Of The Dark Lord, it says that the one thing keeping him alive is that he will one day kill Palpitine. He wants the power, and his memories of Anakin fade from his mind. Once he's gone down the dark path he is only worried about one thing, his gaining complete power.

 

Well that's a very good point... I guess my example is'nt a good one.
In fact after re-reading my post I'm not sure much of it made sense.
Regardless, I stand by my feeling that by the end of the film I think
he is definatly craving power.
Power to save Padme... yes, but it teeters on a thin line.
Power to save Padme for HIM and HIS needs....
In other words that's why he lives. His hatred and his lust for power are
his family now.

 

He's consumed with the darkside now, and that means that he's enthralled with his power. He's getting more of it as time goes along, so he has a reason to live. It's also been speculated on that he works in his spare time on trying to find a way to recreate Padme and even himself, but that's not canon of course.

 

Another good reason for EU abstination.

 

Wanting to kill Palpatine and rule the galaxy!

Fear of death.
Where do sith Lords go when they die? They don't become happy blue ghoasts.

 

Hehe .... well the 'secret Sith handshake' Palpatine claims Plaguis had includes the ability to "create life". So as ridiculous as it may sound; recreating Padme from a DNA sample isn't that outrageous, esspecially when ya consider that the darkside gave Anakin all the signs of lunacy. Cloning is a real thing in this fantasy and Boba Fett is an excellent example of cloning potential, although Anakin may prefer a 'docile model'

 

Well, Anakin did die....and his time in the suit could be considered as his pergatory. So consumed with hate, he probably had no care that he was looking through viewscreens. He definately became the nightmare of the living.


Isurus the White

 

Pure hatred/anger, desire for power. However when someone is hooked up to a machine that breathes for them, so long as that machine stays on that person has no choice in the matter. So perhaps the suit and Sidious wouldn't let him die...

 

Anakin had no where else to go. Everyone that loved him was dead or in exile. He burned all his bridges with the Jedi as soon as he helped kill Mace Windu. The only person he thought he could trust was Palpatine and Palpatine promised him the world.

Greed, lust for power and revenge would have fueled him...great fodder for a Sith.

 

Because he still is a very strong person and even after all he's been true he still faces life.