Saga How DOES the Force work?

Something I've always wondered is, how does the Force first manifest itself in people? How does it develop in untrained individuals? We only really ever see Force-sensitive individuals discovering their Force sensitivity and immediately picking up a lightsaber. We don't see people realizing they're Force-sensitive without a Force wielder informing them of the fact. Can people accidentally Force-push something and realize they have Jedi powers? Or does it only manifest in more subtle ways? If so, would they be able to pick up on the fact that they're Force sensitive without coming into contact with a flesh-and-blood Force wielder? What abilities would manifest in a six year old who's only heard stories of the Jedi? What about a thirteen year old? Seventeen? What if somehow you managed to live to forty without ever meeting a Jedi— what would you be able to do with the Force?

 

It starts off as a tingling sensation in the big toe of your left foot

 

Very interesting! I suppose Uncle Owen had to put Luke on some kind of medication for that.

For realsies though...

 

I like to think it varies from person to person. All of your suggestions sound reasonable. I also like to think there many beings in the galaxy who use the Force without knowing it. They could easily credit some abilities to good instincts or disciplined focus. Martial artists would be apt to do that.

 

You know what would be an interesting concept? An Order 66 survivor training a person who just discovered their Force abilities, but the twist is that the Order 66 survivor is a teenager and their student is old enough to be their parent/grandparent. Like imagine this guy discovers this kid who's a Jedi fugitive, adopts him as goodhearted Star Wars adults do, and then discovers that he too can make rocks float. So this Padawan who never graduated to knighthood has to draw upon their limited experience to teach them how to be a Jedi, kind of like a teenager teaching their grandparent how to use technology. Not only an intriguing premise but a lot of potential for comedy, especially if the Padawan wasn't necessarily the best student.

 

I'll just quote the guy who actually created the Force:

And then we can see in the movies what Anakin (who has the greatest connection to the Force) is able to do when he's 9. He doesn't have "powers". All he has is sharp reflexes and foresight that make him able to do things that someone of his race and of his age couldn't (race pods).

 

I would like to think it manifests as talents like Anakins precognition or someone seeming to be 'way too lucky' and that training is needed to do things like force pushing, but then we now have the broomstick incident from TLJ. So I guess random kids with a high enough midi-chlorian count can just randomly know how to manipulate the living force without training. Better keep an eye on all baby rattles in the future, someone could lose an eye.

 

Before that, in TCW, which Lucas was heavily involved with, there was an infant who could levitate things with the Force.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wee_Dunn

 

LOL it's a real thing!

 

Correct - a real Lucas-approved thing at that.

 

I think Qymaen jai Sheelal was one such example— superior marksmanship is a Force ability demonstrated in A New Hope by Luke Skywalker, and Anakin Skywalker demonstrates prophetic dreams and precognition throughout the prequels; both of these are abilities possessed by the warrior who would become General Grievous. I think that Grievous failed to realize the significance of the abilities he possessed. Consequently, he believed he could achieve only an imitation of the Jedi's abilities, and cut himself off from the Force in order to do so, ironically sacrificing the Force sensitivity he possessed all along.

 

This does seem to set the precedent for Broom Boy. Seeing this image after Mando Season 2 makes me wonder though... Grogu has been trained and he's only an infant, albeit a 50-year-old infant. We know that the Jedi Order has been in contact with the Rodian's mother and that he will one day be taken to the Temple. I assume he's being allowed to stay with his mother for basic nurturing that even unattached Jedi Knights need when they're growing up. Is it possible that the Jedi make regular visits to the Rodian baby and they begin training him during their visits?

That would also explain why the Rodian baby is able to use the Force for telekinesis while Anakin and Luke can't. It still leaves Broom Boy as an anomaly, but it makes sense of everything else outside of the ST.

 

The Legends article for him, at least, states that it was the levitating of objects at that age, that drew the Jedi Order's attention to him in the first place:

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wee_Dunn/Legends

In the days immediately after his birth, Mahtee discovered that her young son was Force-sensitive. He was able to levitate toys at this incredibly young age, information that eventually came to the attention of the Jedi Order.[5] As a result, the Dunns were visited by Jedi Master Bolla Ropal, who informed Mahtee that although Wee would be taken into the Order, his induction would not occur for some time, as the junior Dunn was still in his early infancy. Despite this, Wee Dunn's name was added to the Kyber memory crystal, a device that held the identities of all known Force-sensitive children in the galaxy.[1]


Regarding Anakin and Luke - I could see there being differing ways in which the ability to use the Force manifests early on - for some it's telekinesis, for others it's precognition, and so forth. Being able to levitate things early may be less about power, and more about those characters simply having a knack for that particular thing.

 

An infant who already had previous contact with a Jedi, Bolla Ropal.

 

Bolla Ropal was sent there because he'd started levitating objects - he didn't teach him to levitate them. At least according to the TCW Character Encyclopaedia.

 

So, outside of Lucas-approved content then.

 

Jedi never teach anyone "how to use the Force" till they enter the order though.

Qui-Gon makes a big deal of how he's not allowed to train Anakin until the Jedi Order have made their decision whether Anakin will be in the Order or not, in TPM.

 

They might teach some things in order to test their abilities and see their potential, in order to decide when it's time to be taken into the Order.

Yes, the decision to train Anakin was not up to him. But we are not talking about a kid deemed too old for training, and it has nothing to do with the situation of identifying and evaluating future younglings.

The fact remains that the Rodian kid had contact with a Jedi by the time we see him using the Force to levitate the ball, unlike the example mentioned from TLJ.

 

The Force gives people instinctual abilities to help them in their destiny (which is generally aiding in the symbiosis of society and nature). People often think of these abilities in terms of Force powers but they can manifest in all kinds of ways ranging from someone having a propensity for science to someone being a naturally skilled pilot. These abilities are instinctual but instincts have to be honed so people need regular training to ensure that they can use these abilities on the fly. Due to the instinctual nature of these abilities you will often find that the speed at which these instincts can be honed really just depends on the person and the way the Force manifests itself inside of them.

 

That... just might be the most insightful answer so far.