CT An analysis of Owen Lars - was he right to keep Luke totally in the dark?

Hello, peeps. Let's have a little discussion on Uncle Owen (and to a degree, also Beru)

As it's made quite clear, Owen is VERY closely sheltering Luke from pretty much everything outside of their tiny farm and nearby towns. Even when he slips up and Luke catches on, his immediate response is to tell Luke "to forget about it."

Not to mention Obi-Wan reveals Owen had outright lied to him, probably about several things. "That's what your uncle told you." However, there's also the fact that, just as Owen told a complete lie about Luke's father, Obi-Wan did too. Both for the purpose of protecting him from something he was not yet ready to learn

The key difference, however, is that Obi-Wan at least told truth enough to set Luke on the path of the Jedi and to learn the ways of the Force. Luke learned that, rather than some boring crewman, his father was this incredibly powerful warrior. It isn't surprising that, in the limited time there was, he didn't bring this up with his aunt and uncle at all

So let's take a look at the situation. Although Owen's intentions were good, were his actions the best way to go about it? Almost every single thing Luke knew about his father was a lie. Even the role of Obi-Wan, whom he had met at least a few times, was totally obscured. When you think about it, it's a wonder Luke could really even grasp the whole "Whoa, my father was a Jedi using some kind of magic power?!" thing as well as he did

It raises the question: were Owen and Beru ever planning on telling Luke the truth, even in small bits? Or was it their plan to let him stay blissfully ignorant in his boring, mundane life? Perhaps there's some old EU bringing this up, maybe some conversation between Owen and Beru about it, something going into Owen's thoughts, etc.

Takes and opinions, everyone?

 

LUKE No, my father didn't fight in the
wars. He was a navigator on a spice
freighter.

BEN That's what your uncle told you. He
didn't hold with your father's ideals.
Thought he should have stayed here
and not gotten involved.

It's a complex issue, IMHO.

Assuming Obi-Wan gave Luke to Owen and Beru with the (declared) intention to pick him up one day and train him in the ways of the Jedi, Owen might have gotten second thoughts or at least postpone Luke's departure as long as possible:

OWEN Harvest is when I need you the most.
Only one more season. This year we'll
make enough on the harvest so I'll
be able to hire some more hands. And
then you can go to the Academy next
year.

On the other hand, Beru seemed to encourage Owen to let Luke eventually go to the Academy (was that the plan? First the Academy, then the training to become a Jedi Knight?).

On one hand I consider Owen to be somewhat selfish, on the other I think him and Beru wanted to protect Luke from suffering his father's fate.

 

It's difficult to say. I don't think it was wrong, I think Owen was trying to keep Luke safe, and I think his decision was reasonable. Considering the potential danger, I can't say it bothers me. It actually endears Owen to me.

I don't think Owen ever intended to give Luke permission to leave. It was always going to be "one more season", even if he had to fake a heart attack to get Luke to take over the farm.

 

This is why (among very many reasons) we need a Kenobi movie. I am fascinated with Owen and Beru. My inclination is that Owen was absolutely trying to protect Luke in the best way he knew how. I don't know how much he knew, and when he knew it. But if he was told everything, it would have been pretty alarming. He lost his step-mother, saw his step-brother carry and bury her, and then is brought his step-brother's son to raise and protect after Anakin is "killed" or "turned" (again, not sure what he was told and when). But there is def. a lot of history between Obi-Wan and Owen.

 

Given that Obi-wan says to Luke that he had intended to give him his father's Lightsaber, but was stymied by Owen on more than one occasion, it seems likely that they knew of Obi-wan's intentions. Lucas even says as much.

"It's very clear from the beginning here, that Luke's fate, even when the aunt and uncle are talking, is not to stay on the farm. A future that's just not in him, his destiny lies in a grander scheme of things. Even they know that. I mean they know it for other reasons, that we don't know about yet."

--George Lucas, ANH DVD Commentary.

 

We have to consider the circumstance in all this. Luke's uncle was living under Imperial rule and for him he did not even want Luke to attend the Academy instead preferring to keep him as a moisture farming. He felt that once he went off to the Academy he would get mixed up with the likes of Biggs and the others unleashing his powers for the benefits of the Emperor. His uncle wanted to keep Luke safe from the harm of the Emperor and his father who was still out there and would want to retrieve his only son.

 

Owen rings very true to me as a character. I know a few Owen Lars. I'm related to at least a couple! They genuinely believe that the best way to have a content life is to steer clear of religion completely, work hard and keep things simple. Plenty of folks in the GFFA (Han for example) don't buy into the whole force thing. For Owen, a good harvest is the equivalent of a good blaster for Han. Owen probably hoped that Luke would get over his Academy dream eventually and would settle down on Tatooine, but even if he didn't, a military career would be infinitely better than getting involved in all that Jedi hocus pocus!

 

I think Owen very much loved Luke and wanted to protect someone that he very much raised and saw as his own son. He wanted him to be like himself, someone he could rely on and Luke could always rely on him. Regarding the question at hand, I don't think that Owen ever planned on telling Luke "everything" that he knew but Beru knew that Luke wasn't one to be coddled. She probably wouldn't have done anything herself but she'd convince Owen to let him go and be himself, maybe letting loose on some of the things that they hid from him. It's kinda sad that they become a footnote after the first few scenes of ANH, never to be mentioned again.

 

It made it more dramatic that they were massacred. Luke having his family so violently ripped from his life. All of a sudden the full force of the Empire struck him down.

 

Owen was afraid that Luke would fall down the same dark path his father did, or worse, be executed for being a Force wielder. So, he kept Luke in the dark hoping he would never discover his Force potential.

 

And he wanted Luke to stay home, with him.

 

Owen also knows what happened with Anakin ( at least some of it) like possibly the killing of the Sandpeople (the only time they actually met) I think it was a case of fear about him becoming like Anakin as well as protecting from the truth. I think he also just didn't' want to let go and he also needed help.

I think Luke did deserve the truth, but it also might have made him easier for Vader to find. Owen would also have danger that Vader would pose to Luke. (and Leia if he was aware her..

He thought he was protecting Luke.

 

Pretty much agree with what everyone has said already. Owen did not want Luke to get mixed up with the Jedi or anything else that could get him killed. I don't think he was wrong to keep Luke in the dark if that's what he thought would protect him. I feel people often overlook the fact Owen was Luke's father for 19 or 20 years of his life and with that can you blame him for perhaps being overprotective of the closest thing he has for a son? Owen comes across as a firm but fair fellow who seems to be a fairly forgotten character and I've noticed to be one of the most relatable if you think about it.

 

I see Owen's actions as a reaction to a culture in which what one's father did is more important than what one's uncle did, even if one was brought up by their uncle instead of by their father.

Although Luke calls Owen 'Uncle', it's clear that Luke is as good as a son, not just a nephew, to Owen. So to Owen, why should he let Luke be influenced to such a great degree by what Anakin did in the past? If Owen were Luke's biological father and Anakin merely Luke's uncle, would Luke be as excited to the same degree by the knowledge that Anakin had fought in the Clone Wars?

But since Luke has known Owen as his uncle all his life, in such a culture, there's little, besides keeping Luke in the dark, that Owen can do to try to make Luke less interested in what Anakin did and more interested in what he, Owen does. In fact, the ironic thing is, I don't think it's as important in the galactic picture for Luke to know his father as it is for Vader to know his son. At the end of all things, Vader saves Luke because it is his son who is suffering and that brings about the fall of the Empire. But there were other people who loved Anakin and would have gone to great extents for him, he just didn't allow anyone else to get through to him. Yet in Hope and Empire, this was not what Obi-Wan and Yoda had in mind when they trained Luke - they trained Luke simply because of his high Force potential, and didn't believe that Luke's status as Vader's son would make a difference to Vader.

So if one takes all this into consideration, I think it's very understandable that although Owen knows that he's holding back Luke's dreams, at the same time he's thinking, why should he give up a boy he regards like a son to be used as a tool by others (be it the Empire or the Jedi) for their own purposes?

 

Kinda funny how Obi Wan is critical of Owen for not telling Luke the truth only seconds before lying right to Luke's face.

 

It is, though it's not entirely out of character of Obi-Wan - some simple farmer telling porkies to keep Luke (his son in every meaningful way) out of danger is a Bad Thing. Obi-Wan the sage Jedi telling lies to make Luke into a powerful weapon of the Force is completely A-Okay.

Of course, technically Obi-Wan's not completely wrong, if Owen had kept it up the Empire probably would have lasted much, much longer. But of the two, Owen has much more sympathetic motivation for his lies.

 

I find it interesting that, back in the day, Uncle Owen was always portrayed in a negative light. (In the ANH radio drama, Aunt Beru even yells at him for keeping Luke from his dreams off-planet.) Now, though, post-OT, Uncle Owen is viewed far more sympathetically, while Kenobi's stock has fallen, somewhat. Ben was right, it all depends on your point of view. Thing is, our point of view now shows Owen protecting Luke from harm, while Ben is denying Luke a chance to save his father from damnation.

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that in the original screenplay for ROTJ, Owen and Obi-Wan were BROTHERS! I think that relationship should have remained canon because it explains a lot about the animosity Owen directs towards Obi-Wan. Despite that, it's clear that Owen is well aware of the tragedy of Anakin- and he holds Obi-Wan directly responsible. His greatest fear is that the same fate will befall Luke if he follows through with his Jedi potential. Owen's actions are built entirely around that fear.

I think Owen was greatly under-used in the prequels. There was a lot of opportunity to create some real background to the Owen/Obi-Wan dynamic and how their interaction creates such a strong overprotective response from Owen over Luke. It's clear that neither Obi-Wan or Anakin are appropriate conversation topics at the Lars dinner table. I think it would have been wise to explore why.

Oh well.... "woulda, coulda, shoulda".

 

I think keeping them as brothers would be a problem, since the PT made it clear they'd still basically be strangers to each other. I do agree, though, that some of the PT EU, like the "Clone Wars" cartoon, should've featured more interaction between Owen and Ani, building up their relationship.

Personally, I don't think Owen knew the full story of what happened to Ani and Padme. Kenobi probably just said, "Ani and Padme are dead. Luke's their son. Please look after him until I call for him." And Owen said, "We'd be honored to raise him, but I sure as Hell won't let you cart him off and get him killed, like you did with Ani."

 

It could be that, or it could be that he told him the truth. Either way works.

 

If it weren't for the EU, I would consider Owen to be slightly Dursleyish and abusive.

"Well, he better have those units in the South Ridge repaired by midday, or there'll be hell to pay"

"You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done"

 

As others have mentioned, I think it simply boils down to Owen loving Luke as a son and wanting to protect him. I'm sure in his mind, the Jedi were like a cult.

 

Where's the abusive part?

 

There will be hell to pay implies a beating