Anakin Skywalker - Personality & Traits

How would you describe Anakin Skywalker's (NOT Darth Vader) personality and traits? And how would you describe his relationship with his peers? (other jedi)

 

He loves things intensely. He treats droids like real people. He puts others before himself.
He, like the Jedi believe it's their duty to protect others. However, Anakin is not like the other Jedi in that he knew what it was like to have a family. He had a natural inclination to favoritism. The Jedi being detached as they were must have seen Anakin as highly eccentric, and maybe were a little jealous of his courage.
I think that's a pretty good start.

 

This. I'd also add something that was mentioned in the ROTS novel: Anakin was loyal to people before concepts, and that put him at odds with the Jedi. The example used in the novel was that Obi-Wan would sacrifice Yoda's life for a cause or to save the lives of others. Anakin would never willingly sacrifice the life of a friend or loved one, he would always look for a way to not have to make the choice between a person's life and a cause.

A couple of other examples come to mind from the Clone Wars series: Anakin opening the holocron for Cad Bane, the holocron containing the data on Force-sensitive children in the galaxy, effectively putting them at risk, because if he had not done so, Bane would have killed Ahsoka. Also, his conversation with Ahsoka after she and Barriss were attacked by the brain worms, Barriss begged Ahsoka to kill her and Ahsoka couldn't do it.

For what it's worth I don't think Anakin's beliefs were wrong. When presented with such an awful choice, I think it's better to find a way not to have to make that choice.

 

That makes it sound like "the others" would not even try to find an alternative.

I believe even those who stand on principle AND those who stand on personal relationships would ALL prefer alternatives to sacrificing either principles or people.

After all principles are pretty important, too.

I think KM in her last SW book does a pretty good job of showing the conflict between protecting "those we love" against the "nameless, unknown (yes, and potential)victims" when the scientist creates a biological weapon to kill millions so she can save the lives of 10 friends/family.

It's a HORRIBLE situation and I'm not sure there is a "right" answer. Anakin and Obi-Wan are on opposite sides of the issue, predictably, and I find both of them right - and both of them wrong.

Save your mother and sacrifice someone else's mother (or substitute friend, whatever) - just an absolutely horrible choice, but it elevates one's own personal connections over all other connections which are just as valid, but impersonal.

As for Anakin: passionate, headstrong, arrogant (in the sense of believing himself over others), self-assured, devoted to those connected to him, reactive, protective...

 

Miller did do an excellent job of portraying that dilemma in Stealth and Siege. But my impression of the Jedi--not necessarily Obi-Wan, who I think might find a way around that choice, but Mace and Yoda--is that they would not consider a way to avoid making such a choice. In their minds, they are Jedi, and making the choice to sacrifice their "attachments" for the group is just what they do. Trying to find an alternative to making such a choice--well, that would be placing importance upon an attachment. Mace and Yoda thought that Obi-Wan had "attachment issues," which I find laughable. Obi-Wan probably did a better job of any Jedi of finding the right balance between attachment and the Jedi way of detachment. Anakin was too attached, and Yoda was detached to a fault.

 

I would describe him as one of those egotistical people who you still love. He has a lot of compassion and love for things close to him. This wasn't good because a Jedi can't have any attachments. He also shows hatred, obviously towards the Tuskens and Obi-Wan in ATOC.

Another thing is that he is arrogent and hard-headed but to me, he isn't a bad guy.

That is until ROTS.

 

Anakin is a man who can do good things/has certain good character traits, but also has strong evil side to him, which overcame his good nature when he made himself evil.

To me Anakin's personality was basically good until AOTC.

 

So it was only good in TPM?

Seriously. His personality was "basically good" until the point in ROTS when he knelt in front of Palpatine and was christened Darth Vader. Until then, the good strongly overruled the evil. One could even argue that the good was still stronger at that point, given his reasoning behind pledging himself to Sidious, to save Padme's life. That decision was monumentally stupid but arguably, not evil in and of itself. It's his actions after that one that were evil.

I felt as sorry for Anakin at that moment as any in the films, him pledging himself to Sidious in desperation, and begging Sidious to help him save Padme.

But anyway, on other points: Anakin was exceedingly arrogant, which was his worst flaw as Anakin (as opposed to "as Vader"). He thought he had all this amazing talent that no one gave him proper recognition for.

 

No you must have misunderstood. I meant that his lifetime before AOTC was when he was a "good guy", who had not committed evil acts (not talking about petty wrongs). This includes when he was a boy before TPM, the 10 year time period between TPM and AOTC, and some of AOTC.

He lost a lot of his "innocence" when he did his sinful acts in AOTC. That was when he became tainted. And it was a decline from their.

I really can't see Anakin past AOTC as a "good guy". I don't consider murderers good men (what anakin did fits the "murderer" description). However he still had some good in him...i just won't consider him a "really good guy", more like an anti-hero slowly becoming a true villain.

 

Anakin is passionate and emotional. He gets attached to people easily, and is very protective of them. He's selfless, and puts others above himself. He is only bothered when others, especially the ones he loves are in endangered, pain, or dead. He is a tragic hero and his fatal flaw is that he is too attached to others.

He is a fun person. He is not dull or boring, and knows how to have fun. He brightens up Padme's life. He is the only person who ever made her happy, or who made her laugh. He is the only person she can be herself around. Anakin feels everything deeply, whether it be anger, rage, sorrow, guilt, fear, or love. He loves so intensely that he is often accused of being obsessive.

He is a idealistic person at heart, and his idealism was not destroyed by his slavery or the war. Even though the slavery could have caused him to become jaded, it didn't thanks to his mother's love. The beginning of ROTS where he wants to save the Clone and Obi Wan shows just how idealistic and loyal he is. He is heroic, and willing to give up his life if it means others will be saved.

Although gulliable, Anakin was a gifted child. His intelligence caused him to grow bored with the teaching he got, so he rebelled and broke rules to soothe his boredom. That's why he whines about being held back---he is bored with the system, and Palpatine constantly tells him that he is powerful and that the Jedi are holding him from back from his true potential. Anakin is arrogant because of this, but it's not completely his fault. And, the only thing he is arrogant about is his powers. He is fairly humble about everything else. In fact, he thinks that he is a slow learner which shows us that he is not confident about his intelligence.

Anakin is a loyal person, but his loyalty stops when he thinks that he has been betrayed. That's why he was able to betray the Jedi---he thought they had betrayed him by attempting to kill Palpatine, the same man who was his best friend for thirteen years. Anakin has a vengeful streak, which usually pops up when his loved ones have been hurt. Anakin's intense emotions cause him to be impulsive and impetuous, which is not a good combination because his impulsivity combined with his anger can cause him to make big mistakes. He has the tendency to be impatient as well, which doesn't help him too much either. Anakin is also as stubborn as steel---once his mind is made up, you can't convince him to change it. It is both a flaw and stength.

Although proud and cocky on the outside, Anakin is actually deeply insecure. He's so insecure that he thought Padme really didn't love him, and had brought Obi Wan to Mutsafar to assassinate him. He needs constant approval because of his insecurity. So, in reality, his cockiness is just a mask to make himself feel more stronger than he really is. Anakin likes to be respected and treated as a equal. That's partially why he prefers Obi Wan over Palpatine. Palpatine treats him like a equal, whereas Obi Wan doesn't. And the reason why this is so vital to Anakin is because he was a former slave.

Anakin likes helping people, and that didn't change when he grew older in my eyes. When he talked about fixing things, I interperated it both literally and metaphorically. Padme's a fixer, but so is Anakin. When Anakin said he wanted to save people from dying, I don't think he meant that he only wanted to save his loved ones from dying. I think he wanted to save plenty of people of dying. Essentially, his desire to save people from dying is his altruistic streak gone out of control.

Another thing about Anakin is that he is bold, honest, and straightforward. He is secretive, but he doesn't tell a lot of lies. Even when he is Darth Vader he doesn't become too manipulative. Believe it or not, Anakin does not have a mental illness. He does heinous things, but it's not because he has a mental illness. He did all those horrible things out of feelings such as blind rage, desperation, and anger. And he's not a sociopath either, because he feels remorse for his actions and isn't apathetic to the suf

 

Borderline perhaps.

 

Thank you! I forgot. Anakin has a tendency to brood too, doesn't he?

 

Anakin has good and bad qualities just like everyone else.

I think the qualities that steered him wrong were his selfishness, his arrogance, his tendency to jump to conclusions, and assume that everyone was out to get him. He displayed appalling blindness when it came to Palpatine, whose primary function in EpII was to stroke his ego and feed his belief that he was already beyond anything any Jedi could teach him.

He was somewhat self-aware of those flaws, though. He knew, to an extent, that he was selfish, that he shouldn't have this pathological need for more power (which is completely understandable, given where and what he originally came from), but he was completely blind to the destructiveness of his feeling too deeply.

He listened to Palpatine when he should have listened to Obi-Wan. He allowed himself to believe that it was Palpatine and not Obi-Wan who wanted what was best for Anakin. If he had placed his faith in Obi-Wan (not the Jedi, not the Jedi Council, just Obi-Wan), I have a feeling he wouldn't have gone so tragically wrong.

 

I didn't say he had no flaws! I'm just saying he is not as *greviously* flawed as people say he is! I get it! He isn't a perfect dashing hero. But I'm also saying he isn't more flawed than anyone else. He's just *human.*

You're thinking like a Prequel Jedi; you say that he's selfish because he *dared* to have attachments. Well, I say he isn't. Anakin's problem wasn't that he was flawed than others, that he was selfish, or that he was a bad person. His *problem* was that he thought the ends justified the means!

And if having attachments is so selfish, than how can you say that Obi Wan letting go of his attachment to Anakin and leaving him to burn on Mutsafar is "selfless"?! Yeah. From your point of view, letting Anakin burn to death is perfectly fine because Obi Wan let Anakin go when he did that and is therefore *totally* sefless, right?

Well, he's not. Letting go of people isn't always a good thing, because it can cause you to not care about their well being at all. However, I'm not saying that being clingy like Anakin was good either. I'm saying that it's good to not be too attached like Anakin was, but I'm also reminding you that being too *detached* like the Prequel Jedi isn't good either.

I know Anakin's flawed, I know he's arrogant, moody, temperamental, etc. but he was not bloody selfish for daring to break the attachment rule. Like everyone else, he did selfish things at times, but he is *not* more flawed than everyone else just because he became a Sith Lord.

I'll say it again: Anakin is not more better than others, or more flawed than others. He is just like everybody else, because he isn't special. Anyone can mess up, and anyone can make the mistakes he did. I know it's scary to acknowledge your Dark Side by admitting that it's possible to make the mistakes Anakin did, but it's true.

Now, he joined the Dark Side because of his attachment to Padme, and not because he had a pathological need for power as you seem to think. And just because he joined the Dark Side because he was attached to Padme it does not make him a bad person! Nor does it mean that all attachments are bad. It just depends on the circumstances. In one circumstance, being attached can be bad, and in another, being attached can be good.

I swear to God---I'm just tired of everyone thinking the Jedi are perfect and that since Anakin wasn't like them he is potently flawed! Just because he isn't like them it doesn't make him a bad person, because indeed it is very possible for your typical Jedi to be a bad person! They had flaws, but I won't dare list them here.

You can say that the Jedi were all selfless and good because that's what the code said, but I think actions speak louder than words. And while Anakin did commit heinous crimes, he at least showed more compassion than those Prequel Jedi ever did. One fine example is him fixing one of Watto's things in the AOTC novelization. Remember, this is the same guy who krething kept his mother as a slave, and has probably beat both him and his mother at times. And before you say Anakin did it because he was "selfishly" attached to Watto, I'll let you know you are wrong because from what I've seen and read, Anakin didn't seem too attached to Watto.

I'm sorry for the rant. I just get angry when people claim that Anakin is "fatally" flawed when he is just like everyone else. People want to believe he did all that he did out of a lust for power, or that he was more selfish than them because they are afraid to relate to someone as 'evvvviiiiillll' as Anakin.

You believe I'm trying to pretend he doesn't have flaws, but I'm not. I'm just saying that he has plenty of virtues as well, and that he has actual reasons for those flaws. I'm also daring to suggest that some of those flaws are more born out of nurture rather than nature.

And then, you think Anakin should have put more faith in Obi Wan. Well, I don't think he had much reason too. While it's true that Obi Wan didn't expel Anakin for loving Padme, Anakin didn't know that. Try seeing things from Anakin's point of view. This was the same me

 

And I'm just as sick of all the Anakin fans blaming everyone else for his actions and atrocities.

Yes, the Jedi weren't perfect. They could have been a lot more understanding of Anakin's unique situation. I never said Anakin was fatally flawed. He *allowed* his flaws to become fatal. There's a big difference there.

Yes, Obi-Wan made mistakes. He was a born-and-bred Jedi who probably had no idea to handle such a unique prodigy as Anakin. But he LOVED Anakin and Anakin knew that! Obi-Wan may have been the definition of tough love in AotC, but look at the emo teenaged kid he was dealing with! And in Episode III, he was very complimentary of Anakin, was very apologetic of the bad place Anakin was placed in by PALPATINE and the JEDI COUNCIL, and even flat-out told him that he'd become a greater Jedi than Obi-Wan himself could ever hope to be.

Anakin had many great qualities, but he had no self-control. If he'd had greater mastery of himself (a HALLMARK of the Jedi way), he could have truly been the greatest Jedi of any generation, instead of just thinking himself so.

 

I know Anakin's mistakes are essentially his fault. I'm not trying to blame anyone else for his mistakes. And I know when I ranted about how Obi Wan left him to burn to death it sounded like I was bashing Obi Wan, but I wasn't. I was just angry at Obi Wan for doing that, but I don't think Obi Wan is really selfish. And I'm sorry for reacting the way I did to your post---I just let my anger take over me when you called Anakin selfish.

I know you weren't bashing Anakin, nor did you say he was fatally flawed either. You were really just criticizing Anakin, but there are so many boards that bash Anakin that I get hypersensitive when people merely criticize him. Also, I don't believe Anakin thought he was the greatest Jedi ever. I think he is more insecure than he is arrogant, and that the only thing he was really overconfident about is his powers. And even then, he needs constant approval because he doesn't truly believe in himself---not in a healthy way, at least.

Anyways, I don't like how you called Anakin a "emo kid." In AOTC, Anakin went way too far when he killed the Tusken Raiders, but that doesn't lower the pain he felt when he saw his tortured, beaten, and bloody mother die in his own arms. Honestly, him killing the Tuskens wasn't justified as I've said before, but his whining and crying after her death is perfectly justified.

I know you are going to most likely disagree with me, but I just think it's cruel to call Anakin a "emo kid" after what happened to his mother. Let's not forget that he had nightmares of her being tortured. Even if we did not see it on screen, that doesn't subvert the physical pain that Shmi endured from the Tusken Raiders, nor does it subvert the emotional pain that Anakin felt as he saw his mother get beaten to death in his visions.

I think that's partially why he reacted so furiously when she died---it was because the Tusken Raiders not only murdered her, but brutally tortured her as well. If the Tusken Raiders had just killed her without causing her too much pain, I think Anakin would have still gotten angry but not to the point of killing all of the Tusken Raiders.

Don't get me wrong, I know what you are trying to say. Anakin was annoying when he whined about Obi Wan holding him back, but I can understand why he's whining in the first place. But even then, I would agree that Anakin is being too angsty if his mother hadn't died or been tortured. However, since that *did* happen, I'm pretty offended that you think he is a "emo kid."

 

The Anakin we meet in TPM was best summed up to Qui-Gon by Shmi, his mother: "I may not like it, but he
can help you...he was meant to help you."

This is the Anakin we first meet. He is compassionate and helpful, a street smart slave boy with special talents. We see no troublesome traits (although in a cut scene, Anakin gets in a fight with Greedo, showing his more volatile side). We only witness a smart, force sensitive and very different and special young boy who loves his mother and wants to help strangers.

So what happens between TPM and AOTC, when Anakin demonstrates more wildly erratic behavior? Well, he experiences a maturing body, with all the problems that experience entails. As his training progresses, he intellectually develops as well. He is increasingly more aware of the innuendo surrounding his 'chosen one' status, as well as Jedi doubts and suspicions about him being that savior.

The 'chosen one' status proves an increasing burden on Anakin-the-Jedi. He has not fully comprehended what exactly being the chosen one means. Nor have the Jedi, at least on screen and to us, the audience.

Anakin is also becoming more interested in galactic politics, which brings him ever closer to both Padme and Palpatine, his 'ying and yang' if you will.

The Jedi council generally views Anakin with varying degrees of suspicion, and Anakin quite naturally returns the favor.

 

I think that's right on target. I agree that Anakin definitely was stressed out by the Chosen One status, even if there was not too much discussion of him being the Chosen One in the movies or books.

And while I'm highly aware that most will disagree with me, I don't think Anakin lost his altruism when he grew older. Sure, he had his faults, but he wasn't a horrible person. Even after he slaughtered those Tusken Raiders, I still thought he was a good person. After all, he wouldn't have become a war hero after that if he was a truly bad person after committing those heinous acts. And if you thinking that I'm trying to justify his actions, keep in mind that the fact I called them heinous means that I don't think they are justified. I am well aware that he what did was revenge rather than justice.

Anakin really is a person who likes helping people, and has a need to be needed which is partially why he stayed in the Jedi Order so long. And believe it or not, I think him wanting to become a Master was more out of thirst for appreciation rather than a lust for power. Because if he was a Master, he thought people would finally stop talking down on him and treat him like a equal. He was tired of being mistrusted, alienated, and disrespected. I don't think he enjoyed being the Chosen One, or being treated as if he was a freak of nature. I think he just wanted to be loved for who he was, which is partially why he loves Padme so much. She is one of the few people who loves him for who he is, warts and all.

 

I didn't see much to like about Anakin. I also have a hard time separating Anakin and Vader because I believe they are one and the same.

I'm not going to bother describing his personality/traits because I'm sure it would rile up his fans and I just don't feel like getting into it.

 

To be put very simply, Anakin had the greatest of virtues, but lacked common sense, thus turning those virtues into the failings of a monster. Really, one small dose of basic logic to temper his strength and passions, not even monastic discipline per se, would have done wonders for him.

 

I agree with all this. And the last part frustrates me to no end, the way Anakin asked "How high?" every time Palpatine told him to "Jump!"

But...serious question here, I don't have an answer...is gullibility the fault of the gullible person? If in RL someone is blowing sunshine up our ***es, is it our fault if we don't recognize it? I would argue on one hand that yes, we all have a responsibility to use critical thought, but on the other hand, if being fooled by someone like Palpatine is always the fault of the gullible person (or group of people--Anakin was not the only one that Palpatine took for a ride), where is the blame for the Palpatines of the world?

Anakin's arrogance--his belief that he was so wonderful and that he should be able to have more power, etc.--led him to the Dark Side. Not his attachments, to Padme or anyone else. Attachment and emotion are not wrong, but how they are handled can be. Obviously Anakin handled his wrong.

And don't even get me started on the Chosen One prophecy, I wish Lucas had left that out completely and had Anakin simply a very gifted Jedi. He might have still become arrogant, but he would not have had that hanging over his head.

 

I'm in solid agreement that Palpatine is the hand that loaded, cocked and pulled the trigger - but the weapon was still Anakin.

The problem with many of these characters is that their very defining traits can go (or be twisted) out of balance.

Detachment - the Jedi a little too detached, Anakin a little too attached.

And etc.

The thing in these kinds of threads, oftentimes if one wants to come in with a reasonably balanced portrayal of someone, someone comes in & calls it gushing or bashing (not addressed to any poster in particular, and I've been known to blow off some steam myself, fairly recently, too).

Anakin did have some very wonderful qualities - but not the maturity that would have tempered them. Unfortunately, I did and do not think the script/acting/and or directing showed me what I was supposed to see - a good man who chose the wrong path out of love and let it overwhelm him.

Make no mistake, unwitting or not, gullible or not, twisted or left uncounseled or not, Anakin chose the Padme outweighs everything/anyone else choice. He wasn't balanced in his heart, soul and mind, nor did he (apparently) bother to seek guidance from the Force.

He was dangled with a choice between having his cake (Padme, marriage) and the stick (duty) and never tried to find a 3rd approach. As the Chosen One, he might have blazed a new path that combined the best of self vs others.

 

I think the Force was pretty clear. Yoda told him to let go, and the Force gave him no choice. If Anakin had let go of his fear, Palpatine would have been defeated and Padme would not have passed away, most likely. Alas, the Force also forms our hero's destiny, and it was not Anakin's fate to learn to let go until it was too late.

 

Anakin is not perfect, and he is definitely not without his flaws. I'm not trying to deny that. But as strange as it may seem, I actually find him lovable and can relate to his personality flaws. Anyways, I was just saying that Anakin's arrogance is born out of nurture rather than nature. Think about it. If Anakin had just stayed a slave, he wouldn't become arrogant because he wouldn't have anything to be arrogant about, and there would be no Palpatine to whisper poison in his ear. He wouldn't be whiny either because there would be no Obi Wan, no Jedi, and thus nothing to whine about. Anakin still would have most of his faults, but I feel like his virtues would be able to be nurtured more. Also, I think one of the reasons why people dislike Anakin so much is because his character arc is negative. Unlike Luke, he does not get better in each movie. He gets worse. By the way, I'd like people to keep in mind that I am not saying Anakin is perfect or anything. I'm saying that his arrogance was something born out of nurture rather than nature, and that even though he has flaws, he has virtues too. And even then, I can forgive and understand his flaws because I share some of them to a degree.

Nor am I saying it's not Anakin's fault he turned. I simply believe that Anakin was not destined to turn to the Dark Side. He fell to the Dark Side not because he was a bad person, but because he was a falliable and flawed human being who was manipulated for thirteen years into believing that Palpatine actually cared about him, he was the most talented Jedi ever, the Jedi were holding him back because of this, Qui Gon had rescued him from slavery because Qui Gon thought he was more powerful than Obi Wan, Obi Wan was jealous of him because Qui Gon seemingly favored him, and that the Jedi were evil and trying to take over the galaxy. Also, it wouldn't be surprising if part of the reason why it was so easy for Anakin to believe the Jedi were evil is because they didn't free his mother slavery. And the reason why he believed they had personally betrayed him is because they were both acting against the Jedi Code by trying to execute what seemed to be a poor, helpless man and trying to kill his only means to save Padme from dying.

Now, this may baffle some but I do not think attachment always leads to the Dark Side because I think there are other ways to fall to the Dark Side. Although that is the reason why Anakin did, he may have fallen for another reason. After all, Dooku didn't have any attachment issues and still fell to the Dark Side. It depends on the circumstances, really. In one circumstance, attachment will lead to the Dark Side, and in another it will not and vice versa. For example, Anakin's attachment to his son saved him from the Dark Side. Some may think he wasn't attached to Luke, but I think he was. If he truly wasn't attached to Luke, he wouldn't have hunted for him like he did.

P.S: In case there is any misunderstanding, Anakin did not committ genocide when he killed the Tusken Raiders. He killed a villiage of Tusken Raiders, not the whole race of Tusken raiders. If that were true, there would be no Tusken Raiders in A New Hope. I am in *no way* excusing what he did. I am just stating a fact so that people do not get confused about that. Anakin didn't kill Mace Windu, either. He chopped off his arm. Nor did he destroy Alderaan. Tarkin did that.