White Lies: Owen and Obi-Wan mislead Luke

Owen tells Luke that Obi-Wan 'died about the same time as your father'... Obi-Wan admits he's Obi-Wan, but says that Luke's father was killed by Darth Vader. Both similar white lies towards Luke, which are correct 'from a certain point of view'. As far as Owen's concerned, the persona of 'Obi-Wan' died around the same time he came to Tatooine and became Ben. Also, I don't know whether Owen acually knows his stepbrother is in fact still alive (and so, 'died around the same time' = 'neither are actually dead'...). It's inconclusive, but his 'that's what I'm afraid of' in regard to Luke's being like his father seems a little more serious than Luke being like a Jedi...

Of course when it comes to Obi-Wan, he considers Anakin dead, killed by the rise of the Vader persona, and irretrievable.

Any other thoughts on the connection? Do you think Obi-Wan and Owen ever discussed what they would tell Luke about Anakin and Obi-Wan?

 

I'm sure they talked.....from what i've imagined since i was a kid, but i'm sure it didn't go well. I had always hoped we'd see a more indepth history with Obi Wan, Anakin, and Owen.

Personally, I needed more than just the "i guess i'm your step-brother" scene.

 

That discussion was probably the root of the ill feelings Owen had towards Obi-Wan. While Owen wanted to say that Anakin had been navigator, Obi-Wan probably expressed his wish to tell Luke that his father had been a legendary Jedi Knight. Owen in turn told Obi-Wan to piss off

 

Regardless of what you may have heard, Truth is not always beauty, and beauty is not always truth. In fact, the truth can sometimes be harsh and disturbing. This joke may have gotten old, but which would you rather hear:

"I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did."

OR ...

"This is your father's lightsaber. I took it from him after lopping off his left arm and both of his legs, then left him to die on the banks of a lava river. But I had no other choice, since he destroyed the Jedi Order and strangled your mother."

And this is something I've posted in a previous thread ...

What is interesting about the concept of Truth in the Star Wars saga is in its layers, in its "certain points ov view." If you observe the dialogue in the movies closely, the Jedi are doing a lot of lying, whereas the Sith are actually very honest.

Immediate examples are Obi-Wan and Vader.

Luke first learns about his father from Obi-Wan, who describes Anakin Skywalker as a Jedi Knight and a war hero who was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader. Now, in a very literal sense, Old Ben is obviously lying. Vader couldn't have possibly killed Anakin Skywalker, because Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are the same person. But as Obi-Wan put it "Luke, you're going to find that the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." Hence, Obi-Wan presents the information to Luke in a way that he can accept it. He may simply be lying to shield Luke from harm, but in lying he bestows a layer of truth far greater than facts would allow.

Would it have been better if Luke had learned the truth from the beginning? Consider how he took the information when Vader revealed it to him. It was delivered at the worst possible moment, and it was emotionally devastating, not only to learn that his father was Darth Vader all along, but that his mentor had lied to him. Vader reveals the truth in this situation not to enlighten, but to purposefully devastate emotionally and cast doubt.

Now on the side of the Jedi, Luke is told Vader is an irredeemably evil machine-monster and that he must confront/kill Vader in order to become a Jedi Knight and bring freedom to the galaxy. On the side of the Sith, he has his father that he never knew is pushing him to take another, darker path.

The beautiful thing about Luke in this case is that he follows his own truth. The truth of his own heart. There is still good in his father. Luke clings to this truth not out of reason or observation, but on faith. And love.

 

What I get from the line 'He died around the same time as your father' is that :

Anakin, was considered dead. Darth Vader had been born and 'skywalker was no more'.
Obi wan was sent to kill or turn Vader back, he failed in both but presumed he was dead. He went into hiding from the Empire on Tatooine to watch over Luke until he was old enough to destroy him and when he presented Luke to Owen most likely told him Anakin was dead. As Obi Wan went into hiding he became Ben Kenobi, he was no longer a brash bold Jedi master, but a lonely hermit in the desert. He would no longer fight in wars, go on missions for the Republic/ Rebellion, and probably deep down a piece of him died when Anakin 'died'. He would no longer be considered Obi Wan Kenobi up until when he became the Jedi master again, training a new apprentice [Luke, obv]and going on missions to stop evil. Besides, he told him Obi Wan was dead because he could already see Luke 'getting involved' and becomming like his father and end up being chopped, fried and served.

Now, Obi Wan meant that Anakin, the man who was Lukes father was dead. Technically he was not, and litterally he was not as we see in ROTJ. But Obi Wan could no longer feel the good within Vader and therefore Anakin was truly gone. Someone in the position as Vader should no longer feel feelings for his son or even care about his well being, we see that in ESB when Vader obviously just wants Luke to help him destroy the Emporer, he doesn't care that he might get zapped or chopped up.It's only when he see's Luke's compassion towards him, like a true jedi, Anakin wakes up from his long comma.Obi Wan could never see that in a hundred years.