To me Luke Skywalker will always be the young man who rushed to the aid of a girl he’d never even met—whose selfless courage and desire to help defined both the beginning of his journey, and its end.
To me Luke Skywalker will always be the character who was disbelieving and angry to learn that the apparent mercenary he’d met was choosing money and self-preservation over the rebellion—the PEOPLE—who needed him. He’ll always be the character to whom it was unthinkable and inexcusable to abandon those in danger, to refuse to fight for what’s right. He’ll always be, “They could use a good pilot like you. You’re turning your back on them.”
In my eyes Luke Skywalker will always be the man risking his life for the cause—for the galaxy—so that others might one day live in freedom and peace. He will always be the pilot, the rebel, the soldier who would not let tyranny stand unopposed.
And to me Luke Skywalker will always be—indisputably—the character who would never forsake his loved ones. Who would never give them up, and never give up on them. He’ll always be the character whose loyalty—to his friends, to his family—was unfaltering. He will always be, “I’ve got to go to them.” Will always be, “They’re my friends. I’ve got to help them.” Always, “And sacrifice Han and Leia?” Always, “That is why I have to go.”
Luke Skywalker will always be faith. He’ll always be hope. Irrevocably and without question, Luke is the very embodiment of it. To me, Luke Skywalker will always be the character who says, “I can’t kill my own father.” The character whose belief in the Light and the Force and in humanity is so true and so strong that he saves the galaxy—so powerful that he saves his father’s soul.
Luke Skywalker is “Never! I’ll never turn to the dark side.” He is, at his heart and in my heart, the man who sees so clearly, who understands so completely, that he casts aside his lightsaber rather than fight to save his own life—not because he’s given up or because he’s weak or a coward, but because of his faith—because Luke Skywalker will die sooner than give into hatred. He will lay down his weapon sooner than turn to darkness.
To me, Luke Skywalker will always be this truth, this goodness. He will always be the hero that realized the TRUE meaning of the Force, who understood what, for all their wisdom and good intentions, his masters did not: that it is love, not detachment, that saves. It is the strength of love, the belief in love, the power of love that saves us. Luke Skywalker will always be this, for me. He will always be this love, this faith where faith seems impossible, and this enduring hope where it seems that all hope has been lost.
And most importantly of all, to me Luke Skywalker will always be not only the character who loved, who hoped, who had faith, but the character whose story tells us—implores us, promises us—that this love is not in vain. That such faith is not foolish. That GOODNESS like that—because to me, Luke Skywalker is and will always be goodness—is not weakness, but strength that overcomes all else. Luke Skywalker is the Light Side. He is the long-awaited hope. He is the hero we all need to believe can exist—the hero that reality—that war and violence and maliciousness—so cruelly tries to tell us could never be.
That is Luke Skywalker. He is this beacon. Luke is the hope that prevails. The faith that is rewarded. The journey that tells us that love can and will overcome evil even against the most impossible odds. Luke Skywalker is the story that begs us not to give up, that leads us to take a stand against oppression, and hatred, and hopeless darkness—the character who tells us to believe as we all, as human beings, so desperately want to.
To me, no matter what, Luke Skywalker will always be,
“I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
