"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." -Ben Kenobi
Characters and Plot:
(Major Spoilers)
Luke Skywalker is a farm boy living with his aunt Beru and uncle Oweb on the distant planet of Tattoine. Luke finds life on the moisture farm to be dull and unfulfilling, and while his friends are all leaving the planet to live lives of adventure, Luke is still stuck in the sand.
Days after witnessing what appeared to be a starship battle, Luke goes with his uncle Owen to purchase a few 'droids for helping around the farm. The 'droids Luke and his uncle purchase are later found out to have been in the starship battle, and to belong to the heir to the throne of Alderaan, Princess Leia Organa, who was captured during the conflict. These droids, C3P0 and R2D2, were sent to the surface of Tattoine with data of a secret Empire weapon, and message to be delivered to an old war general, Obi-Wan Kenobi. After finding Obi-Wan and delivering the message, the group of four must head to Alderaan to meet with Leia's father. In order to leave the planet, Luke, Obi-Wan, and the 'droids must comission a transport ship. Upon arriving to the spaceport, the group finds that stormtroopers —foot soldiers for the corrupt empire — are searching for 'droids which escaped from the battle.
To escape Tattoine Obi-Wan hires a smuggler named Han solo, and his
co-pilot, a Wookiee named Chewbacca. The group successfully escapes Tattoine in Han's ship, the Millennium Falcon. However, before they make it to Alderaan, the planet is completely destroyed by the Empire's secret weapon, which, at this point, is revealed to be a super-massive, weaponized space station known as the Death Star. Learning of Leia's imprisonment aboard the vessel, Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan set out to rescue her. After successfully infiltrating the Death Star the group dons stormtrooper armor and heads across the station toward the prison block. While Luke and Han attempt to rescue Leia, Obi-Wan moves toward a central control center. His task is to deactivate the space station's tractor beam, which would prevent the group's spaceship from leaving. Just as Obi-Wan accomplishes his goal, Luke and Han botch the rescue attempt and station alarms are triggered. On the group's retreat back to their ship they lose a member to the blade of the sinister Darth Vader. They do escape, but now luke has chosen sides in an intergalactic conflict between the Empire and the Rebels. Luke is happy for the excitement, but unsure of what is to come.
After formally joining the Rebel Alliance, Luke is deployed on a mission to destroy the Death Star. Many honorable women and men were lost in the conflict but ultimately the Rebels one, with Luke Skywalker delivering the final blow.
Days after witnessing what appeared to be a starship battle, Luke goes with his uncle Owen to purchase a few 'droids for helping around the farm. The 'droids Luke and his uncle purchase are later found out to have been in the starship battle, and to belong to the heir to the throne of Alderaan, Princess Leia Organa, who was captured during the conflict. These droids, C3P0 and R2D2, were sent to the surface of Tattoine with data of a secret Empire weapon, and message to be delivered to an old war general, Obi-Wan Kenobi. After finding Obi-Wan and delivering the message, the group of four must head to Alderaan to meet with Leia's father. In order to leave the planet, Luke, Obi-Wan, and the 'droids must comission a transport ship. Upon arriving to the spaceport, the group finds that stormtroopers —foot soldiers for the corrupt empire — are searching for 'droids which escaped from the battle.
To escape Tattoine Obi-Wan hires a smuggler named Han solo, and his
co-pilot, a Wookiee named Chewbacca. The group successfully escapes Tattoine in Han's ship, the Millennium Falcon. However, before they make it to Alderaan, the planet is completely destroyed by the Empire's secret weapon, which, at this point, is revealed to be a super-massive, weaponized space station known as the Death Star. Learning of Leia's imprisonment aboard the vessel, Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan set out to rescue her. After successfully infiltrating the Death Star the group dons stormtrooper armor and heads across the station toward the prison block. While Luke and Han attempt to rescue Leia, Obi-Wan moves toward a central control center. His task is to deactivate the space station's tractor beam, which would prevent the group's spaceship from leaving. Just as Obi-Wan accomplishes his goal, Luke and Han botch the rescue attempt and station alarms are triggered. On the group's retreat back to their ship they lose a member to the blade of the sinister Darth Vader. They do escape, but now luke has chosen sides in an intergalactic conflict between the Empire and the Rebels. Luke is happy for the excitement, but unsure of what is to come.
After formally joining the Rebel Alliance, Luke is deployed on a mission to destroy the Death Star. Many honorable women and men were lost in the conflict but ultimately the Rebels one, with Luke Skywalker delivering the final blow.
Themes and Symbols:
Throughout A New Hope, and the rest of the trilogy, color plays an extremely important role in the story. Lucas takes the classic portrayal of black and white in the chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang, and builds upon it, with many other colors of costume directly relating to who the character is and how the character evolves.
Black and White, one of the most noticeable contrasts exists between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Another contrast could be the coloring of Han Solo's outfit — A black vest over a white shirt. True neutral. This directly correlates with Solo's character, who is a hired smuggler, and who picks the side with the most benefit for him.
The Jedi robes worn by Obi-Wan and Yoda also have color significance. Their robes are brown and much like the type of robes a monk might wear, and successfully depict Obi-Wan and Yoda as such. source ',:)
Black and White, one of the most noticeable contrasts exists between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Another contrast could be the coloring of Han Solo's outfit — A black vest over a white shirt. True neutral. This directly correlates with Solo's character, who is a hired smuggler, and who picks the side with the most benefit for him.
The Jedi robes worn by Obi-Wan and Yoda also have color significance. Their robes are brown and much like the type of robes a monk might wear, and successfully depict Obi-Wan and Yoda as such. source ',:)