Comparing The Odyssey And Star Wars: A New Hope

In the movie Star Wars: A New Hope, directed by George Lucas and in the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer, the heroes are able to do more than the average man. These attributes allow the story to be more interesting. Luke Skywalker from Star Wars: A New Hope and Odysseus from The Odyssey both share the common archetype that the hero accomplishes more than the ordinary man does; this shared archetype allows the hero to resolve the story's problem.

Luke Skywalker from Star Wars: A New Hope is able to complete a task seemingly impossible by man. Although, at the beginning of the movie he seems very ordinary, he always had the want to be a jedi, like his father. When Luke found out he was not able to go to the fighter pilot school, his aunt said, “Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him.” This shows that Luke aspires to be a fighter like his father. You can infer that this is one of the reasons he agreed to fight The Empire. The task achieved by Luke is accurately shooting a proton torpedo into a small port of the “Death Star”, an enemy space station. This port leads to the reactor, and when shot, causes the station to explode. This mission was attempted by several other

fighter pilots that failed. The achievement of this task lets the reader know there is something extraordinary about Luke Skywalker. As he was trying to take down Skywalker's ship, Darth Vader said “ The Force is strong with this one!” This can show that Luke has something different about him. Obi-Wan-Kenobi , a master jedi, helped Luke Skywalker by telling him, “Use the force, Luke.” The Force allows Luke to make an accurate shot. By Luke Skywalker having the Force it can prove to the audience that the Force is real when other characters are sceptical.
Similarly, Odysseus from The Odyssey completed a twenty year journey, facing witches and monsters. Once he is home he is able to defeat more than 100 suitors that are trying to take his wife and throne. Odysseus defeated cyclops, Skylla, Charybdis, Sirens, Kirke, Kalypso, and many suitors. He is very good at persuasion and also had the help of Athena, a greek goddess. Talking about Odysseus’ appearance, Athena said,
“But come now, let me make you so that no mortal can recognize you. For I will wither the handsome flesh that is on your flexible limbs, and ruin the brown hair on your head, and about you put on such a clout of cloth any man will loathe when he sees you wearing it; I will dim those eyes, that have been so handsome, so you will be unprepossessing to all the suitors and your wife and child, those whom you left behind in your palace.” (Homer 13.396-403)
Odysseus was Athena’s favorite mortal and she does a lot for Odysseus, throughout the whole novel.

Freeing Odysseus from Kalypso, controlling the wind so he could float in the correct direction to shore, and arranging a meeting between Nausikaa and Odysseus are just a examples of how Athena helped Odysseus in the book. Zeus, god of gods, also spoke highly of Odysseus by saying, “Could I forget the kingly man Odysseus? There is no mortal half so wise; no mortal gave so much to the lords of the open sky.”(Homer 1. 84-86) Odysseus’ ability to do more than most men shows the reader that he is the hero of the story. This archetype allows the reader to understand the importance Odysseus has in the story. It also allows the reader to know why he is loved and known by so

many.
In comparison, Luke Skywalker and Odysseus both play the hero of their story. With the ability to achieve more than the average man, they are able to save a community and a damsel in distress. Odysseus saves his wife, Penelope, and Ithaca. Luke saves Princess Leia and the Rebels. By doing these acts there heroic characteristics are more easily seen. They are also seen as more superior than the other characters because of what they achieve. Both of these heroes had help from wise people. If they didn't have this help, they might not have been able to complete their tasks. This would also make the storyline less interesting. It would have been less interesting because the hero would be making less smart decisions, unless the author changed the whole character.
Luke Skywalker from Star Wars: A New Hope and Odysseus from The Odyssey are both heroes in their story and have the capability of doing more than the average man. With the help of another character, they are able to save a community and a damsel in distress. Without these characters there would be no story. They played a pivotal role in defeating the antagonist, so without them the opposing side would have won. Luke Skywalker and Odysseus performed actions that only they alone were capable of performing, in their respective story.