Carr, 1

Shelbie Carr
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
29 March 2015

Parental Priorities
As we get older we begin to realize the effects our parents have on us. The reason we like
a certain food or music could be traced back to our parents individual like. Our preference in
politics or moral reasoning are other parts of our character that we could trace back to our
parents, which really emphasized their effect on our development. Although we are able to
develop our own opinions, the first few years of our lives we are completely surround with our
parents likes and shielded from their dislikes. Without this crucial influence, some people may be
faced with different conflicts as they age.
We are able to see some of these conflicts in Sophocless Antigone and in the first
episodes of Star Wars. Both Antigone and Luke Skywalker are forced to face different struggles
because of their complex relationships with their fathers.
Just like everyone else Antigone and Luke were subjected to the effects a parent can have
on their child or lack of.
Antigone was born into a complex family to start off with her father marrying his mother
and her mother actually being her grandmother. This jumbled up family tree ended with her
fathers exile and death as well as her mothers death, which is seen to have a large impact on
her. Throughout Sophocless play we are constantly reminded of the many griefs [her] father
Oedipus handed down (Sophocles,2) which shows the obvious impact that her fathers choices
made on her especially since the major events her mothers death and her fathers exile and

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death happened during her crucial younger years. Her public image was also tainted because
of her father which caused some serious psychological issues, but Antigones not alone because
Luke face different issues as well.
Unlike Antigone, Luke faced his crucial years without his father, where he was unaware
of his true identity and automatically consigned to a life of drudgery and exile (Gordon, 2). It
has even been said that the absence of a father figure in a males life can result in multiple moral
conflicts. Since males tend to look to their fathers as role models and form their moral standings
close to theirs, unfortunately Luke was forced to develop his morals without any guidelines. This
played a big part in his decision between good and evil. Throughout the movie, we see that he
holds his ground in different situations always sticking toward the good side, but it isnt until he
is with his father Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine that Luke sways between good and
evil. This could easily be tied to the psychological issues that developed due to his lack of a
father figure.
Whether there was a father figure or not, both Antigone and Luke seemed to have faced
psychological problems because of it. It seemed to be that both of them leaned toward the hero
role possibly to over compensate for the lack of a ideal hero in their own lives. Antigone was a
very stubborn and courageous character as she broke the law in order to bury her brother, but
toward the end her yearning for death made her heroic actions seem false. For Luke, we are
forced into believing that he is this completely honest, good guy, but when presented with the
conflict of his father we tend to question where he stands on the spectrum of good and evil. It
seems to be that both characters want to be the saviour of [their] people (Eliade,3) and live up
to a greater name, but from the series of events that they face many could argue that their lack of

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father figures during their crucial time of development morphed their views of what it means to
be a hero.
The importance of a good father figure in a persons life is extremely important to the
development of their psychological well being. Both Antigone and Luke are prime examples of
the outcome of the effect of a father figure. Antigone resorted to over compensating for her
fathers actions and Luke wavered in the confidence needed to stand strong in his morals because
of the lack of reassurance for a father figure. So from princess to Jedi, we all need our parents in
our lives in order to be the successful, strong individuals that we strive to be.

Works Cited
Eliade, Mircea. The Structure of Myths. Myth and Reality. New York: Harper & Row, 1963.
Web. 15 May 2014. <http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~mjoseph/eliade.htm>
Gordon, Andrew. "Star Wars: A Myth for Our Time." Star Wars: A Myth for Our Time. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://users.clas.ufl.edu/agordon/starwars.htm>.
Sophocles, Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Three Theban Plays. Harmondsworth,
Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1984. Print.