"I'm not the Jedi I should be": Destiny, dilemma or fallen hero?

This is a great topic that was posted by Master Shaitan at TFN. Given the lack of decent subject matter around here lately Im going to drag it over here.

The separateness apparent in the world is secondary, beyond that world of opposites is an unseen, but experienced, unity and identity in us all." - Joseph Campbell, A Hero with a thousand faces

In my opinion, Anakin recognises that his role transcends both Jedi and Sith and makes this notion a reality. He brings balance and a complete metaphysical shift to the Force itself. He does this by going beyond the dualities of the Force, and in effect shatters them. All the cosmic tumblers clicked into place, and the light and the dark, at least for that moment, were no more. The Sith are dead. The force is no longer manipulated by the darkness.

My question is, did he on some level, always know that this would be his calling?

In ROTS, this exchange takes place between Anakin Skywalker and Palpatine:

PALPATINE: The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power.

ANAKIN: The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves.

PALPATINE: And the Jedi don't?

ANAKIN: The Jedi are selfless . . . they only care about others.

Here, Anakin refers to both sides as 'The Sith and 'The Jedi', not including his own position in the discussion. He distances himself from the mindsets of each side. For instance, shouldn't he really be saying:

"The Sith rely on their passions...We (or I) are selfless, we only care about others".

Does this reflect two things; that Anakin knows he is different to the Jedi; that he has an understanding that his destiny lies outside of the Jedi Order?

We know that he is doubting his role as a Jedi - "I'm not the Jedi I should be".

Is this a foresight into Anakin's true destiny - that he must go beyond the realms of being a Jedi to bring balance? Thus, when he makes the choice in ROTJ to save Luke, is this more than instinct to save his son? Does he finally discover his role in the "complex cosmic construction"?

If this destined calling always existed for Anakin, does it explain his distance with the Jedi Council and them with him? Does it explain why his fate was always clouded? Does it suggest that he could never be a Jedi Master?

So was Anakin destined to rise above Jedi and Sith, were his feelings a mere personal dilemma that he had to deal with or was he just a fallen hero who could have achieved so much as a Jedi but became too greedy?

Thoughts?

discuss....I need to think about my answer for awhile

Ive been thinking on similiar lines, anniken is "something else" comes to mind from some other film.

He didn´t have the harmony, patience and whatever else to be a Jedi and not the pure evil heart to become a Sith. He would have proabaly mastered both directions and become a true master of the force

Maybe a little far fetched.. But it could be..

It's a sad day when you have to steal thread ideas from TFN. 😘

No, it's over-analysis.

Anakin did not ever have to go beyond being a Jedi to bring back balance- and many think the title 'Return of the Jedi' refers to Anakin personally.

Anakin starting to distance himself from being as Jedi isn't evidence of any form of understanding, merely that he is losing his morals as his selfishness grows; Palpatine knows exactly how to play on this.

Originally posted by Ken Kenobi
It's a sad day when you have to steal thread ideas from TFN. 😘

Your absolutely right! Lets get back to these worthwhile and important questions:

Who thinks Mace Windu died?
Why is Palps so weird?
Should Mace have had hair? and the ever important
Should Yoda drink soda?

Originally posted by Jedi Priestess
Your absolutely right! Lets get back to these worthwhile and important questions:

😱

I'm not saying that...I'm just saying TFN sucks, and when their threads are better than ours, it's a sad day.

Indeed. 🙁

The only real thread worth going to is the BAR, and that's off-topic. 😛

I stop by now and again to see how much farther this forum has gone down the toilet.. and I am never not surprised at the answer....

I should ask to be a mod again, for 2 days...just to close threads. 😛

Would there be anything left though. Not much around here worthy of discussion.😖

Originally posted by Ken Kenobi
I should ask to be a mod again, for 2 days...just to close threads. 😛

You should Ken... at least you are here frequently... and hell, even if you were mod for 2 hrs you could clean this place up... 😉

I believe Anakin was not acting upon motives of Jedi or Sith. It is clear that everything he did was only for his wife and child. Unfortunately, he fell down a dark path to accomplish his goals, which he soon lost sight of. If any of you have ever read John Steinbeck's The Pearl, it's story line is nearly a perfect juxtaposition to the story in RotS. A poor man finds a pearl, which he wants to sell to make life better for his family (a wife and a single male baby) greed corrupts him and (I don't want to give away any endings) his original good intentions are never realized. Very similar to Anakin's story IMO.

I think it has to do with the fact he was trained but was already old to be trained. In a way he has been "spoiled" because he has learned to loves others so when he states the differences between sith and jedi hes making the statement because he is niether and therefore must decide which is the best path for him.

El Nino is right. In the Episode II or III commentary, Lucas does explains that Anakin had to many personal attachments in his life. First his mother, and then Padme. If the Jedi had found him as a baby they would have taught him to let go of his personal feelings. Anakin's was his downfall. However, his personal feelings did bring him back from the dark side. He was an unique Jedi.

No I think that Jedi Priestess has raised a very good point. Unfortunately people fall into old habits, over simplify and believe that only one answer exists - the simplest one - when the script is multi-layered.

I don't believe that Jedi Priestess is over analysising this at all. Far from it, she's found a new depth which must be explored.

Ultimately I believe QG was right finding Anakin was the will of the Force. No matter what he would have come to know the ways of the Force but the fact that it would have been at such a late stage meant that Anakin would never have been a normal Jedi or Sith for that matter. It was as if the force had other ideas for him, a greater purpose perhaps.

I didn't say JP was onver-analysing it, I said the original source was.

And Star Wars IS simple, I am afraid. And there is no reason at all Anakin should not have been a normal Jedi, if his teaching had been done right.

It was his fate though... starting his training so late in life. That is, without an evil daddy to serve as an example why NOT to turn to the Dark Side.

That's one of the limiting factors in Star Wars movies (the films in particular) they is nothing to interpret in your own way! Everythings simple linear =(