Unlike Anakin, however, Beckett sees the self-seeking heresy in this. In despair and defiance he cries out, "The last temptation is the greatest treason; to do the right deed for the wrong reason."
Beckett's sacrifice does, in fact, become holy and blessed. But only because he chooses to stand his ground for the sake of his conscience alone....without any thought or desire of personal gain. He willingly lays down his life for what is right and good.
Anakin, however, willingly lays down the life of others for what appears to be right and good but is, instead, a temptation to "do the right deed for the wrong reason."
Some months ago, Jolly Blogger asked an interesting question: "What is Satan's favorite sin?" My answer, which can be found here, reads as follows:
I should think that Satan's favorite sin is the one he actually practices....the one that has allowed him to rebel against God....the one that led to his fall I would characterize this sin as "self-righteousness" which is very similar to "pride."
I think the Bible actually backs me up on this where we read (Proverbs 16:18),
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
I get the feeling that Satan knows that all the other sins are sins. On the other hand, I believe that for Satan, as for ourselves, the favorite sin is the one we do not believe to be one.
This is also, I believe, a good description of Anakin's favorite sin.
In the midst of his epic, climactic light saber duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, he is challenged by the charge of having turned away from the light and, instead, chosen evil.
Anakin, now called Darth Vader, replies, "From my point of view, all Jedi are evil!"
The Dark Side is the place where what once was known as good and evil has been twisted into its opposite. In his darkest moments, Vader is not morally aware of being evil at all. Those who oppose him are the true threat...the true evil in the galaxy.
Article comments
1 - Aaman
"Is that a light saber, or are you just glad to see me?"
2 - Mark Sahm
I know you're trying to make a parallel, but stop milking Star Wars as a vehicle for your religious opinions.
I mean, you don't even spell the main character's name right--- it's Anakin, not Aniken! Do your research next time.
3 - Duane
Lucas also offers us the assurance that "good" is ultimately stronger than "evil" and will win in the end.
Nothing like taking a trite little notion and trivializing it even further by interpreting it in the context of a fluff piece of science fiction. Are you sure you're not working for the Dark Side?
4 - Dimitry
What you don't understand is that Anakin's turn to the dark side was a direct result of mistrust BY the Jedi of Anakin. It was not Anakin's fear that Yoda sensed in episode 1, but the Jedis' fears of Anakin, "the one" they were looking for to balance the force (of others), etc. It is the Jedi (and Yoda's bad advice about how Anakin should deal with his nightmares, in particular) who turned Anakin to the dark side.
5 - Bird of Paradise
Memo to Mark Sahm: Thanks for the spelling correction. My error. I will correct it immeditely. I have never been very good at names. As for your reference to "milking," I have discovered that trying to find something of coherent moral or philosophical substance in Revenge of the Sith has been more like hacking through concrete. "Milking" is far too easy a metaphor for this effort. Still, simple things are useful as illustrations for more complex things. I would have it backwards should I try to use the Christian faith as an illustration to illuminate the theology of Star Wars!
6 - Reader
Great article, thank you very much!
7 - sych
In the end good and evil are concepts of the mortal human mind and are fabrications of the consensus reality of the physical world. good evil
do not exist in the spiritual plane and are barley recognized by higher beings. And whether light or dark all paths lead to enlightenment