Persuasive Essay

I wrote this a few years ago in college.

Clayton Ray Randell
English 102A
Brenda Wilbee
Persuasive Essay; 1808 words
March 3, 2004

Yin Yang

I am standing on a sidewalk in a place I have never been before. Bizarre people of different colors and shapes are all around me, a bewildered four year old. The building across the street is as big as the whole block. Gazing upwards I see that it is taller than any building I have seen before. Windows upon windows, up and up, I am searching for the top. Clear into the blue sky with white clouds streaming by is the distant summit. Craning my neck up to see I am transfixed by the clouds. The weightlessness of the clouds takes my body and I feel my self floating. Suddenly a strong hand cradles me and the clouds are replaced by my fathers face. He is laughing sweetly and tells me that I was about to fall backwards onto the ground. The magic of that moment has stayed with me for all these years. Now that I am a father that moment is even more special. To see that look in a child’s eye, when their imagination takes them away with the clouds. Stories will do that, especially the one that found me on that day. On a street in Seattle waiting to go into the theatre with my dad, I was embarking on a journey of discovery. A journey to “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away…” (Star Wars-Episode 4).

There is a tale I once knew about a boy who goes on an adventure. He meets a wizard. He saves a princess, and he fights the dark knight. This tale illustrates the good and evil within us all. Any good story does. It is a necessary task of stories to delve into the hearts of the listeners. Beneath the light, deep in the roots of all people, dwells the dark.

If any story from my lifetime captures the duality of our universe or the gentle and brutal side of man it is Star Wars. The tale begins with a beautiful young princess trying to escape the clutches of a fierce army of soldiers. The princess and her entourage are surrounded, but not before she gives one of her servants a message to deliver. The servant escapes just as the dark knight appears. The armor of the knight is as black as death and his anger brings death itself to those in his way. The princess is brought before him. Clad in white her delicate frame is counter to the towering shadowy figure. She defiantly says, “Lord Vader, I should have known. Only you could be so bold.” Unperturbed by the young girls outburst he demands to know where the plans for the Emperors new weapon are. The girl denies any knowledge and is taken away.

The servant who escaped is accompanied by another servant. The do not get along and when they cannot agree about where to go they split up. Both are captured by slave traders known as Jawas and are reunited after being purchased by a local farmer. The farmer’s orphan nephew is brash and impatient. After growing up out in the country he yearns to go and fight with the rebels who oppose the Emperor. As he prepares these new servants for duty he tells them about his dreams of adventure. Soon he discovers part of the message from the beautiful girl. The servants tell him that they are looking for a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi. The boy knows a wizard he calls old Ben Kenobi and tells the servants that he lives past the dunes.
In the morning the boy finds the servant missing and attempts to find him, with the other servants help, before his uncle finds out that he removed their bindings the night before. While the boy and his companion are searching in the wastelands bandits ambush them. A figure looms over the horizon as these bandits are scavenging the unconscious boys belongings and frightens them away. As the figure approaches we see that he is an old man in a cloak. He takes the servants and the boy back to his home.

When the boy comes around the old man tells him who he is. He was a knight of the Republic before the time of the Emperor. The boy is startled to find out that Obi-Wan new his father. Obi-Wan gives Luke his father’s saber and explains that the dark knight, who was once his pupil, betrayed and murdered his father. The wizard also explains the source of his magic. He calls it the Force. It is an energy that flows through all things and binds them together. This Force has two sides, light and dark. Obi-Wan explains, “Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force” (Star Wars-Episode 4).

So begins this epic tale. We are introduced in the first ten minutes to the theme. All people contain good and evil. A man who has been consumed by the dark side of his own nature embodies evil. We find out in time that he was tormented by jealousy, hate, and anger. The princess is the embodiment of good. Draped in pure white she is noble and courageous. The boy, Luke, represents the listener. He is who we are to relate to as we are told to be wary of the path we choose. It is our decision whether we choose selfishness. It is our decision whether we choose revenge. It is our decision to follow the light or fall into darkness.

The boy and the Wizard meet a smuggler named Han Solo in a seedy bar. The boy has never seen criminals and murderers before. His naiveté nearly gets him killed but Obi-Wan draws his sword and slays the attacker. This scene exposes Luke to the real world. Much of the story revolves around the external influences on the characters and how they deal with the emotions generated. Han Solo represents greed and self interest. Han explains that he is in it for the money and for himself. We begin to see that he does have other interests when he meets the princess. He angrily tells her that he does not take orders from anyone but himself. Princess Leia then insults him saying she is surprised that he is still alive. As she walks away Han tells his first mate “No reward is worth this!” Showing that his dignity means more to him than money. (Star Wars-Episode 4).

The princess herself is confronted with conflicting emotions. She could have been consumed with anger and hatred after her homeland is destroyed by the Emperor’s new weapon. Instead she follows the path of righteousness and puts these feelings behind her so that she can continue to help others by completing her mission. Luke has one of his most difficult tests when he meets the oldest Jedi knight, Yoda. During his training they come to a hollow in a tree. Luke is uneasy. “There is something not right here. I feel cold, death.” Yoda points to the opening “That place...is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.” “What is in there?” Luke asks. “Only what you take with you.” Luke straps on his weapon, despite Yoda’s insistence that he will not need it. Inside he is confronted by the dark knight. Luke draws his saber and decapitates the black figure. When the helmet falls to the ground it is revealed that Luke is the dark knight. This vision is a warning to him that he must fight the evil within himself before he can meet it in life. (Star Wars-Episode 5)

The climactic fight between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi epitomizes the struggle between good and evil. Obi-Wan has arranged for he and Vader to meet. The dark knight taunts the old man as he approaches. Swords are drawn and the combat begins. The sound of their battle echoes through the hallways of the fortress. “Your powers are weak old man.” says Vader. Obi-Wan replies, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” While trying to make a get away Luke and the princess see Obi-Wan and Vader from a distance. Luke calls to the old man. This is when Obi-Wan’s plan is made clear. Closing his eyes he holds up his sword and allows Vader to strike him. His clothes fall to the floor like a cast off skin. Obi-Wan relinquishes his body so that the others may escape. This runs contrary to Darth Vader’s quest to retain his body, most of which has been replaced by robot pieces as he has been injured over time. Hence the rhythmic sound of his breath for which he is easily identified. The fight symbolizes the struggle between forces. Sacrifice and conquest. Humility and pride. Submission and aggression. Man and machine. Life and Death.

Yin Yang depicts the repulsion and attraction of opposites, the duality of nature itself. Though the concept is originally of Eastern descent it has been adapted to many theories from the Western world. Carl Jung forwarded the idea that the mind of man was of opposing components (Jung). “The Forbidden Planet” starring Leslie Nielson warned us to recognize our Id and Ego (The Forbidden Planet). These symbols and theories are not coincidence. They exist because of the universal nature life. In each of us exists the capacity to do good or evil. Love and hate springs from the same heart. Myths and fantasies allow us to safely trespass the dark alleys of our soul. Stirring the dragon, we dance to the light of the flames, and come away unscathed. We are able to satisfy our dark passions and can return to our normal life warned of what evil lays in our hands. Children must cope with these emotions just as we do. Without the experience that an adult has acquired they have no other frame of reference. In a story like Star Wars a child can be saved from the dark knight. They can also terrify like the dark knight. Who hasn’t tried to breathe like Darth Vader? Stories, paintings, movies and music all reflect mans nature of light and dark Force.



Works Cited
Forbidden Planet, The. Dir. Fred M. Wilcox. Perf. Leslie Nielson, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis.
Warner Studios, 1956.
Jung, Carl G. Man and His Symbols. Garden City, NY: DoubleDay, 1964.
Star Wars - Episode IV, A New Hope (Special Edition). Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Mark
Hamill, Harrison Ford, Alec Guiness, Carrie Fisher, and James Earl Jones. Twentieth
Century Fox, 1977.
Star Wars - Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back. (Special Edition). Dir. George Lucas.
Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and James Earl Jones.
Twentieth Century Fox, 1980.

PAGE


Randell PAGE 6