From the epics of ancient Greece to our most beloved franchise films today, storytellers rely on archetypes to create compelling characters that we want to watch. In the early 20th century, psychologist Carl Jung explored archetypes as part of his notion of the collective unconscious, claiming that humanity has a basic, shared set of character types it relies on in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Joseph Campbell would later shore up those claims, as he found the same archetypes over and over in traditional and creation stories throughout the world and laid them out in his 1949 book The Hero With A Thousand Faces.

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George Lucas modeled Star Wars IV: A New Hope on Campbell's notion of the Hero's Journey. Jung had twelve basic archetypes; Campbell had eight. But there are many useful variants out there to help us understand how writers think of and utilize these archetypes to create the characters that we know and love. Here's one way to look at the characters from Star Wars through the lens of archetypes.

The Warrior/Hero: Luke Skywalker

Joseph Campbell defined a hero as "someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." At first, Luke Skywalker's ambitions were no more significant than getting into the Academy (the Imperial Academy, by the way!) so that he could be a pilot and have adventures (maybe he wanted to be like Han Solo). He reluctantly answers Princess Leia's call, follows his destiny, joins the Rebellion, and leads his team to victory by blowing up the dreaded Death Star.

Visually, he wears white, and his light-saber is a calming blue.  The hero has two journeys: an inner one and an outer one. Luke's inner journey is to understand his relationship with the Force. His outer journey is to destroy the Death Star.

The Shadow/Villain: Darth Vader

Darth Vader and Death Star

The clichéd phrase, "We're not so different, you and I..." is relevant to understanding the dynamic between Shadow characters and Hero characters. The best villains are just as – if not more – motivated than their heroic counterparts. And typically, the Shadow is better equipped than the hero. Darth Vader's goal is to crush the Rebellion by any means. He's got the resources and the ability.

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Just as every hero has a flaw (Luke is supremely impatient and naive enough to be borderline arrogant), Vader is not pure evil. It takes him a couple of films, but he does eventually stand up to his boss, Emperor Palpatine. Vader's arrogance allows him to misjudge the Rebellion's capacity to, well, rebel very effectively. Note the visual contrast with Luke: he's always in black (so slimming), and his red light-saber represents his rage and inner turmoil.

Threshold Guardians: Stormtroopers

Stormtrooper in Star Wars

Wherever the hero and his/her allies go, there are the Threshold Guardians, to thwart their progress. In this case, because the Stormtroopers have famously bad aim, Luke and company get slowed down by them or redirected by them, but never stopped by them.

Their function in any story is as a force to overcome. They are like the early-level videogame bosses of any story.

The Herald: R2-D2

Herald characters typically appear at the beginning of the hero's journey as part of what Campbell calls the "Call to Adventure." When R2-D2 plays Princess Leia's message containing a plea for help, it changes Luke's path irrevocably.

Note that a single character can play more than one role in relation to the hero and thus conform to multiple archetypes. R2-D2 goes on to be a trusted ally to Luke. He and C3PO together are both similar to The Child archetype (see below).

The Mentor/Sage: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Darth Vader and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars

The mentor is unique because their experience and wisdom come from being on a similar journey in the past to the one the hero is currently on. There is more than one type of mentor and sometimes more than one in a story.

When there are two mentors, it may be that one is mentoring the hero on the inner journey while the other mentor helps with the outer mission. Obi-Wan Kenobi guides Luke primarily on his inner journey. It is not uncommon for the mentor archetype to involve a serious sacrifice.

False Mentors: Owen and Beru Lars

Luke finds his aunt and uncle dead in Star Wars

A false mentor does not have to be an evil character — they just have to be wrong about their counsel. Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru both care about Luke deeply. But their advice would keep Luke in what Campbell calls "The Ordinary World."

Not to be too cutthroat about it, but they are blocking Luke's correct path. They are in the way. And they pay for that with their lives in a scene of ruthless slaughter that serves as a crisp reminder to Luke (and us) what he's up against.

The Companion: Princess Leia

We don't know yet in Episode IV that Princess Leia is Luke's sister. And it doesn't matter. The love interest, for the sake of an archetype, need not be romantic. The hero can be just as committed to a family member or a deeply bonded friend.

In any case, Leia, on the surface, is the "damsel in distress." However, as we come to know her better, she becomes a strong, courageous, heroic figure in her own right.

The Outlaw/Shapeshifter: Han Solo

Han Solo is a critical character to Luke's journey because, while he's entertaining in his self-interested roguishness, he serves to highlight the elevated principles to which Luke has dedicated himself. His willingness to break the rules is enormously helpful to Luke, but when the going gets too tough, too dangerous, he abandons Luke's cause. At first.

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We love Han even more because rather than him sullying our hero's efforts with his self-interests, Luke's heroic influence shines all the brighter for its effect on Han. Han's role in the final confrontation makes all the difference in helping the hero complete his outer mission.

The Child: C-3PO

No character in Episode IV: A New Hope is more child-like or naive than C-3PO. He's like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz if the Scarecrow speaks more than six million languages. For all his fluency, he never really gets it.

Together with R2-D2, precisely because they are droids, they represent the Jungian archetype of puer aeternus, Latin for the eternal child. They are forever fixed in their adolescent innocence.

The Friendly Beast: Chewbacca

Chewbacca in Star Wars

This archetype is based on animal guides that help the hero find their way, with a secondary benefit of showing us that nature itself is symbolically on the hero's side.

What better representation of this idea than Chewbacca, the literal co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon?

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