Leia plays the role of a goddess in this film; she is strong, but also kind. She is capable enough to make her way into Jabba's palace and "rescue" Han from the carbonite. After they are both found by Jabba, Leia reverts to the role of a temptress; she wears a skimpy bikini for Jabba's entertainment and just kind of lays there. Amidst all the chaos of Luke and the gang fighting over the Sarlacc pit, Leia strangles Jabba. In the first act of this film, Leia fights off some of Jabba's goons to get near him, and then threatens to blow everyone up with a thermal detonator. Later on, she single-handedly kills the gang lord. This takes some guts, and clearly shows that Leia is a civic hero. It's not too often that we see female supporting characters doing the kinds of things that she does in this film. In this way she is like a goddess.
The next important thing that Leia does is chase down those imperial scouts on the swoop bike; this scene reinforces the fact that she's more than just a pretty face. When she has a problem, she deals with it, showing the audience that she is a civic hero much like Han. Han came to Luke's rescue at the end of A New Hope, and again at the beginning of Empire Strikes Back, and now Leia comes to his rescue at the beginning of Return of the Jedi (Although ultimately they all play a part in the escape).
Leia appears again as a goddess in the eyes of the Ewoks. She befriends one of them, then goes to their village; they braid her hair, and give her new clothes. When Luke tells her that he must confront his father, she tries to persuade him to run away and take the safe way out. In other words, she tries to "tempt" him to save himself. Leia is a civic hero, but she also has the potential to become a Jedi (the contemplative hero), according to Luke.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Koeferl- Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi
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How is she a temptress? Remember to answer all parts of the question. She is a temptress in that she tries to keep Luke from pursuing Darth Vader. That means she is trying to make him stray from his mission and his goal.
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