GEEK!
How do you know when you're a geek? When you write essays analyzing Star Wars books for symbolism, motifs, themes, etc.... for FUN.
I? Am very much a geek.
Ken's Trial
An Essay by Jedi_Guard_of_Death
Since every time I post a fanfic featuring Ken, the Jedi Prince, or some relation of his, I get at least one reply that seems to think I'm crazy or stupid or that the story sucks just because it has Ken or his parents in it, I feel obligated to defend my views. I, personally, love the books Ken comes from to death, and I have always loved them since I first read them in third grade. Considering I'm about to graduate high school now, that's saying something. Also, those books inspired me to write my own stories- my pride and joy of them all even has a main character named after Ken. With my personal bias out of the way, there's still something to be said for his character. The actual depth of what kind of person Ken is happens to be very subtle, but for older readers who may look back at these books with nostalgia, it's there. The details are not pointed out in the actual books, but they are implied, in terms of Ken's traits, actions, personality, and even some symbolism weaved in with his likes, dislikes, and appearance. Ken-chan, this is for you.
First, let's have a look at 'Ken', as a word and name. The name Ken comes from Kenneth, which is Irish, meaning "handsome". Since the books were illustrated, I've seen quite a few pictures of Ken, and he's always looked rather cute to me, but that's just my opinion. However, there's also some irony here- everyone agrees that Palpatine, Ken's grandfather, is rather ugly. In fact, the books admit it- "...the image of Emperor Palpatine, sitting on a throne in the Death Star, the Emperor's face looking twisted, tortured, and evil" (Prophets of the Dark Side, Davids 67). Perhaps, is it ironic that Ken's name means 'handsome' when his heritage is anything BUT? Also, there is a noun 'ken'- meaning knowledge or understanding, or range of sight or vision. Ken-chan is a very intelligent, or at least well educated, character in the books; "But Ken didn't really consider Dee-Jay a friend, since he was also his one and only professor. Dee-Jay taught Ken astronomy, ecology, computers, and about fifteen other subjects" (Lost City of the Jedi, Davids 16), "Ken's one of the brightest students at a very special school, Dagobah Tech" (Prophets of the Dark Side, Davids 18). Thus, were the authors deliberately playing with words here? I'd think so, especially since Ken happens to be named after his mother, and Kendalina seems to be a bit of a stretch to make a female name.
Next, there's behavior with symbolism. Ken, in the books, is a bit of a troublemaker- that is to say, he gets in trouble and Luke generally has to get him out of it. Whether Ken does this on purpose to get attention or it's really an accident each time he gets in trouble, I don't know, but I'd guess it's really an accident- "'Some accident!' Luke snapped. 'You hid aboard our ship so you wouldn't have to go to school. It's your first day, and you're already playing hooky!' 'No, Luke, that wasn't what happened, honest,' Ken pleaded. 'I thought you and the others had already boarded the Millennium Falcon, and I came to say good-bye and wish you a safe journey...'" (Mission from Mount Yoda, Davids 43). From this, I'd say it's safe to assume Ken doesn't mean to cause problems- and hey, he's twelve, just getting into puberty, and is more likely to cause problems at this age. Add that on to the fact that he's been raised, not by his parents, not even by other humans, but by droids. He doesn't really know any better, and he has the best of intentions. Then, in the stories, Ken isn't really much of a Jedi. He uses the Force only three times, in all five books that he's in- once to get out of Cloud City prison (typical for a teenager, to get busted for reckless driving, huh?) once to get a free ride from Cloud City to Han's digs, and then once to help raise the turbo lift when Ken and Luke were trapped inside the elevator shaft that went to the Lost City of the Jedi. Now, where am I going with all of this? Because of a few things that might hint about Ken, anyway. In the stories, Ken's favorite color, and eye color, is silver- "[Ken] didn't know why, but silver was his favorite color. Maybe it was because of the semitransparent, silvery crystal he always wore around his neck" (Lost City of the Jedi, Davids 17). I don't know any archetypes about silver, but I do know gold is considered a color of perfection and greed. Since silver isn't as valuable as gold is, could silver archetypally mean 'second best'- perhaps suggesting that Ken isn't as good as Luke, whom I've seen referred to as a 'golden boy' in fandom? And, considering that Palpatine and the Empire were indeed greedy, does Ken's infatuation with silver suggest irony that he ISN'T like his grandfather?
Now, at last, we come to the meat of this argument. Ken is an incomplete character in the books. That annoys a lot of people, apparently, but I see that as an opportunity. For example, the stories say that Ken grows up, UNDERGROUND, raised by DROIDS, with only a pet mooka as the other living, breathing being down there with him. With that taken into consideration, there's also a lot of information left out about Ken's appearance and thoughts- since Ken grew up, virtually without sunlight, does that mean he's a sickly shade of pale? Or did the Lost City have some sort of technology which could imitate sunlight and thus Ken's about the same shade as most of us who live on the surface? Were Ken's eyes irritated by sunlight when he first came to the surface? Did he get cold or hot easily? And, since he grew up underground in a, most likely, sterilized environment and fed mostly vitamin syrup (which makes me think of cough syrup or liquid Pepito bismol- nasty stuff, that is) does that make him obsessed with cleanliness or mysophobic- afraid of being contaminated or becoming dirty? Does that mean he's malnourished and skinny as a beanpole? Then, how does he react with people? Since robots were, in essence, his family, does he view human beings and aliens as less alive than machines? Is he fascinated with living beings? Is he antisocial, or just overly awkward and shy from lack of exposure to social situations? Or, instead, does he adapt quickly and make friends rather easily, since he wanted to have human friends so desperately? Does he recognize facial expressions, such as frowning, smiling, crying, to mean anger, happiness, sadness? Does he understand the concept of parents loving their children? Of children loving their parents? Does he understand the difference between familial love and being IN love with someone? Does he know what it's liked to be hugged? Or kissed? Has he ever celebrated his birthday? There's a lot of things that Ken may or may not have had that WE take for granted. The thing is, we really have no idea.
*Gasp, pant* Okay, excuse me for freaking out like that. The point is, no one knows any of this stuff about Ken, except his creators, who, sadly, decided to end the series at book six. Moreover, all of this stuff that I have above- I've not even scratched the surface of what came to mind as I read these stories. So, there are people out there, who hate these stories for all their little flaws, complain, gripe, say the authors are terrible writers (Oh, that's REALLY mature...) and seem to be out on a holy war to ruin these books and put supporters of them through either a holocaust or a lifelong ignorance. The rest of us, more sensibly, write fanfiction. That's what it's there for.
O-kay... this one just came to me as I finished reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein- I drew a comparison between the creature, and Triclops from the GoDV series. So... I thought I'd do another essay on it.
The first thing that struck me as a parallel was Triclops' appearance- in the original book, Frankenstein's creature has "yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips." (Shelley 42) The hair is the only thing that Triclops decidedly does NOT have in common with the monster- his hair is white and spikey. Since it is assumed Trike didn't see the sun for a very long time, it can also be assumed he is an unhealthy pale- which is often a yellow-ish color. He also has "scorch marks on his temples, as if he had been burned by a laser or electricity." (Davids 66) which is a reference to electricity bringing the creature to life. Also, the creature is told to be eight feet tall, and while Triclops' specific height is not determined, he is said to be tall- possibly to someone short like his son, looking like he's eight feet tall. In this sense, Triclops could very well be a parallel to Frankenstein's creature.
Then, there is a motif in the original Frankenstein of the three sensibilities that separate the humans from the monsters- A sense of beauty and harmony, a sense of empathy, and a moral sense, which is a sense of honor, of decency, and of dignity. The common complaint of the stories Triclops appears in is their constant theme of environmental conservation. In reality, it seems this is more a way of portraying certain characters as possessing these sensibilities, while others don't. Triclops seems to be the most sensible of the characters. Triclops tells Luke Skywalker "I'll force the Empire to pay for what it did to the planet Duro... one mechanized army at a time..." (Davids 85) and by this, he shows an appreciation of the beauty of nature, in the form of a detestation for machines and destructive technology, and a sense of sympathy for the people's whose homes have been destroyed thus. Similarly, the creature appreciates beauty and feels for those around him- "I saw no cause for their unhappiness, but I was deeply affected by it. If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched." (Shelley 95) Also, Triclops shows a sense of being isolated and looked down upon, much in the way others speak of him- even after he is rescued from the Empire, his lot in life does not improve much, for he is kept under observation by the Alliance, and when the major characters speak of him, it is in a detached, scientific way that seems to have a lost sense of dignity and decency towards him. It is thus that Triclops behaves like the creature.
Finally, there are many little comparisons drawn to the Frankenstein novel in the three books Triclops appears in- the first which we see is Triclops' goal with regards to his creator- he escapes from the Empire's control, and from there aspires to ruin them as he has been ruined, which is exactly the creature's goal towards Frankenstein, when Victor refuses to accept or take responsibility for his creation. Another similarity is their speech patterns- both of the creatures have an eloquent way of speaking and convincing people who would otherwise disbelieve them. Several quotes even seem to be taken from Frankenstein: "Skywalker. That name is not unknown to me. But the Skywalker I heard about was a Jedi Knight." (Davids 68) could be compared to a part of the creature's tale- " 'Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy- to him whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.'" (Shelley 127) "When the Empire discovered Kendalina was a Jedi, they destroyed her. It was a horrible day, burned into my memory forever..." (Davids 68) is comparable to this scene in Frankenstein: "I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew." (Shelley 151) While this does not inspire sympathy, it is still the same concept of how someone who he meets is related to one who he has great negative feelings for. At the same time, he is rejected by everyone who he meets, even his own son: "Ken backed away, pushing Triclops's hand from the crystal." (Davids 70) Even in that, both have very benevolent natures to begin, but the misery they endure makes them fiendish in the end, as we can see from the letter Triclops writes to Ken and the words the creature speaks to Frankenstein: "I've missed you ever since you were taken from me... I know what a shock it must have been for you to realize your grandfather was Emperor Palpatine. And the things I must do in the days ahead will surely shock you just as much. All I can say is, do not believe all the terrible things you will hear about me." (Davids 84) "...instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable." (Shelley 130). In so many little ways, combined with the way he looks, behaves, and is treated, Triclops is, indeed, a creature of Palpatine.
I? Am very much a geek.
Ken's Trial
An Essay by Jedi_Guard_of_Death
Since every time I post a fanfic featuring Ken, the Jedi Prince, or some relation of his, I get at least one reply that seems to think I'm crazy or stupid or that the story sucks just because it has Ken or his parents in it, I feel obligated to defend my views. I, personally, love the books Ken comes from to death, and I have always loved them since I first read them in third grade. Considering I'm about to graduate high school now, that's saying something. Also, those books inspired me to write my own stories- my pride and joy of them all even has a main character named after Ken. With my personal bias out of the way, there's still something to be said for his character. The actual depth of what kind of person Ken is happens to be very subtle, but for older readers who may look back at these books with nostalgia, it's there. The details are not pointed out in the actual books, but they are implied, in terms of Ken's traits, actions, personality, and even some symbolism weaved in with his likes, dislikes, and appearance. Ken-chan, this is for you.
First, let's have a look at 'Ken', as a word and name. The name Ken comes from Kenneth, which is Irish, meaning "handsome". Since the books were illustrated, I've seen quite a few pictures of Ken, and he's always looked rather cute to me, but that's just my opinion. However, there's also some irony here- everyone agrees that Palpatine, Ken's grandfather, is rather ugly. In fact, the books admit it- "...the image of Emperor Palpatine, sitting on a throne in the Death Star, the Emperor's face looking twisted, tortured, and evil" (Prophets of the Dark Side, Davids 67). Perhaps, is it ironic that Ken's name means 'handsome' when his heritage is anything BUT? Also, there is a noun 'ken'- meaning knowledge or understanding, or range of sight or vision. Ken-chan is a very intelligent, or at least well educated, character in the books; "But Ken didn't really consider Dee-Jay a friend, since he was also his one and only professor. Dee-Jay taught Ken astronomy, ecology, computers, and about fifteen other subjects" (Lost City of the Jedi, Davids 16), "Ken's one of the brightest students at a very special school, Dagobah Tech" (Prophets of the Dark Side, Davids 18). Thus, were the authors deliberately playing with words here? I'd think so, especially since Ken happens to be named after his mother, and Kendalina seems to be a bit of a stretch to make a female name.
Next, there's behavior with symbolism. Ken, in the books, is a bit of a troublemaker- that is to say, he gets in trouble and Luke generally has to get him out of it. Whether Ken does this on purpose to get attention or it's really an accident each time he gets in trouble, I don't know, but I'd guess it's really an accident- "'Some accident!' Luke snapped. 'You hid aboard our ship so you wouldn't have to go to school. It's your first day, and you're already playing hooky!' 'No, Luke, that wasn't what happened, honest,' Ken pleaded. 'I thought you and the others had already boarded the Millennium Falcon, and I came to say good-bye and wish you a safe journey...'" (Mission from Mount Yoda, Davids 43). From this, I'd say it's safe to assume Ken doesn't mean to cause problems- and hey, he's twelve, just getting into puberty, and is more likely to cause problems at this age. Add that on to the fact that he's been raised, not by his parents, not even by other humans, but by droids. He doesn't really know any better, and he has the best of intentions. Then, in the stories, Ken isn't really much of a Jedi. He uses the Force only three times, in all five books that he's in- once to get out of Cloud City prison (typical for a teenager, to get busted for reckless driving, huh?) once to get a free ride from Cloud City to Han's digs, and then once to help raise the turbo lift when Ken and Luke were trapped inside the elevator shaft that went to the Lost City of the Jedi. Now, where am I going with all of this? Because of a few things that might hint about Ken, anyway. In the stories, Ken's favorite color, and eye color, is silver- "[Ken] didn't know why, but silver was his favorite color. Maybe it was because of the semitransparent, silvery crystal he always wore around his neck" (Lost City of the Jedi, Davids 17). I don't know any archetypes about silver, but I do know gold is considered a color of perfection and greed. Since silver isn't as valuable as gold is, could silver archetypally mean 'second best'- perhaps suggesting that Ken isn't as good as Luke, whom I've seen referred to as a 'golden boy' in fandom? And, considering that Palpatine and the Empire were indeed greedy, does Ken's infatuation with silver suggest irony that he ISN'T like his grandfather?
Now, at last, we come to the meat of this argument. Ken is an incomplete character in the books. That annoys a lot of people, apparently, but I see that as an opportunity. For example, the stories say that Ken grows up, UNDERGROUND, raised by DROIDS, with only a pet mooka as the other living, breathing being down there with him. With that taken into consideration, there's also a lot of information left out about Ken's appearance and thoughts- since Ken grew up, virtually without sunlight, does that mean he's a sickly shade of pale? Or did the Lost City have some sort of technology which could imitate sunlight and thus Ken's about the same shade as most of us who live on the surface? Were Ken's eyes irritated by sunlight when he first came to the surface? Did he get cold or hot easily? And, since he grew up underground in a, most likely, sterilized environment and fed mostly vitamin syrup (which makes me think of cough syrup or liquid Pepito bismol- nasty stuff, that is) does that make him obsessed with cleanliness or mysophobic- afraid of being contaminated or becoming dirty? Does that mean he's malnourished and skinny as a beanpole? Then, how does he react with people? Since robots were, in essence, his family, does he view human beings and aliens as less alive than machines? Is he fascinated with living beings? Is he antisocial, or just overly awkward and shy from lack of exposure to social situations? Or, instead, does he adapt quickly and make friends rather easily, since he wanted to have human friends so desperately? Does he recognize facial expressions, such as frowning, smiling, crying, to mean anger, happiness, sadness? Does he understand the concept of parents loving their children? Of children loving their parents? Does he understand the difference between familial love and being IN love with someone? Does he know what it's liked to be hugged? Or kissed? Has he ever celebrated his birthday? There's a lot of things that Ken may or may not have had that WE take for granted. The thing is, we really have no idea.
*Gasp, pant* Okay, excuse me for freaking out like that. The point is, no one knows any of this stuff about Ken, except his creators, who, sadly, decided to end the series at book six. Moreover, all of this stuff that I have above- I've not even scratched the surface of what came to mind as I read these stories. So, there are people out there, who hate these stories for all their little flaws, complain, gripe, say the authors are terrible writers (Oh, that's REALLY mature...) and seem to be out on a holy war to ruin these books and put supporters of them through either a holocaust or a lifelong ignorance. The rest of us, more sensibly, write fanfiction. That's what it's there for.
O-kay... this one just came to me as I finished reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein- I drew a comparison between the creature, and Triclops from the GoDV series. So... I thought I'd do another essay on it.
The first thing that struck me as a parallel was Triclops' appearance- in the original book, Frankenstein's creature has "yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips." (Shelley 42) The hair is the only thing that Triclops decidedly does NOT have in common with the monster- his hair is white and spikey. Since it is assumed Trike didn't see the sun for a very long time, it can also be assumed he is an unhealthy pale- which is often a yellow-ish color. He also has "scorch marks on his temples, as if he had been burned by a laser or electricity." (Davids 66) which is a reference to electricity bringing the creature to life. Also, the creature is told to be eight feet tall, and while Triclops' specific height is not determined, he is said to be tall- possibly to someone short like his son, looking like he's eight feet tall. In this sense, Triclops could very well be a parallel to Frankenstein's creature.
Then, there is a motif in the original Frankenstein of the three sensibilities that separate the humans from the monsters- A sense of beauty and harmony, a sense of empathy, and a moral sense, which is a sense of honor, of decency, and of dignity. The common complaint of the stories Triclops appears in is their constant theme of environmental conservation. In reality, it seems this is more a way of portraying certain characters as possessing these sensibilities, while others don't. Triclops seems to be the most sensible of the characters. Triclops tells Luke Skywalker "I'll force the Empire to pay for what it did to the planet Duro... one mechanized army at a time..." (Davids 85) and by this, he shows an appreciation of the beauty of nature, in the form of a detestation for machines and destructive technology, and a sense of sympathy for the people's whose homes have been destroyed thus. Similarly, the creature appreciates beauty and feels for those around him- "I saw no cause for their unhappiness, but I was deeply affected by it. If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched." (Shelley 95) Also, Triclops shows a sense of being isolated and looked down upon, much in the way others speak of him- even after he is rescued from the Empire, his lot in life does not improve much, for he is kept under observation by the Alliance, and when the major characters speak of him, it is in a detached, scientific way that seems to have a lost sense of dignity and decency towards him. It is thus that Triclops behaves like the creature.
Finally, there are many little comparisons drawn to the Frankenstein novel in the three books Triclops appears in- the first which we see is Triclops' goal with regards to his creator- he escapes from the Empire's control, and from there aspires to ruin them as he has been ruined, which is exactly the creature's goal towards Frankenstein, when Victor refuses to accept or take responsibility for his creation. Another similarity is their speech patterns- both of the creatures have an eloquent way of speaking and convincing people who would otherwise disbelieve them. Several quotes even seem to be taken from Frankenstein: "Skywalker. That name is not unknown to me. But the Skywalker I heard about was a Jedi Knight." (Davids 68) could be compared to a part of the creature's tale- " 'Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy- to him whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.'" (Shelley 127) "When the Empire discovered Kendalina was a Jedi, they destroyed her. It was a horrible day, burned into my memory forever..." (Davids 68) is comparable to this scene in Frankenstein: "I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew." (Shelley 151) While this does not inspire sympathy, it is still the same concept of how someone who he meets is related to one who he has great negative feelings for. At the same time, he is rejected by everyone who he meets, even his own son: "Ken backed away, pushing Triclops's hand from the crystal." (Davids 70) Even in that, both have very benevolent natures to begin, but the misery they endure makes them fiendish in the end, as we can see from the letter Triclops writes to Ken and the words the creature speaks to Frankenstein: "I've missed you ever since you were taken from me... I know what a shock it must have been for you to realize your grandfather was Emperor Palpatine. And the things I must do in the days ahead will surely shock you just as much. All I can say is, do not believe all the terrible things you will hear about me." (Davids 84) "...instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable." (Shelley 130). In so many little ways, combined with the way he looks, behaves, and is treated, Triclops is, indeed, a creature of Palpatine.