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In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke asks what he will find in the cave and Yoda responds:

Yoda: Only what you take with you.

He follows this up with some very specific advice.

Yoda: Your weapons, you will not need them.

But Luke ignores him and takes his weapon belt with him. Why?

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  • 43
    "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." - Dark Helmet
    – R.M.
    Oct 19, 2016 at 18:46
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    Vote to close, move to parenting stack exchange. They're much better at dealing with teenagers who don't listen.
    – corsiKa
    Oct 19, 2016 at 22:39
  • 3
    @R.M.: Good will always triumph over evil, because good has dumb luck.
    – user12616
    Oct 20, 2016 at 4:30
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    I remember being freaked out by this scene as a kid in the mid-'90s, and it seems that Wikipedia provides no evidence showing that my memory is wrong.
    – errantlinguist
    Oct 20, 2016 at 8:17
  • 2
    In Luke's defense, he phrased that as more of a suggestion.
    – Gregory J. Puleo
    Oct 20, 2016 at 13:53

1 Answer 1

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46

This is another example of Luke's lack of belief in himself and in the power of the Force and the potential for him to fall to the Dark Side. When faced with evil, he seeks to confront that evil with force (small f) rather than allying himself with the Force (big F) to help him.

The film's official novelisation makes his thought process rather clearer

“Your weapon,” Yoda reproved. “You won’t need it.”

Luke paused and looked again at the tree. Go into that evil cave completely unarmed? As skilled as Luke was becoming, he did not feel quite equal to that test. He gripped his saber tighter and shook his head.

Yoda shrugged and placidly gnawed his Gimer Stick.

The Empire Strikes Back - Official Novelisation

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  • I can see that, that is what I was trying to aks. UV for the help and the answer
    – KyloRen
    Oct 19, 2016 at 13:43
  • @KyloRen - Now ask the question about Obi-Wan viewing the security footage :-)
    – Valorum
    Oct 19, 2016 at 13:43
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    tighter! more tightly....
    – Fattie
    Oct 19, 2016 at 18:23
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    I think you're misinterpreting the quote. It shows that Luke is afraid. This makes a great deal more sense, as the entire cave is full of the Dark side and Luke's fears manifest there.
    – jpmc26
    Oct 20, 2016 at 6:06
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    @jpmc26 - Clearly he's afraid. The issue at hand is how he chooses to confront that fear. Yoda advises him to trust the Force. Luke decides that he'd rather trust his weapons.
    – Valorum
    Oct 20, 2016 at 8:19

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