How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
Quote #1
Opening scroll: War! The Republic is crumbing under attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.
"Evil is everywhere" pretty much lays it all out there, right? This helps to set up the whole premise that our heroes will be battling against the forces of evil in every direction … even from within.
Quote #2
PALPATINE: Get help! You're no match for him. He's a Sith Lord.
OBI-WAN: Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our specialty.
We thought this was an interesting thing to say to his rescuer. Palpatine must not have a whole lot of faith in the Jedi … or could it be that he believes that the dark side is stronger than they could ever be?
Quote #3
ANAKIN: I shouldn't have done that, Chancellor. It's not the Jedi way.
PALPATINE: It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People.
So, according to Palpatine, succumbing to your darker urges is only natural. (Therefore, the dark side is natural?) Or, perhaps it's only natural for Anakin, as he has let it hold sway over him before.
Quote #4
ANAKIN: The Council is upset I'm the youngest to ever serve.
OBI-WAN: No, it is not. Anakin, I worry when you speak of jealousy and pride. Those are not Jedi thoughts. They're dangerous, dark thoughts.
ANAKIN: Master, you of all people should have confidence in my abilities. I know where my loyalties lie.
OBI-WAN: I hope so. …
The Jedi are always worried about what certain thoughts will lead to. But, aren't emotions like jealousy and pride things that everyone feels every once in awhile? Wouldn't it be healthier to confront those feelings, rather than suppress them?
Quote #5
OBI-WAN: Anakin did not take to his assignment with much enthusiasm.
YODA: Too much under the sway of the Chancellor, he is. Much anger there is in him. Too much pride in his powers.
MACE: It's very dangerous, putting them together. I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him.
OBI-WAN: He'll be all right. I trust him with my life.
MACE: Wish I did.
OBI-WAN: With all due respect, Master, is he not the Chosen One? Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force?
It's interesting that Obi-Wan has so much faith that Anakin— someone they are already doubting in terms of his strength to resist the dark side—will become the one to restore balance to the Force. It seems like it would have been more likely that their hero would just naturally have all of the qualities of a Jedi without fear and anger, and then that guy would defeat the Sith.
Quote #6
PADMÉ: Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side?
ANAKIN: (suspicious) What do you mean?
PADMÉ: What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?
That's the thing about evil—it tends to seep into everything. Padmé, who has more talent in the Force than she realizes, is sensing the truth of the matter, while Anakin remains blinded to reality.
Quote #7
ANAKIN: The Jedi use their power for good.
PALPATINE: Good is a point of view, Anakin. And the Jedi point of view is not the only valid one. The Dark Lords of the Sith believe in security and justice also, yet they are considered by the Jedi to be—
ANAKIN: Evil.
PALPATINE: From a Jedi's point of view. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power. The difference between the two is the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That is why they are more powerful.
ANAKIN: The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves.
PALPATINE: And the Jedi don't?
ANAKIN: The Jedi are selfless … they only care about others.
Palpatine smiles.
PALPATINE: Or so you've been trained to believe. Why is it, then, that they have asked you to do something you feel is wrong?
ANAKIN: I'm not sure it's wrong.
PALPATINE: Have they asked you to betray the Jedi code? The constitution? A friendship? Your own values? Think. Consider their motives. Keep your mind clear of assumptions. The fear of losing power is a weakness of both the Jedi and the Sith.
As much as we hate to admit it, Chancellor Palpatine has a point. Typically, to constrain yourself to a narrow-minded belief system isn't a great idea. And, it doesn't hurt to know about the dark side, as long as you don't plan on using it, right? Know one's enemy and all that.
Quote #8
ANAKIN: Something's happening … I'm not the Jedi I should be. I am one of the most powerful Jedi, but I'm not satisfied … I want more, and I know I shouldn't.
Poor Anakin. He always feels like he's falling short of someone's expectations. He knows that Jedi should be content with what they have, but he is ambitious and prideful, which are two qualities that the Jedi seek to repress. This is the problem with framing everything as good and evil, though. Pride and ambition aren't necessarily bad qualities, in the right amounts.
Quote #9
PALPATINE: Anakin, if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the Force.
See, now we're confused. Professor Moody from the Harry Potter universe taught us that we need to know the dark arts in order to confront and defeat them—does that apply to the dark side as well? Is Chancellor Palpatine right?
Quote #10
ANAKIN: What have I done?
PALPATINE: You are fulfilling your destiny, Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force.
ANAKIN: I will do whatever you ask.
PALPATINE: Good.
ANAKIN: Just help me save Padmé's life. I can't live without her. I won't let her die. I want the power to stop death.
PALPATINE: To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret.
ANAKIN: I pledge myself to your teachings. To the ways of the Sith.
PALPATINE: Good. Good. The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be know as Darth … Vader.
This is the moment when Anakin finally, consciously decides to switch sides in the battle between good and evil. Up until now, he's fought against the dark side, and his inner urges, in the quest to remain a good Jedi. But now he's desperate, and he's willing to do anything to save his wife.
Quote #11
PALPATINE: We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless; if they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end. First, I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to save Padmé.
Yeah, OK, that makes sense: go do something really, really bad in order to get stronger—but we're definitely the bad guys.
Quote #12
ANAKIN: If you're not with me, you're my enemy.
OBI-WAN: Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.
Once again, in the quest to label one side good and one side bad, the world becomes pretty black and white. (And, by the way, this line cracks us up. "Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes" is an absolute statement.)
Quote #13
OBI-WAN: I have failed you, Anakin. I was never able to teach you to think.
ANAKIN: I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over …
OBI-WAN: From the Sith! Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil.
ANAKIN: From the Jedi point of view! From my point of view, the Jedi are evil.
OBI-WAN: Well, then, you are lost!
Good and evil do, unfortunately, often fall into subjective categories. Surely some of the world's evilest people didn't think they were evil—to them, their cause was the right and just one. This kind of moral justification is the only thing allowing Anakin to chose the path that he does.