Star Wars: A New Hope Coming of Age Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Star Wars: A New Hope.

Quote #1

OWEN: Luke! Take these two over to the garage, will you? I want them cleaned up before dinner.
LUKE: But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters.
OWEN: You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now come on. Get to it.

Ugh, listen to that whine. Luke is still growing up when we first meet him. Unwilling to shoulder his responsibilities, he'd much rather go pick up some power converters—and who knows what that's slang for.

Quote #2

OWEN: Harvest is when I need you the most. It's only one season more. This year we'll make enough on the harvest that I'll be able to hire more hands, and then you can go to the academy next year. You must understand I need you here, Luke.
LUKE: But it's a whole 'nother year!
OWEN: Look, it's only one more season.
LUKE: Yeah, that's what you said when Biggs and Tank left.
BERU: Where are you going?
LUKE: Looks like I'm going nowhere. I have to go finish cleaning those droids.

Luke's home planet is the galactic equivalent of a village far from the problems of the world. Think the Shire—only an entire planet. Like the many fantasy heroes and small-town youths before him, Luke is itching to get out there and explore the universe but feels trapped.

Quote #3

LUKE: Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to get home. It's late. I'm in for it as it is.
BEN: I need your help, Luke. She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing.
LUKE: I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire. I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's all such a long way from here.
BEN: That's your uncle talking.

At first, Luke is unwilling to accept the call to adventure. He feels the universe's problems are too big for him to make a difference. As Obi-Wan rightly points out, Luke hasn't grown up enough to become his own man, so he falls back on his uncle's decisions.