Did Revenge of the Sith Accomplish What it Needed To?
The second major factor in Anakin's turn to evil is his desire to know more about the dark side of the Force. His apparent frustration with lack of appreciation or recognition for his ability (current and foretold) from his peers, especially the Jedi council, make him long to strive even harder to obtain that respect. In some ways, he's like the petulant but precocious child chiming for attention and validation. If the Jedi Council had made him a full Master, would that have been enough? Would his allegiance to them have been unshakeable? Unfortunately, we'll never know.
But not only does Anakin desire to learn more about the Dark Ways for his own gain, but more importantly, to use the knowledge to save the one he loves. It is this third aspect that provides the tragic element to Anakin's downfall. In many ways, Anakin does struggle to become the "good" super-Jedi that has been prophesized, an agent for positive change and a hero much like the Greek god Hermes, son of Zeus, who is messenger of the gods. Anakin's ultimate desire is to save Padme from what he considers to be a certain death during childbirth. Surprisingly, he does not express negativity toward the "child" (rather than the twins we the audience know she's carrying), instead referring to the imminent birth as a "blessing" and a good thing, something he looks forward to sharing with his beloved. Instead his anger and frustration become turned inward as he can only imagine himself helpless to save Padme as he had been helpless to save his mother during the Tusken Raider attack. Anakin would like to be a Hermes figure, the Greek god who descended into the underworld and successfully saved the woman Persephone (abducted and raped by the king of the underworld, Hades). Persephone, as the daughter of earth-goddess Demeter, is usually associated with spring, rebirth and renewal and the pregnant Padme fits this archetype. However Anakin falls short of the Hermes ideal; rather than rescue Padme from certain Hades, his actions drive her to follow him there, to the volcanic planet of Mustafar, an uber-Hades.
Here we can compare the idea of "visions" and how they affect father and son differently. Anakin is tortured by visions of a dying Padme whereas his son Luke experiences Native American-like images while on Dagobah, a vision quest that reveal an important truth to the Luke (i.e.
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