Star Wars Bookworms Book Club discussion

In this thread feel free to post any comments, thoughts or questions from the first 4 chapters.

My first question is a short one. With Chapter 4 going over his childhood and showing Tarkin with at least a shred of compassion for his family's servant, followed by ruthlessness from his parents as well as a form of neglect, one may argue, by sending him off to the wilderness, do you think we needed to see this portion of his life? Are we really supposed to feel something for someone who is introduced as a genocidal monster who in Episode IV?

This turned out to be not so short.

Like any good villain, Tarkin is not simply evil -- or rather, he doesn't consider himself to be evil. I think that seeing the roots of his philosophy, that the strong have a duty to impose order upon the weak, helps us to understand why he does what he does, but it in no way excuses his actions.

Everyone was someone's kid at one point, and nobody is born evil. Yes, Tarkin was already a great character without knowing his backstory. Now he's not only great, but believable. Did he have the capacity to resist the lessons taught to him? Sure. His choice to go along with the flow and become the nightmare-utilitarian his parents wanted him to be is the reason we can boo when he gets on screen and still consider him a classic villain.

As an aside, I think it's great that we see his spark of compassion snuffed out at an early age. I think, sadly, that it mimics what happens in countless households across our real world. So many children are naturally compassionate toward those who are different from them (whether the difference is gender, race, sexuality, species, etc.) and often times the people entrusted to foster that compassion and natural desire for equality are the very ones who squash it.

Jonathan wrote: "My first question is a short one. With Chapter 4 going over his childhood and showing Tarkin with at least a shred of compassion for his family's servant, followed by ruthlessness from his parents ..."

Well this book is titled "Tarkin" so of course we're supposed to feel, if not sympathy, at least respect towards him. At least that's how protagonists should be in my opinion.

As Al said, showing Tarkin's more sympathetic character early in life just heightens his villainy later in life. It's the same reason we're supposed to hate Darth Vader even more after we've seen little boy Anakin.

It definitely shows Tarkin was a product of nurture versus nature. Like Al said, most children are naturally compassionate but they get influenced and/or corrupted by parents, friends, and everyone else in their lives. As a parent myself I am much more cognizant of being a role model for a little person, especially with how apt young children are at mimicking others.

So I don't know if I added anything new to what Al said, but I at least second his remarks.

Jonathan wrote: "My first question is a short one. With Chapter 4 going over his childhood and showing Tarkin with at least a shred of compassion for his family's servant, followed by ruthlessness from his parents ..."
I think the point is absolutely for the reader to feel some sort of sympathy towards, or at least understanding of, the character. I've always thought that one of the themes of Star Wars in general is that anyone, regardless of background, is capable of good, evil or both. That is what makes a story like this so enjoyable. If you go into it with the assumption that no one, including Tarkin, is born evil, then learning how he became what we see in A New Hope is all the more interesting.

I think what we see with Tarkin is that the idea of a person being "pure evil" may be a dangerous view. Most people/characters who are labeled "pure evil" usually believe they are doing what is right. One of Tarkin's highest values is law and order and he is willing to do whatever it takes to insure law and order at all costs. This is why he and Annakin were in agreement during the Clone Wars about what the Republic should do to put an end to the war. Ultimate force in the name of order. They would even argue that this is what brings "peace." And many hold this view. That violence will ultimately lead to "peace." I think Tarkin challenges us to evaluate our views on what we are willing to endure in the name of order, safety, and security.

Sending Tarkin into the wilderness is not something I expected for his backstory. This will certainly make me approach watching Tarkin in A New Hope from a different point of view.