It took me until writing this column to fully appreciate just how much naivete is an intentional part of Rey’s characterization and not just the result of the screenwriters failing to make strong enough choices about her personality. Two moments really define Rey in The Force Awakens. The first is that, even after an exhausting day of scavenging has left her with barely enough for a single dinner, she still playfully throws on an old starfighter helmet while she eats. Even the toughest day on Jakku can’t rob Rey of her whimsy. (As Cinderella puts it, “they can’t order me to stop dreaming.”)
The second is when she’s finally headed towards her first-ever alien planet and earnestly marvels, “I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy.” Though Rey takes a second to warm up to strangers, she’s inherently open to the wonders of the universe most people take for granted. That’s a pretty clear explanation as to why she’s able to access the Force so easily. Back in A New Hope, Luke is so distracted by his yearning for glory and adventure that he has to be taught to “stretch out with his feelings.” Rey is nothing but feelings. Her yearning isn’t for adventure, it’s for connection, which seems to be what the Force is looking for. (In that way, her closest comparison is young Anakin in The Phantom Menace, who was also a bit of a Jedi savant thanks to his openheartedness.)
THE WORLD WASN'T READY FOR REY by Caroline Siede
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