Rebuttal to Du'Shur'tugals Star Wars Article
by Arget Hackslayer
It has recently come to our attention that the du'Shurtugals fansite has an article on the similarities between StarWars and Eragon, and attempts to refute such claims.
In the spirit of a good debate, and also because they bring up some good points, I have taken it upon myself to form a rebuttal.
I. Saphira
Du'Shurtugals explains that Saphira has no counterpart in StarWars, and that the common argument, lightsabers, does not count, because Saphira is intelligent and lightsabers are not.
They are indeed correct that Saphira doesn't mirror lightsabers-at least, not directly. Certain parallels may be drawn, yes, but her main counterpart appears to be the droids; at least, R2-D2. She is a vital tool of the Varden, and is sent (ostensibly) to Brom by Arya, but is found by a local farmboy, Eragon. Further, like R2, Saphira's flight away from Eragon's homestead is the reason why the Empire did not find him and kill him with his uncle.
II. Murtagh and Arya
Du'Shurtugals' next point is that Murtagh and Arya do not have any direct mirrors to StarWars characters. Again, they are correct in this assertion, however, the parallels that CAN be drawn are still far too numerous to dismiss.
It seems clear to me that Paolini, in an attempt to cover his tracks, performed a simple switch.
Allow me to illustrate, if I may, what I conjecture Paolini's thought process to be:
| Step 1: |
Han Solo |
Princess Leia |
| Step 2: |
Han Solo + Sibling |
Princess Leia - Sibling |
| Step 3: |
Han Solo - Love Interest |
Princess Leia + Love Interest |
| Step 4: |
Han Solo + Variable |
Princess Leia + Leather Outfit |
| Step 5: |
Han Solo = Murtagh |
Princess Leia = Arya
|
III. Miscellaneous
Du'Shurtugals offers a couple other arguments, most of which have no clear answer. Just remember: Eragon does not have to be an exact replica to be copying. Things will not fit exactly-Paolini did attempt, however feebly, to cover his tracks, but, when everything boils down, all of the contents of StarWars are mirrored in some way in Eragon-and usually, you do not have to look far from the source to see how Paolini tried to hide it.
