Understanding Luke's Motives

Rating: Null/10 (18 December 2017)

I know that many fans are upset about the choices Luke's character made in Last Jedi. However, as someone who has classified himself as a failure for the majority of my life I can relate the to arc that Luke follows as he begins to doubt himself after his failure with Ben Solo. No! It is not the Jedi way to execute a "Padawan" (even in a moment of weakness). This is why Luke stops training young Jedi and goes into hiding. Searching himself for why he felt the need to destroy Ben Solo, Luke confronts his temptation to join the dark side once more.
Luke admits it was a momentary lapse that led him to act against Ben Solo, and that moment of weakness shows the audience that even the greatest Jedi Master has more to learn. Luke hesitates to kill Ben as he realizes that darkness has guided his actions. Luke is then left for dead and awakens to see everything he has built destroyed by Kylo Ren. In his sorrow and anguish he recognizes his failure in training the next generation of Jedi as he surrounded by the bodies of his pupils and the burning remains of the Jedi temple he has built.
Luke must realize that it was his own doing that has transformed Ben Solo into Kylo Ren. Yes, It was Kylo Ren who killed the Jedi trainees, but it was because Luke was about to kill Ben. Ultimately Luke is responsible for the deaths of his students. He has to see that as he pulls himself from the rubble.
Luke's single moment of weakness defined the path that Kylo Ren was not aware was in front of him. Witnessing how ruthless his nephew was added to the torment inside Luke. If there was a line where Luke said "I did this! It is all because of me!" the audience might be more understanding of Luke's character arc.
Luke's story is how he deals with failure. How he takes full responsibility for not just turning Kylo Ren to the dark side, but for the actions of Kylo Ren who killed the other padawans and burned the temple to ashes. Tempted by the dark side to kill Ben Solo because he sensed Ben being drawn to the darkness, Luke realizes that even the strongest Jedi is not immune to the dark side and if he had killed Ben Solo then he, Luke Skywalker would have turned evil. It makes perfect sense then that Luke would disappear and go into hiding. In that moment of temptation Luke abandoned his Jedi beliefs and if he could be tempted after everything he went through in episodes IV, V and VI, then what hope does any young student of the force have against the dark side? If Luke recognized this (and I believe he did), then his decision to let go of everything in an effort to find inner peace makes sense.
Luke acted appropriately to banish himself to the outer reaches of the universe and await death. In his solitude he seeks peace in the only place he can...the first Jedi Temple. Frustrated by his failure by being unable to help Ben Solo control his rage (and knowing how difficult it was for him to overcome the temptation of the dark side as he faced both Darth Vader and the Emperor), Luke Skywalker feared that he could not live up to the legend surrounding his past.
The constant fear of training a Jedi who might turn and become the next evil dictator is something that may have been gnawing at Luke's conscience. Knowing that fear is the first step toward the dark side he decided to stop fighting and simply gave up both the good and evil. Luke found the true balance between Light and Dark by recognizing that both exist and counter each other. It is a fascinating study in human behavior to realize how Luke justifies his actions.
I know that fans will argue Luke was out of character and on the surface I would agree, but as you peel back the layers of the human psyche to reveal the true meanings and motives behind Luke's actions you will begin to understand why Luke was where he was. Why he acted the way he did. And why he resisted training Rey. Even the lessons Luke does teach are inline with his philosophy of life as he now sees it. Luke lives with the pain of losing everything he built and being tempted or tested again. I believe Luke Skywalker made the only choice he could by sequestering himself from the universe to be the Last Jedi.