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star wars - Why did Obi Wan use his lightsaber in the Mos Eisley Cantina?


In the Mos Eisley Cantina, Obi Wan uses his light saber to protect Luke from a patron attacking him. Jedi (and I would assume, lightsabers) are very uncommon, so I would imagine Kenobi's attack would attract some attention. Why did Obi Wan use his lightsaber if he is trying to stay hidden?



Answer



At that point in the story, Kenobi was no longer that concerned with staying hidden.




Prior to the cantina fight in Episode IV, Kenobi was maintaing a low profile. During his time on Tattoine, Ben Kenobi had several run-ins with the local riff-raff. In all such instances, Kenobi avoided using his lightsaber as much as possible for the very reason you bring up. Instead, he would use a combination of Force abilities - mainly telekinesis and mind tricks - to drive away the attackers. This is, in fact, how Kenobi got his reputation of being a "crazy old wizard".



LUKE: You know, I think that R2 unit we bought might have been stolen.


OWEN: What makes you think that?


LUKE: Well, I stumbled across a recording while I was cleaning him. He says he belongs to someone called Obi-Wan Kenobi.


Uncle Owen is greatly alarmed at the mention of his name, glances at Beru.


LUKE: I thought he might be related to Old Ben. Do you know what he's talking about?


Uncle Owen grows angry.


OWEN: That wizard's just a crazy old man. Tomorrow I want you to take that R2 unit into Anchorhead and have its memory flushed. That'll be the end of it. It belongs to us now.




During the scene you mention, Kenobi knew that he and Luke would be leaving the planet soon, so secrecy was not a top priority. He also knew that brandishing the weapon would put a quick end to any other trouble. However, he did indeed realize that the lightsaber might draw the wrong kind of attention, which is largely why he was in a hurry to leave following the confrontation.


UPDATE: @Schwern brought up a good point... why would Kenobi knowingly come out of hiding if he's wanted by the Empire? Here's what I think (obviously this is speculation):


Obi-Wan Kenobi was only maintaining a low profile so that he could watch over Luke on Tattooine. If not for that, it's highly possible that both he and Yoda would be helping, if not leading, the Rebellion. As it is, we don't know that The Emperor & Vader are even looking for the pair. In fact, they probably assume that both Jedi Masters are dead by now. Given this fact, now that he is leaving the planet with Luke and heading off to assist and/or join the Rebel forces - who are very much on the Empire's radar - he probably sees little reason in maintaining such a low profile. He may not be broadcasting his location to the galaxy, but he also isn't going through as much trouble to stay hidden. And let's face it - when you're the man who maimed Darth Vader and you're about to get involved with the Rebellion, you're probably not that concerned about a bar fight on a sparsely-populated Outer Rim planet.


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