Dying is not required. This is about being a man that gives wisdom to the main character. There's also Merlin.
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People think that Mentor Occupational Hazard is a requirement for The Obi-Wan especially when Obi-Wan Moment exists and so many other actual mentor tropes exist.
This trope even comes with a "Warning: this is a Death Trope; there be spoilers ahead. " so I would say that it probably is a requirement.
Maybe it can use TRS but I don't think death is absolutely required since the pages say, "This character will almost always die so that the protagonist can learn to stand on his own two feet," and "This usually pops up with The Obi-Wan..." Even if it is a requirement it's better to show part of it than Obi-Wan standing there or nothing at all. Does it really overlap that much with other Mentors?
There is the Mentor Archetype which seems to be the stereotypical Mentors like Obi-wan, Gandolf and Merlin but hopelessly under used.
There is Old Master, Opposed Mentors, Obsolete Mentor, an entire index of Mentors types and tropes. Renowned Selective Mentor says it overlaps with The Obi-Wan. The Obi-Wannabe is a problem though. The Obi-Wan Moment is the peaceably accepting before they die moment, leading to greatly pushing all Obiwan tropes into death tropes.
The Obi-Wan it seems is just the Mentor Arc of teaching the newbie then dying so the newbie can take up the lead of the plot, if they just leave its Relegated Mentor, we do not seem to have one where the mentor sticks around and the hero eventually becomes an equal or close to it.
If that is the case, an image of Obiwan teaching Luke then dying and then teaching after death might be the best image for it.
edited 10th Oct '15 11:43:06 PM by Memers
^^ The issue I think is that The Obi-Wan is clearly intended to be the Mentor Archetype ("The Obi-Wan is an Archetypal Character. [...] For more information concerning "The Mentor" and other narrative archetypes, see Vladmir Propp's theory of narrative"). Except because it was made in the early days before things like Trope Namer Syndrome were recognized as problems, it started by looking at Obi-Wan Kenobi as a character and then building a trope around him rather than the archetypal role he's derived from (Star Wars is of course a fantasy set in space that recycles various mythical tropes) and other mentor tropes that might apply to him. It's a "trope" built in reverse by cherrypicking elements from other or older tropes.
Obviously, the trope is named after him as a result of Fan Myopia (which is already a concern for shoehorning and zero context examples if nothing else), but there are also elements clearly specific to Obi-Wan's situation, such as the idea that the mentor will usually become a Spirit Advisor mentioned in the second paragraph—I question that this is something that can be expected to happen in the majority of cases for an archetypal mentor.
So without starting a TRS (yet), I think the images suggested here would be much stronger illustrations for Mentor Archetype, the current of which is just bad.
edited 11th Oct '15 2:40:58 AM by Morgenthaler
You've got roaming bands of armed, aggressive, tyrannical plumbers coming to your door, saying "Use our service, or else!"
Seconded, the current image in Mentor Archetype doesn't show any mentoring at all.
Thirded. There's definitely a link between Mentor Archetype and Obi-Wan, with Mentor Archetype being what Obi-Wan is trying to be, and the image for Mentor Archetype is awful.
What happens when a clock is set?
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.Strictly speaking: nothing.
When the set clock runs out, however, the thread is generally closed for inactivity or lack of consensus. It's an attempt to prod people into action.
Moon◊Eh, I know Fast Eddie's say doesn't really have much bearing anymore, but I'm gonna stick with his assertion that Star Wars transcends JAFAAC.
Moon◊No, I think we're done here. Anyone planning on starting a thread for Mentor Archetype?


That's a good point. There is trope overlap here.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.