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On Tatooine, family is everything. The bonds of blood and marriage are what keep people alive and sane under the unbearable heat of the twin suns. There is a respect, deep in one's soul, for those who came before, and bore the land as well.
As well-mannered and dutiful Tatooinians, Beru and Owen instill these same values in Luke. He must know the importance of blood, and of family. They saw what happened when Anakin Skywalker dismissed such ties. They would not let the same happen to his son.
And yet, despite their wishes, Luke asks about his father, often. Owen is dismissive, always instructing Luke to complete some chore, or to go to sleep, whenever Anakin Skywalker is brought up. Beru is cryptic, offering Luke platitudes about his father's skills as a pilot and his bravery. This makes Owen cross, but Beru knows Luke feels hollow without any knowledge of his parents. She knows how he is teased at school for being raised by his aunt and uncle. She sees him watch the other families, wishing desperately he could have an unbroken family of his own. And her husband be damned, she has to do something to ease that pain in her little boy.
She sees how his face lights up at any mention of flight now, the connection forged in his mind between such pursuits and his father. He boasts that he will fly through the galaxy when he grows up, like his father before him. When Owen begins to grumble and speak more realistically about Luke's future, Beru shushes him.
"There is nothing wrong with an innocent child's imagination," she says. Her husband concedes that, perhaps, it would be better for Luke to continue with his fantasies.
But soon, Luke's clamorings about his father exasperate his aunt and uncle beyond their limits. Worried that Owen will be too stern, Beru suggests a different plan. That afternoon, Beru brings Luke to his grandmother's grave again.
"Have i told you about your grandmother, Luke?" she asks kindly, in a patient voice.
"Not really," he replies. While Luke had visited his grandmother's grave before, he never truly knew her or her story. Beru and Owen seemed to have an admiration for the woman that Luke couldn't understand, but he didn't dare ask.
Beru tells him everything, about Shmi's bravery and courage, her kindness in the face of so much adversity, her love for her son. She tells Luke the news rather gently that, in fact, the Skywalkers and the Lars are not related by blood. But she tries to use this to show him how even without such ties, Shmi meant the world to her family.
"You're the same to us, Luke. We love you all the same; even more, in fact. We hope one day you'll follow in your grandmother's footsteps."
Just as Beru predicted, Luke has a newfound interest in his grandmother. For once, he asks questions she and Owen are happy to answer. She hears him tell the other children about his grandmother, proud of his own knowledge of such family history that had previously been denied to him. She and Luke settle into a routine of visiting Shmi's grave every so often, lighting a candle and saying a prayer of blessing on her. It is Luke's favorite time of the week.
Somehow, Luke appreciates his aunt and uncle more, knowing that they raise him when he is not their true kin. It does not seem cruel to grapple with such concepts at an early age, for he truly believes what Aunt Beru said that day on his grandmother's grave: that they have always loved Shmi, and they have always loved Luke, and nothing would make them any less of family.
At night, he begins to pray blessings on his grandmother. On Tatooine, there are no gods to worship, or idols to submit to. With the history of slavery and the Hutt family fresh on the minds of every person raised on the planet, it is difficult to believe in a benevolent spirit. If there is any religion, it is the reverence of ancestors. Prayers of blessings on those who have passed are customary. It is assumed that, if one's ancestors are blessed, they will in turn bless you.
Luke does not think of reward when he prays for his grandmother. He only hopes that, somehow, she knows of him, and can look down on him with pride. He wishes more than anything for his own flesh and blood to look kindly on him. It is all a Tatooine orphan could ask for.
He learns as he grows older that Uncle Owen does not like to hear about Anakin Skywalker. Luke tries to, instead, fill that void with tales of other relatives. Sometimes, he asks about his mother. Beru says she only met her once, but she was the most beautiful and kind person she ever laid eyes on. Luke's grandfather, according to Owen, was a reserved man who cared for his family deeply. If that is not enough, he asks for more stories of Shmi.
Somehow, Uncle Owen still seems to judge him. At thirteen, Luke is expected to move on from his childish notions of family and live within the present. As ashamed as it makes Luke, he cannot help but cling to those same whims and memories.
He dreads his fourteenth life day. The only real present he will recieve is a promotion to a full time farm hand for Owen. He knows Owen needs the help, but he wishes, somehow, that things could be different. His childish dreams of being a pilot are long gone at this point; any hopes of even getting into the academy seem scarce. He knows Owen will find excuse after excuse to keep him once he begins.
To his surprise, he is given with two presents that day. The first is from Uncle Owen, regarding his increased farm work. It's a decent pair of leather workman's gloves.
Uncle Owen gives a small smile, and despite his apprehension about his new duties, Luke is appreciative. His old gloves were never so nice; Owen never trusted a kid to keep up with a pair, and true to form, Luke had lost many gloves over the years as an absentminded little boy. That Owen would purchase such an expensive item for him, specifically for his birthday, warms Luke's heart. His uncle's trust is hard-earned, and if Owen truly feels luke is ready for such responsibility, then Luke can at least appreciate the man's opinion of him. It is, in any event, better than the sort of frivilous gifts Aunt Beru would buy and wrap to be given under Owen's name in previous years.
After making sure to thank his uncle sincerely until a small smile forms on Owen's face, Luke moves on to his gift from Beru. It's in a tiny box, and he can't for the life of him think of what Beru could be giving him.
It seems to be a necklace with an oval attachment at its base. He looks to Beru with polite confusion on his face, hoping she'll explain to him exactly what is inside.
"It's a locket, silly. Open it."
Surely enough, the oval attachment can be opened. Inside is a small picture of Shmi Skywalker, smiling pleasently.
He smiles himself, entirely sincere in his happinese. It's silly really; what is he going to do, carry it around in his pocket? Wear it around his neck so the other boys can tease him? But he can't take the moment to be hurt or anything of the sort, not when Beru went to such trouble to give him a momento of his grandmother's.
He gives his aunt a hug, and she is glad to see his elation. "I figured you might want something of hers to carry around with you. You don't have to put it on or anything like that, but I wanted you to have it."
He knows how difficult it must have been, to cut up one of their few photographs of Shmi for such a gift. While certainly not starving, the Lars are farmer folk through and through, and pictures are both cherished and quite expensive, an indulgence they can rarely afford.
Luke does carry it around with him, tucked away in his pocket, while going about his day. It's always with him, somehow, even if he has to just carry it around in his hand. It represents her spirit, in ways Luke cannot speak of but of which he just feels, deep in his soul. It is his only tangible connection to his bloodline, and he treasures it.
After he learns of his father's legacy in Obi-Wan's hut, and sees his aunt and uncle's smoldering bodies lying in the sand, the locket remains his only possession left from his childhood on Tatooine, and his only connection his family, adoptive or not. It remains, even when his father's lightsaber plunges into the depths of cloud city. It stays with him throughout the tumult on the second death star.
When he sends his father's body off in flames, he grips it tight in his hand. Anakin Skywalker did not live up to his childhood hopes and fantasies. He ended up a cruel, cruel man, and died before he could truly know his son. Despite his turn, and luke's forgiveness, Luke will never be able to think of his father with such admiration as he did at nine years old.
There is but one family tie left that he knows of and can still idolize. She was not a prominent figure in the galaxy, like his parents, and did not live to see him, like his aunt and uncle. She was a perfectly ordinary woman, the sort that most wouldn't make much of. But Shmi Skywalker was patient and kind. She maintained her compassion, even in times of hardship, and poured her heart out for those she loved. And it is Shmi Skywalker that Luke looks to for guidance, more than any force ghost or general. His prayers and showings of dedication to her still center him, and still remind him legacy he hopes to leave behind. He pushes forward, on to the new era for the galaxy and for the jedi, holding on to the lessons from the past that only Shmi could have taught him.