Cool Hand Luke Symbolism

Cool Hand Luke tries to teach us that even if we try our hardest, we still might fail, but there is still happiness to be had though trying. Luke is the myth of the war hero, and everyone at the prison falls under his spell. Luke starts his life in the prison not really caring about what anyone else thinks, betting money even though he can’t win, and gaining respect from the men by not giving up in a fight, even when he is turned into a punching bag. The men all believe that he can leave the prison and make a great life for himself, and they see him as a symbol of what they want to be themselves, although it may be just their ideals being projected on Luke. When he tries to escape the first time, he is caught, but he still keeps his general appearance of not caring. The …show more content…
After each departure from the prison, he prays to God. When he first gets to the prison, he stands out in the rain, and yells at God saying, if He wanted to kill him, it should be done right then and there. When he returns from his second run, he lays in the ditch that the bosses make him dig. It resembles a grave, which is a symbol of just how far gone he was at that moment. He makes another plea to God, telling God to not let the bosses hurt him. The last instance Luke prays is when the police are surrounding the house. He takes it as a sign from God of what he needs to do, and he accepts that he needs to face his death at the hands of those men. We too, can find the story of Cool Hand Luke mythical. Luke is the hero, and a myth of what we’d like to be if we were in that situation. He takes a call to adventure by entering the prison. He adjusts to the life, but when his mother dies, he feels compelled to leave this place, and return to freedom. He faces three separate trials, that is typical in a hero’s journey. However, what makes this story unique is instead of being a free man, he finds freedom in his death, since it takes him away from the

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