Cool Hand Luke
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Cool Hand Luke
How does Luke Jackson represent Christ? Could it be by his cellmate, Dragline who could represent Peter, Christ’s first follower? Could it be Boss Godfrey, the man with no eyes, who could represent the Devil? Or could it be the Captain who could represent Pontius Pilate? How would a fight scene with Dragline or eating 50 eggs or a picture in a magazine or even a pair of mirror sunglasses tie in with Christ?
First off, before there was a fight of any kind, the prisoners were out working out doors on the road when they all saw a temptress. Whom Dragline liked to call Lucille, a voluptuous blonde washing a car. All the men were hot and bothered by her, except Luke, and that brings us to how the fight would begin. Back at the prison, Dragline started reminiscing and rambling on about how Lucille put on a show for them. Luke told him to forget it and “Stop beatin’ it into the ground. It ain’t doin’ nobody no good.” Then Dragline told him “Ok, new meat, you get some sleep and save your strength, cause you’re gonna need it tomorrow.” So the fight is on and at first the prisoners wanted Dragline to pound Luke into a bloody pulp. But Luke couldn’t defend himself well; he was getting punched left and right. So a few minutes into the fight, the prisoners and even Dragline told Luke to stay down and give up, but Luke refused to give up, just like Christ refused to give up for mankind. Even though Luke took every blow to his body and the odds were against him, he still won, not physically, but by Dragline walking away.
Secondly, since the prisoners often got very bored, so they decide to make a bet for Luke to eat 50 eggs in one hour, just to pass the time. Dragline peels all 50 hard-boiled eggs for Luke to eat and takes bets from the inmates saying he’s not going to make it; because 50 eggs weigh at least 6 pounds and that will burst in him. Dragline takes the bet. As Luke gets off of his bunk bed, he has a towel on his head, significant to Christ’s crown of thorns. He downs the eggs and by egg 32, he is having trouble, so he goes to the sink and splashes water on his face. By now everyone thinks that the odds are against him, and Dragline tells the prisoners to bet more money, but Society Red tells him that all the money in the camp has been bet already. Luke has eaten 41 eggs, and Dragline tells him that there are only nine more eggs and helps by rubbing his throat. But Luke keeps going until he is finished with the last egg with not one second to spare. Luke ate 50 eggs and there are 50 prisoners; just like Christ taking away everyone’s sins. And the eggs represent Easter, the day Christ resurrected. After Luke finished eating, they help him lie on a table and then left, and Luke is lying with his arms outstretched, his ankles crossed and his head tilted to the left, like a pose of Christ’ crucifixion, and he has a mysterious smile on his face.
Well, at this point Luke has escaped and has sent Dragline a magazine from Atlanta, and in the magazine was a black and white picture of Luke neatly groomed sitting next to two ladies and Luke signed the page “Dear Boys: Playin’ it cool. Luke.” And on the page next to it was an article about hallucination called: “ A THING CALLED EARLY BLUR,” subtitled “The Illusion That Kills” with a hunter aiming a gun at Luke’s heart. Dragline was happy for Luke and called the picture “A true vision of paradise itself with two of the angels right there prancin’ around with my boy.” Not too long after Luke had been captured and came back to the prison, all the inmates wanted to know about Luke’s “paradise picture.” Luke told them that it wasn’t real; it’s a phony, that the picture wasn’t a “paradise picture.” The picture appears a couple of times more. The one time it does is after Luke gets a beating from the boss, and comes back to the bunk house and tell everyone that “I got my mind right,” and everyone turns their back to him and one of the prisoners gets the magazine where