How ar the themes presented in Cool Hand luke?

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‘How have the themes in the film ‘Cool Hand Luke’ been presented? What is the viewer’s response to these themes?’

In the film ‘Cool Hand Luke’ there are numerous themes that are presented in many ways. These themes are; Characters and Roles, Faith and Religion, Motif of Gambling, Setting and Atmosphere, Authority and Power. There are many ways in which the viewer can interpret these. These points will be explored throughout my essay.

The main character in the film is none other than Luke Jackson, who is portrayed by Paul Newman. Luke was imprisoned for defacing public property by removing the heads of parking meters. Once inside the prison, Luke constantly questioned the rules, which brought out his audacity and spontaneity. This quickly gained him respect among the other prisoners. After escaping three times, the prison officers attempted to ‘break’ Luke from his ways. Luke fell to his knees and vowed to conform to the rules. At this point the other prisoners lost respect for him. This made it seem as if they were just feeding off of him and using him as a form of entertainment. Also, another prisoner, Dragline, was the ‘boss’ of the prisoners, and he abused his power until Luke arrived. Although he was ‘head’ of the prisoners he never broke the rules because he was afraid. He used Luke but also looked up to him at the same time. There was one prison officer that stood out. The ‘Boss’ or ‘man with no eyes’ wore very dark shades so that no one could see his eyes, thus read his emotions. He was very intimidating to the prisoners. The viewer is led to think that no one can outsmart him because they never know what he is thinking which leaves his character as a bit of an enigma.

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Another major topic of the film is Faith and Religion. This topic is a contradictory one that twists and turns itself within the movie with a number of different characters like Luke and Dragline. Luke doesn’t admit to being religious, but he contradicts himself a number of times during the course of the film. During one of the scenes it begins to rain and Luke asks God to show a sign of his existence, but it doesn’t come. He states to Dragline, “There ain’t no God, just standin’ in the rain talking to myself.” But, in the last scene he ...

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