Theological Symbolism in "Cool Hand Luke" Essay

Oftentimes when I get asked who’s my most favored character is in a movie or TV show, it is usually the hero and not necessarily the darker characters. In The Stranger and “Cool Hand Luke”, there are both messianic roles that are connected with their main characters. In both the novel and the movie, symbolism of Christ is one of the main relations that connect these stories together. In the movie “Cool Hand Luke”, the main character Luke is the messianic archetype throughout the whole movie. His name is related to the apostle Luke in the bible.

Luke is broken, but is not yet ready to give up, as he escapes one last time. Luke runs away and escapes into an old church, launching into a soliloquy asking God for guidance. God’s answer comes in the form of desertion as the police encircle the church. Luke realizes that he’s a goner no matter what, so he approaches a window and shouts the famous line “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” In return for his final act of defiance he gets a fatal shot in the throat. Remaining defiant to the end is an expected characteristic of Luke’s courageous nature.

This movie explores issues of greed, human relationships, betrayal and redemption, personal innocence and responsibility as well as the effects on the human mind

His rise in power and his desire for disobedience lacks one critical point that he fails to see throughout the film: a just objective. He breaks the norm in jail so simply fulfill his thirst to be different and not what he seems unjust and unfair. As a prisoner, he has lost most of his rights as an American citizen and he has to be punished as a result. His treatment seems fair; he received three meals, recreation time, visiting hours and care--there was no evidence of mistreatment or unfair conditions. This first two attempts to escape showed that he performed those actions just to demonstrate his ability to escape and hold on to his newfound power and glory. They do not, however, help him realize all the reasons to behave well and obey authority in jail in order to fully appreciate all the benefits of freedom once his term was over. Instead, it reassured the inmates that Luke has become the leader and he will continue to break the law as he pleased.

The Christ figure is a recurring symbol in American literature. Throughout Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, various interactions and events portray McMurphy as a Christ figure. There are frequent visual and concrete references to Christ throughout the novel. Also, the reader discovers that the other patients view McMurphy as an inspiration and someone they wish to emulate. This cooperation enables him to oppose Nurse Ratched and do what he thinks is best for the patients.

Flannery O’Connor has long been criticized for her blatant incorporation of religious symbols into sinister, dark stories. In the short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the dark and apathetic Misfit is said to portray, in an allegorical sense, a Christ-like figure. However, through the interpretation of the inversions of divine characteristics, his repulsion of Christ’s very existence, and the denial of any powers beyond the observable realm, we find that the Misfit is actually representative of the Anti-Christ.

In the book Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright makes three different claims throughout. N.T. Wright's first claim is about the “perfect storm”. The “perfect storm” takes up a large section of the first few chapters, and in those chapters N.T. Wright writes about that to enter the “perfect storm” you must step out of your own storm that is happening in your life, you must jump back into the “perfect storm” just as Jesus did in his own life. N.T. Wright fails to fully support the idea of the “perfect storm” throughout the book. Wright writes about the two myths that create the “storms”, the first is “… the high-pressure system of conservative Christianity” and the second is “... the new classic modernist myth…”. N.T. Wright loses his credibility to his claims by never giving evidence that disproves they myths. N.T. Wright states that the stories in the bible “...’really did happen’. And there the matter ends…. Facts or no facts”. N.T. Wrights claims are never fully

The movie is focused around the life of a man by the name of Tony Montana and depicts his rise to power from a political refugee from Cuba to a drug warlord. In the course of the movie, Tony Montana also

The subject of religion has captured the attention of artists for centuries, working its way throughout the years, in and out of various of styles and movements. The artists of this era often found themselves reliant on this subject matter due to Churches being a steady Patron throughout the Renaissance all the way to the Baroque period. Whether it was because of the rich cultural impact to society or the enforcement of strong divine beliefs, depicting biblical narratives have struck an everlasting cord within this medium. Two particular ones, in fact: The Deposition from the Cross (Entombment of Christ) by Jacopo Pontormo and The Entombment of Christ by Michelangelo Caravaggio. Both of which provide an excellent example of how culture and artistic style combined can alter the message of the same iconic scene and still evoke different emotions.

Luke’s Gospel is a portrayal of Jesus as a model of social justice. Hence, the reader is empowered and influenced by the Gospel to be actively involved in social justice issues. The Catholic Church has sought to reach out to those in need, and Luke’s Gospel demonstrates this through injustices that Jesus challenged. In addition, mental illness, which is a current social justice issue reflects and appeals to problems that Jesus faced and reacted to in his time.

• Writes about James, brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ. Stoned to death in A.D. 62. Pg.78

The point of this assignment is to discuss the passage chosen, as well as information regarding the historical/cultural background of the passage and applying it to my life as a human being. It is also important that I apply this information on the passage to the Christian life or church ministry. The passage I have chosen for this assignment is from Matthew chapters 5-7 and is labeled “The Sermon on the Mount”. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest and most prominent of the five discourses of Jesus in Matthew. The whole point of the Sermon on the Mount was to show people who converted to Christianity how to live. It is to show how Christians should live in their actions, words, thoughts, and others ways of life. With that being said, this way of life was preached by Jesus Christ as he “went up on the mountain” to deliver his powerful message. The information for this passage is in, of course, the bible and our textbook “Encountering the New Testament”, as well as many other resources on the web that are related to the bible and passage.

The Passion of the Christ is one of many films about the life of Jesus but this particular one is different to the others. Released in 2004, directed by Mel Gibson and filmed in the ancient Aramaic language, `The Passion' focuses mainly on the death of Christ and shows us the full extent as to what he suffered to save mankind.

The movie, The Shawshank Redemption (1994), is based on a character Andy Dufresne. Andy is a young and successful banker who is sent to Shawshank Prison for murdering his wife and her secret lover. His life is changed drastically upon being convicted and being sent to prison. He is sent to prison to serve a life term. Over the 20-years in prison, Andy retains optimism and eventually earns the respect of his fellow inmates. He becomes friends with Red, and they both comfort and empathize with each other while in prison. The story has a strong message of hope, spirit, determination, courage, and desire.

I chose to read The Gospel of Luke for my project. It is said that The Gospel of Luke was written somewhere between 80 CE - 90 CE. The Gospel of Luke was written for Theophilus, who was called “Friend of God”. But The Gospel was also written for a wider audience, including converts and potential converts.