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Jenna, I too thoroughly enjoyed reading your review and saw instances of Luke as a Christ-like figure myself throughout the film as well. To continue with your thought about legacy and how Luke and Jesus both leave their followers “changed” as a result of their experiences together, my reflections on Cool Hand Luke and Luke’s role within it have largely centered around Luke as a messianic figure for his fellow prisoners. As you and previous respondents have mentioned, Luke, like Christ, suffers throughout his hero’s journey because he refuses to compromise his beliefs and his attitudes (more so than for his actions, which are largely harmless) threaten existing power structures and the status quo. Luke is a free thinking man confined in a system whose very existence is predicated on complete, dogmatic adherence to rules, forceful authority, and hierarchy. The very notion that he can entertain free thoughts is a threat to that system’s integrity and long term security. With the film being released in 1967, there is plenty of socio-historical context which can inform why such a character would be heroic to audiences of the time (and, unsurprisingly today).
To both his fellow prisoners and the audience, Luke is a messianic figure through the redemptive power of his suffering. His fellow prisoners use Luke’s experiences and actions as catharsis, a story they can tell themselves and each other to entertain hope about their current predicament and that there is even the possibility of standing up to and defeating that unshakable, world-binding authority. As John Lennon sings in 1973’s “God” – “God is a concept by which we measure our pain”. Because Luke suffers, his fellow prisoners are able to feel hope, and we, the audience, walk away with a determined resolve to oppose tyranny and stand up for humanity. In Luke’s death, he achieves a kind of symbolic immortality.