Comparing Saviors In Cool Hand Luke And The Stranger

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A Tale of Two Saviors Saviors are individuals that have been seeked upon throughout society, as a symbol of hope and change. Though they are looked at in a positive light by those who follow them, outsiders may see them as rebellious or malevolent, which in turn also gives them the title of antiheroes. Just two examples of these saviors would be Lucas Jackson from the movie Cool Hand Luke and Meursault from the book The Stranger. Luke's saviorism differs from Meursault's in that Luke is blatantly successful in providing a feeling of hope and change to the people who look to him, whereas in the conclusion of Meursault’s story, one will not be too sure. In the movie Cool Hand Luke, Lucas Jackson is first found, drunk and cutting the heads off …show more content…

This situation might make the audience question his actions as to why he would put himself in a position go to jail for a crime that he has no gain. The answer would be simply because that is what he wanted to do. Throughout the movie Luke continues to do what he wants to despite the consequences that come with his actions. Because of this he is looked at as strong and confident in his actions, and he becomes a savior figure for the other prisoners. The other prisoners first witnesses his grit when he and Drag get into it, and even though drag kept taking him down with his blows, Luke just kept getting back up until he was not able to. Not only does this foreshadow the rest of the movie, but it is also a display of why he is a savior. He rarely gives into the pressures that everyone around him provides throughout the movie. The way that Luke presents himself sends a message to the other prisoners, and he helps them realise how much more there is than just the prison they have come to recognize as their new lives. What Luke brings the other prisoners is excitement, such as when they were sanding the tar or when they all bet on him eating fifty boiled eggs, he reveals to the others the freedom beyond …show more content…

In the book he is perceived as a mystery, or someone unfamiliar to those who do not know him, but those close to him adore and respect him, because they took the time to get to know him. Those who are strangers to Meursault have a difficult time understanding him so either try to force their morals or customs on him, such as his lawyer, or they just try to find a label that best fits him, like they did during the court case, or how his lawyer labels him an antichrist. Those within that particular society do this because they fear what they do not know, so they feel they must somehow familiarize themselves with him in order to be content with themselves, but because he brings this frustrating situation to those in the society, they tend to label him negatively. On the contrary those who actually get to know meursault, see the pureness and honesty in him, and they respect that he refuses to be other than himself, and speak nothing but his truth. For example, when Marie asks Meursault if he loves her, he tells her that it did not mean anything but he did not think so. Despite his telling her this she still continues to surround herself with him. This is a display of the light that Meursault provides to the people around him. The only issue with Meursault's character is that he cannot successfully reach everyone in his society with his light, because they are too busy trying to

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