Brubaker and Cool Hand Luke are different men on the same mission. Despite their separate approaches, they stand for the same thing: reform and hope. Brubaker and Cool Hand Luke come across differently, by their actions, their positions, and their affiliation to the other prisoners. As the new warden of the prison, Brubaker could have been seen as just another person trying to inflict suffering and punishment onto the prisoners. Luke, being the new guy, is easily just another Newcock. The difference between these men and all the others is the hope of a better tomorrow.
Brubaker snuck into the prison, even after he was named the warden. Nobody in their right mind snuck into a prison, let alone this one in Arkansas. He wanted to see what life was actually like, instead of just hearing what others said (Brubaker). The prisoners believed that one warden or government official was just as bad as the next. They have no reason to believe any different. The prison was basically run by slave labor, using corporal punishment in everyday situations. These situations didn’t even need a reason; sometimes it was done just because.
Brubaker wasn’t going to allow this to continue happening. The first act he completed was eliminating corporal punishment from the system. Speaking about the whip he says, "You see this? This thing is gone! Any trusty who wants to go back to raking rocks for a living, well just get caught using this on one of your charges" (Brubaker). This act applied some hope in the prisoners there. Finally, someone was standing up for them! Officials weren’t continuing the same harmful practices. Brubaker wasn’t cowering down; he was different than the rest. He continued to remove unfair privileges and fought for the rights of al...
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...nds right.” He doesn’t. He can’t directly change policies that would make the lives of others easier and better, but he gives them hope that it can be done. He gives them hope in the fact that there will be conditions where they will not be hurt any longer and that it could get better. This is shown through his actions at the prison and in the fact that he escaped on multiple occasions.
Both men give hope that tomorrow will be better by their actions. Their stories provide this hope for the future for not only those present at the time, but for all of those who hear their story. They are superheroes, superheroes of hope.
Works Cited
Brubaker. Dir. Stuart Rosenberg. Perf. Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander ,Murray Hamilton, David Keith, Morgan Freeman. Twentieth Century Fox, 1980. Film.
Pearce, Donn. Cool Hand Luke. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press :, 1
While the differences between the Letter from Birmingham Jail, written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Benjamin Banneker letter are noticeable, the similarities are striking. Through the use of strong allusions, logos, and pathos, these two remarkable letters provide intriguing arguments against slavery and oppression, promoting equality with two different perspectives, allowing the reader to understand the difficulties segregation and racism placed upon the African American society.
I think a major factor that made the lives of these lives of these two men so different was one got out of the street life while the other didn’t. Another major factor was when the author mom sent her son to military school. This changed him for the better because it took him away from the trouble he was getting in back at home.
In Cool Hand Luke, the movie begins with the word, VIOLATION, across the screen. The word is from a parking meter and sets the tone for the entire movie. Luke Jackson, the title character, is arrested for cutting off the heads of the town’s parking meters while drunk, or in legal terms, for destroying municipal property while under the influence of alcohol. When asked why he cut the heads off the parking meters, Luke answers, “You could say I was settling an old score.” While it leaves the viewers believing that he probably received a parking ticket at some time in the past, no clues are given to what the old score may have been.
Slavery in the United States of America occurred throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, over 305,000 slaves were imported into present-day America. In 1791, Benjamin Banneker, a self-educated mathematician, astronomer, and writer, wrote a letter to the secretary of state at the time, Thomas Jefferson. Banneker said to Jefferson, “ I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally prevails with respect to us.” This was Banneker’s main purpose of the letter: He wanted to inform Jefferson of the unfairness and injustice slavery brings. Benjamin Banneker’s incorporates ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his letter and that is what makes it such an impactful piece of writing.
I thought it was cruel that they manipulated these prisoners and gave them long-term behavioral problems, such as nausea, paralysis, and helplessness. For example, one of the Holmesburg victims—Jesse Williams—experienced abuse by “physicians and technicians had rubbed acid into his scrotum until skin fell away—all for three dollars a session” (244). Holmesburg Prison experiments occurred during 1962-1968 and tested 153 experimental drugs on victims in the prison. These prisoners were inoculated with herpes, vaccinia, and viruses. Based on the research files, there was not an indication of them and the uprisings of drugs preformed were also
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Videocassette. Warner Home Video, 1990.
More of this bad treatment is brought to our attention when the writer talks about his visit to see his brother. His brother describes how things were in the prison. “Grown men treated like children by other grown men. Inmates yanked out of line and punished because a button is undone or hair uncombed.” (439) This was just an example of how they treated these men all the time in prison. Robby was even told by guards that they would get him next and he would soon join his friends in the hole. A man named Leon Patterson became another victim of these guards. The man appeared to be having an asthma attack. Him and the rest of the men tried to get the attention of the guards for help but the crude guards came to help after an hour later. Sadly the man was pronounced dead at the jail. These men are just few of the many African American who get this type of abusive treatment
They find meaning in their lives.Before purpose and survival or redemption and salvation can be discussed, an idea of what Angola is must be produced. The warden of Angola is a large man by the name of Burl Cain. Some believe that he is the reason for Angola being what it is. Bergner believes different:The striking tranquility at Angola—confirmed by the ACLU’s National Prison Project and Louisiana’s own watchdogs—could not be credited to Warden Cain alone. Twenty-one years ago conditions had been so anarchic and murderous a federal judge had ruled that the prison "shocked the conscience" and breached the Eight Amendment’s guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment. Reform had begun then.
1980. Warner Bros. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Music by Wendy Carlos and Rcachel Elkind. Cinematography by John Alcott. Editing by Ray Lovejoy. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd.
What disturbed me is that although the prisoners have committed a crime, it is wrong for the wardens treat them like “animals”. It is astonishing that the inmates are able to survive through each day. If I was expected to eat the rotten food, I would choose not to eat, which would have eventually lead to starvation. I am aware that the feeling of starvation is unbearable, it’s almost like if there was something stabbing through your guts. Previously mentioned, I would rather just get shot because if I was an inmate in the cell, I would end up not eating anything at. This will then lead to death, whereas getting blasted by a gun would be faster and significantly more
Using his personal experience, persuasive arguments and a polite but firm tone, Banneker was able to offer Jefferson and unique and powerful perspective on the plight of the African Americans living both in captivity and freedom. By using Jefferson’s own words, he heightened the impact of his argument and could more easily point out his hypocrisy. By maintaining his tone throughout, he created the opening to continued discourse on this important subject matter. He knew he had to walk a fine line in his communication with someone in a position to make changes in this brand new
Whether we like to think about it or not, slavery has been a part of our country’s history and eradicating it was a struggle. Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, writes to Thomas Jefferson to convict the institution of slavery in the United States. Banneker’s letter exhibits his negative feelings on the issue of slavery in which he provided many emotional and religious appeals, allusions and a critical tone to argue against slavery.
After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests. Working in a reception facility, this is a facility where inmates are brought in from the county jails to the state intake facility, we deal with a lot of requests and questions. At times, with the phone ringing off the hook from family members and inmates with their prison request forms, you get a little cynical and tired of answering the same questions over and over. As I read the book I begin to understand some of the reason for the questions. Inmate(s) now realize that the officers and administrative personnel are in control of their lives. They dictate with to get up in the morning, take showers, eat meals, go to classes, the need see people for different reason, when to exercise and when to go to bed. The lost of control over their lives is a new experience for some and they would like to be able to adjust to this new lost of freedom. Upon understanding this and in reading the book, I am not as cynical as I have been and try to be more patient in answering questions. So in a way I have changed some of my thinking and understanding more of prison life.
I believe these two stories can be compared because they are both dealing with young black people trying to figure out why they are being discriminated just because of their skin color. They both feel like they should be just as free or equal as white people and not judged so harshly for being born black. They both are attending school during a rough time for colored people. They both just want to make a difference and make people realize that they are not bad people and that they are just as smart as white people. I would say that they both were very unlucky to be born colored during this time period because of the hatred but at the same time they are the ones who could have the biggest impact on changing lives and making it better for colored
Through reading about these heroes, kids believe that there are good things that happen to good people. These heroes encourage many kids when they’re young, and provide them with right and wrong. For example, many fairy tales and comic stories show kids the kinds of behaviors that need in order to succeed in life, to improve society, and to overcome hard times. They become their example of healthy adult role models who through hard times and many contractions they were able to react positively and overcome hard times. Heroes prove to them that no matter how much suffering and hardships in the world, there are good people, who always do the right thing and provide us with hope in hard times. Heroes do provide courage for us to overcome emotionally, physically, or spiritually