Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Hand Full of Nothin' Part 1

This entry is for freshmen only.

After "beating" Dragline in the fight (by getting pounded on),and after "winning" the poker game (with an inferior hand), Luke claims that "Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand."


In the comments bellow, give an example (from another film, a book, a short story, etc.) that proves Luke is right, that proves that sometimes "nothin' can be a real cool hand."

Be sure to read all of the responses before yours; remember, no repeats!

33 comments:

  1. People who fight for an honorable purpose can win even though they lose a fight, or argument over something. For example in the book Accomplice Eireann Corrigan, two best friends, Finn and Chloe stage a fake abduction because they think that it will make them noticed by good colleges. While Finn doesn't think she can go through with it, Chloe was the one who did go through with it and get to go to a good college. Finn was left with nothing. Finn soon realized she was better off living with no college at all than living with the fact that she created a huge lie to get into college. And as she went on with life she realized that she needed to do something about it. She brought the truth to all of the people who believed Chloe's fake plan and although that brought Finn nothing physically, she would earn more appreciation and respect from her truthfulness soon from all the people who did believe Chloe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adam Krempasky P4 10-4-11October 4, 2011 at 4:15 PM

    Many people that face enemy's that have nothing going for them are always underestimated and then they usually come back to beat them in whatever they are doing. In the 1980s in the Olympics a bunch of rookie hockey players came together to form the USA hockey team. No one expected the team to win against all the good teams that they had to compete against. They defied the odds and beat the best team in the Olympics and won the championships. Being underestimated can be a very good thing for some and it will be a factor in helping them win what they need.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In the movie Forrest Gump the main character Forest does not try to become rich or famous he simply lives his life. Forest does many things in his life such as fighting in the Vietnam War. He does all of this and everything goes his way. When he becomes rich it is because of his friend investing in Apple, and Forest having nothing to do with it. Forest never thought of doing the things he did would get him this far in life. By Forest just living his life it got him everywhere in life and turned out great for him.


    -Davis Hianik

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shan Kadalimattom (Period 4)October 4, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    When many people fight or bet on money the usually lose but other times the win even when they lose. Which would mean that they have proved there point before they have lost. An example would be the movie Flowers For Algernon. In thing movie the main character Charlie is mentally handicapped and since he has no family to decide for him they test him on in a laboratory. But before they test him they test a mouse. Once they inject the mouse with a new chemical that enhances mental growth the rat suddenly becomes very smart. So they inject the chemical into Charlie. Charlie grows smarter and smarter. Until one day the mouse dies.Charlie soon then notices that his brain is becoming less developed each day. Until one day he dies. This proves that even though Charlie dies that even people who are mentally handicapped can become smart.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kelly Anderson period 4October 4, 2011 at 4:28 PM

    Havin' the cold hand means you have nothing to lose. If the enemy is aware that they have the advange, then they might start to get lazy. This is true for the story of the Tortise and the Hare. In the story, the tortise is expected to lose a race against the Hare. During the race the hare thinks because he has such a huge lead that it is okay to take a break. In the end the tortise passes up the hare and ends up winnning. This goes to show that being the underdog doesn't always mean a loss.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alessandro Berto Period 8October 4, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    If you have nothing then you have nothing to lose, a good representation of having nothing and turning it into something good would come from the book and movie called The Pursuit of Happiness which is based on a true story about a man named Chris Gardner played by Will Smith in the film, is a man with a low paying job, a son, and a relationship that is falling apart with his girlfriend. Chris Gardner, his girlfriend, and his son had to survive off of eight thousand dollars a year, but eventually Chris got a job as a stock broker, he worked early in the morning to late at night, though Chris and his son became homeless for about a year still working as a stock broker. But then Chris made a multi-millionaire dollar deal selling a company he had made, making him a successful business man never becoming homeless again.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Serah James Period 4October 4, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    Nothin' can be a real cold hand means that when you are undervalued and not supported in a fight, bet or sport you win in the end because of your hard work, intellect, and positive thinking. Derrick Rose strongly exemplifies Luke. When Derrick Rose first started his basketball career, he said he wanted to become the MVP. All of Chicago laughed at him and never thought he could make it. Now, Derrick Rose is the MVP and Chicago praises him. They completely underestimated him but Derrick Rose proved everyone wrong only in his first couple of years playing in the NBA.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Andy Duric (Period 4)October 4, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    I think that having a cool hand sort of means that you have nothing to lose like in the movie Shaw Shank Redemption. The main character Andy who murdered his wife took a risk and had nothing to lose however he took the risk and succeeded in escaping from prison he is very similar to Luke however he didn't kill anyone. Luke also took a cool hand and took a risk since he had nothing to lose and had nothing left in his life after his mother had passed away. Andy like luke also had nothing left in his life after killing his wife so he also ended up taking a cool hand rather than nothing since he had nothing to lose.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sometimes 'nothin' can be a real cool hand. Casey from Ice Princess was a perfect student. Then there was Jen, who skated her entire life and was overconfident. Casey was a brainy girl and she decided to try figure skating. In the end she made it to the 2006 Olymics This shows that if you follow your heart you can achieve anything and also even though that she is very knowledgeable and gets extremely good grades, even she can be a professional skater.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. When you have nothing, you can use this in many ways. You can use it to your advantage to make a cool hand, but you can also disregard it and forget about it. Using it to your advantage means that you use it to stay low and then come out with a bang, showing everyone they were wrong about you. In the movie, "Freedom Writers", Erin Gruwell is underestimated by a number of people. This only makes Erin want to succeed in her goal with more determination. Her goal is to make her class of English students into a good cooperating class. She takes on a number of jobs to pay for books to give to the kids, and this helps the kids realize Erin's sincerity to them. They start to work together and open up as they write in their journals. The students' grades increase and they start taking English more seriously. They even get to meet Miep Gies, who knew Anne Frank. In the end, the class becomes a family and everyone is dumbfounded by Erin. This is because she had succeeded in bringing them together when everyone had doubted her.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sometimes having nothing, can be better than it sounds. When a person has nothing to lose, they are willing to take risks that can become beneficial.In the movie Rambo,a man named John Rambo visits a small town in Washington to meet one of his squad mates from the Vietnam War. When he finds out his friend is dead, the audience can tell he is a drifter and has had a hard life since the war. The sheriff, who is a huge jerk, arrests Rambo because he doesn't like people like him. When Rambo gets pushed to far, he freaks and goes on a one man war against the sheriff. With nothing to lose, Rambo wrecks havoc on the sheriff, state police, and the National Guard. He teaches them a lesson with nothing. This is a lot like the character Luke from Cool Hand Luke. Both movies tell you can achieve things with nothing.

    Van Hershey
    Period 8

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand."
    What this quote is saying that if you have nothing, you can take risks because there is nothing to lose. Someone that can be very underrated and considered a "nobody" can end up being the best and greatest. In the movie "facing the giants" there was a football team which was never expected to win the championship and was always projected to lose against the better football teams. At the end, the "nothin" team ends up winning the whole thing.

    -Sammy Kim

    ReplyDelete
  13. Luke shows that just because you don't have the right hand doesn't mean you are not as good as them. Also, that you could convince that you are a better person, just because you were dealt with a bad hand. This is related to Elvis Presley because he wasn't "dealt a real cool hand" because he grew up really poor. But Elvis ended up really successful, and this can show that even though people are "dealt a real cool hand" they can prove that they can make those cards work, and could win.

    ReplyDelete
  14. When you start off with nothing, you usually for your goal because you know that you have nothing to lose. In the movie "Holes" Stanley and "Zero" escape from the brutal desert detention camp in order to regain their freedom, At first no one believed their plan and that they were going to escape alive. After a week from their escape, they return back to the camp and find the hidden chest filled with documents stated about that all that treasure belongs to them. They caught digging for the chest, but are not required to go back to the camp because their attorney stated the fact that Stanley and "Zero" are innocent and free to go. All of this happened because they did not let anyone tell them that they could not complete this or do that. They followed their own mind and completed something great, which they started off with nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It is said in so many ways, but the meaning is more or less the same. "Nothin' can be a real cool hand" is what Luke had said after winning a game of poker with a bluff. Although he didn't have good cards, he showed strength which scared his apponent. In the book "Airborne" Matt cruse fights for a captains position of an air balloon his whole life, when the boss' son is about to be given the job with no experience. Without exposing his lack of education, Matt fights hard to show the boss that he is a natural talent for flying. Soon Matt is given the Job. What this means is that whether someone wants to be a captain or win a poker game, you don't have to be powerful or rich. You just have to keep fighting, hiding weak spots, and pushing on to win even if you are playing with nothing.

    -Danny Fookson
    Period 8

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kelly Cordes period 4October 4, 2011 at 6:19 PM

    The movie Cinderella is a great example of proving that Luke is right. Sometimes nothin'can be a real cool hand. Her evil step-sisters perpare for a long time to go to the ball, where the prince will be. They spend a long time picking out a dress, and doing their hair, etc. However, Cinderellas fairy god mother creates her a dress and sends her off to the ball. Cinderellas sisters want to dance with the prince but he picks Cinderella when she does not even realize that he is the prince. Eventually Cinderella finds out that he is prince and they get married. This shows that since Cinderella was a kind loving girl she got what was good and her step sisters did not because they were evil.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Luke is right when he says that "nothin can be a cool hand". For example, in the movie Holes, Stanley Yelnats family is cursed because his great-grandfather broke a promise to madam Zeroni. Since he broke a promise to her, she cursed the entire family forever until the promise was fulfilled; carrying up a Zeroni member up a mountain. Anyways, the family was cursed and because of that Stanley goes to jail because one day when he was walking a pair of shoes fell out of the sky on top of him. Stanley had the choice of staying in jail or serving time at camp Green Lake. He chose camp Green Lake because he had nothing to lose. Stanley chose the camp because he had nothing to lose, either way he had to serve time so he picked the camp instead because he never went to one as a child. In the movie Cool Hand Luke, Luke also takes on many opportunities, even ones he cannot succeed. That is what a "cool hand" means.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sometimes having nothing is even better than having everything. When there is nothing to lose and only things to gain, taking risks is not a problem. In the movie The Blind Side, Michael Oher had nothing. he lived on the streets and was seen to have no potential. Michael takes a large risk by trusting another family to keep him off the streets and help him rise to his full potential. Michael Oher became an All-American football player and a first round NFL draft pick all because of taking a large risk. When you have nothing to lose, why not take chances?

    Brooklyn Cohen

    ReplyDelete
  19. What Luke ment by "Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand". What he meant by this is that you do not always need the best things in life to win. You do not need a full house or a four-of-a-kind to win. All you need is to make do with what you have. Even if you have nothing, do your best with it. In the poker game for example, Luke had nothing, just a bunch of random cards. The other guy who was left betting had a pair i think. That is better than nothing. Well, Luke fooled everyone into believing that he had good cards by raising the bet each time. So high that the other guy did not want to lose any more of his money. The other guy folded and Luke won it all. He did what he could with what he had and it helped him.

    Daniel B
    Period 4

    ReplyDelete
  20. This reminds me of the spider who went up the water spout. After failing and failing, she kept on getting back up. This is like Luke in the fight. He kept on getting up no matter what people said or no matter how hard he was hit to the ground.

    Daniel B
    Period 4
    (Continued)

    ReplyDelete
  21. What Luke said reminds me of the movie "Rocky". Rocky was just another random boxer that was picked for a exhibition match against the World heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed as a marketing deal to raise money and get Apollos name out there. Rocky was training really hard, while Apollo was not. When it came to the the match Rocky went all the way with the world #1 and took him to the limit. At the end he didn't win but to everyone else he did, know one expected him to do so well. After that battle he became the best known fighter of all time. This proves Luke is right because Rocky came from nothing and ended up really famous and rich cause he had a passion for what he was doing. He knew he could make his dream come true if he just had the right mind set.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand is just a saying that if you got nothing make the best of it and trick people into thinking you got it all. The movie Aladdin is a perfect example for this. Aladdin is a poor boy who finds a genie lamp and rubs it to find a genie who will grant him three wishes. He makes a wish that makes it seem like he is a prince to impress the princess, but when she finds out he is a poor boy she likes him even more.

    -Jack Giannini

    ReplyDelete
  23. When Luke says the statement, it means that sometimes, having nothing can lead to something special. In the book Bat Boy by Matthew McGough, Matt sends an application to the New York Yankees to try to become their bat boy. There were hundreds of people trying to become the bat boy, and Matt was just another one. He was just like everyone else, but the manager still thought that he was one of the best applicants. Matt knew how to keep score of the game, and he never even needed to look at the scoreboard. He also had transportation to the stadium. Other than that, he was the same as anyone else. He had nothing to lose like Luke, so he took the risk of trying. The thing about risks is that if there is a possibility of losing something, then the person always gets a little hesitant to go along with the risk.

    Steve Clare, p8

    ReplyDelete
  24. When Luke said, ""Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" I think he meant that the underdog always wins in the end. For example, in the movie Cinderella, her stepmother and stepsisters underestimate her. They have no idea that she could ever be the chose one of the prince. But sure enough, the Prince ends up choosing Cinderella over ever other girl at the ball. The person with more is not always going to come out on top and thats what Lucas was saying.

    ReplyDelete
  25. When luke said sometimes having nothing gets you somewhere. In the book My girl 2 and movie Vada knew nothing about her mother and then in her english class there was an assignment to pick someone you don't know and research about them. Vada picked her mother because she never met her mother. Her mother died when she was little. All the information Vada knew about was that before Vada's mother met her dad that she lived in California. Vada went to California for a week to find and investigate about her mother. When she arrived ahe didn't know no nothing but that she lived in California and went to School there. She got to see her moms old year book and she then when to search for her mom's friends. Vada found out a lot of info about her mother that her mom was into theatre and music. Also that Vada had her mother's eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  26. John Karamichos Period #8October 4, 2011 at 8:14 PM

    When I heard Luke claim that "Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand", it reminds me of the rags to riches story of author J.K. Rowling. Separating after a marriage, Rowling was unemployed and living on welfare with her daughter. Then when she fashioned the idea of a school of wizardry and Harry Potter. Just like Luke in the movie, J.K. Rowling did not really have anything else to lose, so they both gambled and won.

    ReplyDelete
  27. When Luke said "sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" it reminded me of barack obama and how he had to work hard to become president. He didnt have a good childhood and nothing was handed to him on a platter. He had to work his way through high school and earn a scholarship rather than other presidents had rich parents or their dads were former presindent so it was easeir for them to run or become presidnet.
    SALVADOR ALVARADO Pd:8

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think it mean you have nothing to lose but gain.
    Luke can take risks because its either he gains nothing or gains something. He doesn't lose anything because thats what you start off with.
    The Lost Child, a book, reminds me of this movie because the main character of the book tries to look for his lost sister. Its either he finds her or not so he has nothing to lose. People told him not too because he wouldnt find her since he was only about 14, but he went for it. And at the end he eventually found her. At the end he prooved everyone wrong.

    Nadia Choi

    ReplyDelete
  29. When Luke said "Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" it reminded me of the movie Never Back Down. This movie is an example and supports the quote because the main character was a new person at a high school, and really did not know anyone of have any friends. So he worked really hard at making a name for himself by fighting, and working really hard at it because he had nothing to lose. He ends up beating the most popular guy in the movie and made a name for himself.

    ReplyDelete
  30. "sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" when hearing those words the first thing that comes to my mind is underdog. what i also think it means is that you got to keep on fighting even though it might take a long time, and be extremely difficult at times but you got to keep on fighting, and that fight eventually will lead to a victory for you.one good real life example of this is from Superbowl XLII(42). The New York giants were coming into the game as the underdogs and no body expected them to win.But they kept of fighting to the end and then they had the unusual/crazy/amazing play which led them to win the game and take the Lombardi trophy home.This sorta relates to Luke's win over Dragline because even though it was a unusual way for Luke to win the fight, he still won.Also nobody expected Luke to win and that makes my Superbowl connection even better. so what i'm pretty much is saying is even if your the underdog and there still isn't a slight chance of you winning, keep on fighting and you'll never know what will happen.=)
    ------Soju Kunchandy
    ------period 8

    ReplyDelete
  31. "sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" Luke is right about this. Sometimes, fighting for nothing can be fun, even if you lose. Like when Luke supposedly "won" the fight against Dragline. Even though Luke got beaten badly, he "won" because Dragline gave up and walked away. Luke was fighting for nothing, because if he won, he wouldn't win anything, but he had nothing to lose, so he didn't give up and kept on fighting. When they were playing poker, he kept putting in money, even though he had a bad hand and knew he would lose, and eventually, the other guy gave up and left the match. This reminds me of the movie holes, when they ran away from Camp Green Lake, even though they had no chance of surviving, they went for it, like Luke, and succeeded.


    -Josh Konrad
    -Period 4

    ReplyDelete
  32. the quote "sometimes nothin can be a real cool hand" says that when you have nothing, there is nothing to lose. When people have everything in life that they want, they still have everything to lose. When people have nothing in life, they have nothing to lose. When people have nothing in life, all they have to go for is everything. When people have everything in life all they have to go for is nothing. Life gets boring when you have everything so I think Luke is saying that sometimes having nothing is better than having everything. This quote reminds me of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. It reminds me of that because Chris, the main character goes from being homeless to being a millionaire. He started out with nothing but he had brains and all he had to go for in life was everything. He would have never aspired to be a millionaire if he already had everything. That is why sometimes having nothing is better than having everything.

    ReplyDelete
  33. the quote "sometimes nothin can be a real cool hand" says that when you have nothing, there is nothing to lose. When people have everything in life that they want, they still have everything to lose. When people have nothing in life, they have nothing to lose. When people have nothing in life, all they have to go for is everything. When people have everything in life all they have to go for is nothing. Life gets boring when you have everything so I think Luke is saying that sometimes having nothing is better than having everything. This quote reminds me of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. It reminds me of that because Chris, the main character goes from being homeless to being a millionaire. He started out with nothing but he had brains and all he had to go for in life was everything. He would have never aspired to be a millionaire if he already had everything. That is why sometimes having nothing is better than having everything.

    ReplyDelete