Christianity/Martyrdom
Throughout the film we see Luke display character in such a way that he changes the entire culture of the prisoners held in the chain gang. Rosenberg uses Christian imagery to portray Luke in a manner closely related to that of Jesus. After eating the 50 eggs Luke lays on the table spread out as if on the cross. And after taking a beating from Dragline we see that Luke is not a threat physically to the guards or other men just as Jesus was not one to be physically threatening. Instead, Luke uses his intellect and his will in order to earn the respect of the prisoners and the bosses in such a way that no one would have believed it was possible to do so. Lastly, we see Luke in the church just before he is shot by The Man With No Eyes in the neck. Here in the church parallels Jesus' in the Garden of Gethsemane asking God to take away his task of dying on the cross if it is God's will. Like Jesus, Luke must remain and carry on his task, and thus loses his life. But he does so in such a way that Dragline and all the men in the prison camp admire and remember Luke to a degree that they will never forget the way he lived his life.
Authority
Luke's issues stem from his inability to have someone have any sort of authority over him and his life. He is in search of a freedom where there are no boundaries to what he can do, but getting free isn't enough for Luke he wants to be free of the hand of authority that imposes itself upon everyone in society. This is why he cuts the heads off parking meters in the opening scene. The meters represent the world lording itself over people in order to make them pay a price for something that should be free. It's a subtle scene but a major point in Rosenberg's film. Finally, throughout his time in the prison Luke never allows anyone to have true authority over him until he is beaten into a grave he's dug for himself. We see Luke fight Dragline until he is bloodied and broken, he doesn't work at the pace the other men want to work at instead he works the way he sees fit to get the job done with the tar road and finally he decides whether he is going to be free or not. That is not something a prison boss can give or take away from him and he pays the price with his life by continuing to escape.
Will
Luke's character without a doubt represents a man that has the will to carry on regardless of the circumstances. The depiction of the prison camp is one where every prisoner has become a mind numbed "yes boss." They do exactly what they are told and have little identity. We see this when each prisoner asks to take off their shirt, or to put on glasses and to wipe them off. Every little thing they do is monitored and thus their will is wiped out. Luke comes along to reveal to them a will that can withstand the beatings of a Dragline punching him in the face, or the bosses demands to work in a specific way. Though Luke is behind bars and chained no man is going to take away his will, his ability to choose how to act in a particular moment. His ability to hold on to this idea that his life is his is what wills him to carry on. In a way all that Luke has left is his will. His freedom is taken from him and later his mother, and when he has nothing he realizes his need to show that he is something in this life, and his continually willing himself to do more proves this.
