 After a visit from his sick mother Arletta ( Jo Van Fleet ) , Luke becomes more optimistic about his situation . He continually confronts the Captain and the guards , and his sense of humor and independence prove to be both contagious and inspiring to the other prisoners . Luke 's struggle for supremacy peaks when he leads a work crew in a seemingly impossible but successful effort to complete a road @-@ paving job in less than one day . The other prisoners start to idolize him after he makes and wins a spur @-@ of @-@ the moment bet that he can eat fifty hard @-@ boiled eggs in one hour . 
