“The Green Mile” - summary.

Authors Avatar

“The Green Mile”

        Paul Edgecomb is in charge of the Coal Mountain Louisiana State Penitentiary’s death row. The cell black is nicknamed “The Green Mile” due to its green linoleum floor, the path that a prisoner must walk from his cell to the room with the electric chair. Paul, a man of such dignity and good will, treats each prisoner with respect. Along with three other workers with him especially his best friend, Brutus Howell, their goal is to make the condemned men pass the last days in a respectable, dignified manner. Their routine is overturned by the arrival of three men, one is an absurd guard, the second is a sociopath prisoner, and finally a giant African-American prisoner. The guard, Percy Wetmore is a coward and a sadist. He owes his position to political connections, and his fondest wish is to see a man get executed up close. Paul and his fellow guards would want to get ride of him, but Percy has highly placed connections and cannot be transferred until he submits a request. He is there to conflict throughout the scene of the novel. Secondly, the sociopath killer is William “Wild Bill” Wharton, described as a cruel, violent, and a crazy person. He torments the other prisoners and the guards, and threatens to undermine Paul’s efforts at maintaining a calm environment. More interesting is the arrival of the new prisoner, John Coffey, a seemingly simple-minded, African-American man convicted of the rape and murder of two young white girls. Despite his powerful physical appearance, he is gentle and possesses a miraculous, mysterious power to heal. He heals Paul’s urinary infection, resurrects a dead mouse, and cures the warden’s wife who was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Join now!

        The plot arises when Paul gives in to Percy’s desire to preside over an execution with discussion results. Percy fails to prepare the prisoner properly and as a result cooks him to death rather than electrocuting him. The second half of the plot concerns the rapidly approaching moment of John’s own execution. Paul, by this point is convinced not only that John is innocent, but also that he is a messenger of sorts from God. Paul does not want to have to answer for killing John by saying that he was just doing his job. He offers john a chance ...

This is a preview of the whole essay