The Green Mile Table of contents I. General information III.Analysis II.Characters and Plot IV.Personal thoughts and review I.General information a)Stephen King(1947) -Stephen King is an American author of horror,supernatural fiction and fantasy novels. -He is described as “King of Horror” -His books have sold more than 350 millions of copies since 2006 and many have been adapted into films. -Famous novels: Misery(1987), It(1986), The Shining(1977), The Green Mile(1996),.. b) The book “The Green Mile” -A serial novel written by Stephen King in 1996 -The book was originally released in 6 volumes before being republished as a single-volume work. -Genre: Magical realism -It tells the story of death row supervisor Paul Edgecombe's encounter with John Coffey,a black American prisoner -”The Green Mile” was also adapted into films starring Tom Hanks. It was a critical and commercial success. The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards II.Main Characters and plot 1.Main characters a)Paul Edgecombe -The protagonist and narrator of the book -Paul is the death row supervisor at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. - He takes excellent care of the prison on the E-block, avoids conflict and keeps the peace whenever possible. 1.Main characters a)Paul Edgecombe -The first character to discover John Coffey's amazing abilities,when the prisoner cures his urinary tract infection. -In the end, he transferred to Boy's Correctional with Brutus Howell shortly after Coffey's execution. 1.Main characters b)John Coffey -A black American with a massive build(6 ft 8 in tall),having been convicted of the rape and murder of two young girls and sentenced to death. -He is very quiet and prefers to keep to himself, weeps almost constantly and is afraid of the dark 1.Main characters b)John Coffey -Described as 'knowing his own name and not much else' and lacks the capability to do simple things -However, the prosecution contends that John lured the 2 girls away from their home, kill the watchdog and carefully planned the crime 1.Main characters b)John Coffey He turns out to be innocent of the rape and murder of two girls, but he allows himself executed because he is tired of the cruelty in the world 1.Main characters c)William Wharton(a.k.a Wild Bill or Billy The Kid) -The main antagonist -William Wharton is on death row for various crimes, including an armed robbery -He wreaks havoc on the Mile and plays tricks such as urinating on the guards and spitting a chewed-up Moon Pie into Brutal's face -He is punished by being placed in solitary confinement countless times, but never learns his lesson 1.Main characters c)William Wharton(a.k.a Wild Bill or Billy The Kid) -As John Coffey is being smuggled to Hal Moore's house, Wild Bill grabs his arm and Coffey sees that he actually committed the crimes for which Coffey was convicted -Therefore, Coffey gives Percy the "sickness" he took from the warden's wife, thus killing Wild Bill 1.Main characters d)Percy Wetmore -The secondary antagonist of the story -A young and sadistic guard who enjoy punishing harshly prisoners -He is disliked by Paul and the other guards because of his ways, but they cannot do anything about it because he is the nephew of the state governor's wife 1.Main characters d)Percy Wetmore -He has a deep antipathy to Delacroix. Percy sabotages Del’s execution, causing him to suffer a prolonged and agonizing death -He is sent to Briar Ridge mental institution as a patient -Percy eventually lives through a hospital fire and dies at another mental hospital in 1965 1.Main characters e)Eduard Delacroix(Del) -A prisoner at Cold Mountain Penitentiary and has no family -While on the Mile, Del befriends a mouse named Mr. Jingles -Percy, his enemy, sabotages his execution, causing Del to die a slow and gruesome death in the electric chair 2.Plot -In 1932, Paul is the block supervisor of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary death row -This year marks the arrival of John Coffey, a black American who has been convicted of raping and murdering two young white girls - John interacts with fellow prisoners Eduard "Del" Delacroix, William Wharton and other inhabitants including Arlen Bitterbuck,Arthur Flanders,.. -Paul and the other guards are irritated by Percy Wetmore but they have to be civil to him because he is the nephew of the Governor's wife -When Percy is offered a job at the Briar Ridge psychiatric hospital, Paul thinks they are finally rid of him. -However, Percy refuses to leave until he is allowed to supervise an execution, so Paul hesitantly allows him to run Del's -In Del’s execution,Percy deliberately avoids soaking a sponge in brine that is supposed to be tucked inside the electrode cap to ensure a quick death in the electric chair -When the switch is thrown, the current causes Del to catch fire in the chair and suffer a prolonged, agonizing death. -Over time,Paul realizes that John Coffey possesses inexplicable healing abilities, which he uses to cure Paul's urinary tract infection and revive Mr. Jingles -One night,the guards smuggle John out of prison and take him to the home of Warden Hal Moores to cure his wife,Melinda of her brain tumor -When they return to the Mile, John passes the "disease" from Melinda into Percy, causing him to go mad and shoot Wharton to death -Percy is then sent to Briar Ridge as a patient. -Paul's long-simmering suspicions that John is innocent are proven right -He discovers that it was actually Wharton who raped and killed the two girls and that John was trying to revive them -John's execution is the last one in which Paul participates. -Time going by, Paul now is very old. -He introduces Mr.Jingles to Elaine-his friends just before the mouse dies -The novel ends with Paul all alone, now 104 years old, wondering how much longer he will live. 3.Analysis 1.Friendship of the 2 very different characters -Paul Edgecombe is a death row supervisor, whereas John Coffey is just a black prisoner convicted of raping and murdering -John helps Paul a lot without wanting repayment -After all, John has vindicated himself and received sympathy from Paul. 1.Friendship of the 2 very different characters Delacroix and Mr Jingles 2.Historical background -In 1932, The Great Depression had an enormous impact on the American economy,led to many social issues -The novel reflects the reality of contemporary social life -Each character represents a class in American society 4.Personal thought and review 1.Plus point -Interesting and fascinating plot -Stephen King successfully shows his own style in this book:simple, abstruse,enticing. 1.Plus point -Each character is developed well and has a great impression on readers when the story ends -Realistic and accurate view to reflect the reality of death penalty in real life. 2.Minus point -Quite many minor characters,which can confuse readers Rating:9,5/10 Thank you for your attention
