Green Mile Summary
"The Green Mile" was a novel written by Stephen King in 1996. The story takes place in 1932 on the “E” Block or otherwise known as death row in Cold Mountain Penitentiary somewhere in Georgia. It is narrated by the main character, Paul, who is the captain of the prison guards who supervise the “E” Block. "The Green Mile" is the hallway between the cells of the cell block that leads to the execution room. The corridor is covered in green linoleum, hence, the "last" or green mile the inmates take to their death.
The story follows John Coffey, a large, black inmate convicted of raping and murdering two young white girls, and the other two inmates on death row, along with the guards who watch over them. Coffey is special, as Paul discovers, and he has magical healing abilities that become clear. The second of three inmates, Eduard Delacroix befriends a small white mouse, who he names Mr. Jingles, and Coffey heals the mouse when the young and reckless guard Percy Wetmore tried to kill it. Coffey also heals Paul's urinary tract infection, and later, Paul temporarily breaks him out of the prison to heal the warden's wife's brain tumor. Coffey "transfers" this brain disease to Wetmore, the cruel guard who the inmates and staff dislike. Wetmore never recovers and spends the rest of his life in a mental institution.
Eventually, Paul discovers that Coffey is extraordinary in many areas. It turns out he did not murder the two girls, another inmate (William Wharton) or as the inmates call him Wild Bill had murdered the girls. Coffey doesn’t want to be pardoned, and dies in the electric chair because he can no longer cope with the vicious cycle of real life. After his death, Paul discovers that each of the people Coffey has healed live unusually long lives. Paul is 108 at the end of the book, and Mr. Jingles is 64. They have no idea how long they will live, and then the novel ends.
Characters
Paul Edgecombe - Paul is the main character. A prison guard, by the end of the
The story follows John Coffey, a large, black inmate convicted of raping and murdering two young white girls, and the other two inmates on death row, along with the guards who watch over them. Coffey is special, as Paul discovers, and he has magical healing abilities that become clear. The second of three inmates, Eduard Delacroix befriends a small white mouse, who he names Mr. Jingles, and Coffey heals the mouse when the young and reckless guard Percy Wetmore tried to kill it. Coffey also heals Paul's urinary tract infection, and later, Paul temporarily breaks him out of the prison to heal the warden's wife's brain tumor. Coffey "transfers" this brain disease to Wetmore, the cruel guard who the inmates and staff dislike. Wetmore never recovers and spends the rest of his life in a mental institution.
Eventually, Paul discovers that Coffey is extraordinary in many areas. It turns out he did not murder the two girls, another inmate (William Wharton) or as the inmates call him Wild Bill had murdered the girls. Coffey doesn’t want to be pardoned, and dies in the electric chair because he can no longer cope with the vicious cycle of real life. After his death, Paul discovers that each of the people Coffey has healed live unusually long lives. Paul is 108 at the end of the book, and Mr. Jingles is 64. They have no idea how long they will live, and then the novel ends.
Characters
Paul Edgecombe - Paul is the main character. A prison guard, by the end of the