Summary of Stephen King "The green Mile"
Many people will have first come across Stephen King’s novel The Green Mile, not really knowing that it was once a book written by the famous author. The novel was first written as a series in 1996, but was later made into a movie in 1999, starring Tom Hanks and nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including the prestigious category of “Best Picture” and “Best Screenplay.” adapted”.
The book was originally published as 6 separate short stories in 1996, with the first published in March and then each month until the last in the series published in August of the same year. All the stories were published as one book in May of the following year and 3 years later the book became available in hardcover.
The Stephen King story The Green Mile takes place in Cold Mountain Penitentiary, a fictional location though heavily influenced by the Louisiana State Penitentiary. The story is told as the first-person narration of one of the main characters, Paul Edgecombe, who switches between a 1996 present, where he is an elderly resident of a nursing home, and his time as a supervising prison guard of the corridor block. of death at Cold Mountain. Penitentiary in 1932.
The title of the book comes from the nickname given to the building that housed those sentenced to death; it had a green linoleum floor and was known as the green mile. The story revolves around a newcomer to ‘the green mile’, John Coffey, an African-American who has been convicted of raping and murdering 2 young white girls and his interaction with his fellow death row inmates.
King often writes about good versus evil and has used many different mediums to portray this ongoing fight. None is more cleverly written than the juxtaposition that is Coffey, he is a huge man at 6ft 8in tall and strong and yet the gentlest and most collected character in the book. He is accused of terrible crimes and yet he seems incapable of hurting anyone. In fact, Coffey has a healing gift that Edgecombe learns of and the story cleverly provokes readers to think about morality, a sense of justice, among other emotions, as Coffey’s innocence is learned, but he accepts his fate. to escape the violence and darkness in the world.
Between the time Coffey arrives at Cold Mountain, we learn about Edgecombe’s colleagues, most of whom are decent, upstanding human beings doing hard work. Then there’s Percy Wetmore, a sadistic young guard who’s there through a family connection. Most of the inmates are also remorseful of their crimes, except for William Wharton, who seems incapable of feeling remorse for any of his crimes. When all of these characters are placed in the high-pressure environment of the green mile, King is able to truly explore the depths of nature and human emotions.
Stephen King, The Green Mile manages to deliver a completely gripping yet original and heartbreaking story, the prison guards and prisoners have a depth of character that makes them empathetic and completely believable. The Green Mile showcases King’s talent as a writer, not just as a horror writer, but as one of the great fiction writers of the 20th century.