The Green Mile - Stephen King (1996) - Summary at Celsius 233

The Green Mile by Stephen King is a gripping historical and supernatural drama set in 1932 at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. The story follows Paul Edgecombe, a death row supervisor, as he oversees the arrival of a mysterious prisoner, John Coffey. Coffey, a giant of a man with a childlike demeanor, possesses an extraordinary healing power. As Paul uncovers the truth behind Coffey’s conviction, he grapples with morality, justice, and the existence of true miracles in a world filled with cruelty.

Plot Summary

The year is 1932, and Cold Mountain Penitentiary stands in the heat of the Great Depression, its death row block known as the Green Mile, named for the faded lime-colored linoleum stretching from the cells to the electric chair. This is where condemned men spend their final days, watched over by prison guard Paul Edgecombe and his team. Paul has seen many criminals pass through, each with their own sins, but none like John Coffey – a towering black man with sorrowful eyes and the demeanor of a lost child.

Coffey has been convicted of a horrific crime – the rape and murder of the twin daughters of a local farmer, Klaus Detterick. He was found cradling their lifeless bodies by a riverbank, weeping in despair. The evidence against him is damning. His immense size and strength make it easy for the court to accept his guilt. There is no trial filled with doubt, no investigation beyond what was necessary. Coffey is sentenced to die in the electric chair, and the state sends him to the Green Mile to wait.

Paul and his fellow guards – the kind-hearted Brutus “Brutal” Howell, the steady Harry Terwilliger, and the dependable Dean Stanton – are accustomed to their grim duties, but something about Coffey unsettles them. He lacks the rage and violence that mark the others who have walked the Mile. He is simple-minded, confused about his surroundings, and strangely terrified of the dark. He never protests his innocence, nor does he express fear about his approaching execution.

Among the guards is Percy Wetmore, a cruel and arrogant man whose position is secured by political connections rather than competence. He relishes tormenting the prisoners, especially Eduard Delacroix, a Cajun inmate convicted of arson and murder. Del clings to a small mouse he names Mr. Jingles, training the creature to fetch a wooden spool and perform tricks. The bond between man and mouse brings some light to the grim corridor, but Percy is determined to snuff it out.

Coffey’s presence begins to reveal something beyond the ordinary. When Paul suffers from a painful urinary infection, Coffey reaches out, his massive hands enveloping Paul in an overwhelming warmth. In a single breath, the pain is gone, drawn into Coffey’s body and expelled in a cloud of blackness. Paul is left stunned, knowing something beyond understanding has just occurred.

The miracle does not end there. Melinda Moores, the wife of Cold Mountain’s warden, is dying from a brain tumor, suffering seizures and slipping further into madness with each passing day. Paul, haunted by what he witnessed with Coffey, convinces his fellow guards to take an unimaginable risk. Under the cover of night, they smuggle Coffey out of the prison and into the warden’s home.

Coffey places his hands on Melinda’s head, and the room is bathed in a golden light. When he releases her, she is whole again – her mind clear, her pain gone. The tumor has vanished. Yet something is wrong. Coffey does not release the sickness as he did with Paul. He holds it, struggling under its weight. The guards rush him back to the Mile, terrified of being discovered, but Coffey has his own plan. He grasps Percy Wetmore and breathes the disease into him, letting it fester and rot inside the man’s body. Percy, overcome by madness, draws his gun and fires into William Wharton’s cell, killing the psychotic inmate instantly.

Wharton, nicknamed “Billy the Kid,” was the most dangerous man on the Mile. Unlike Delacroix, who was guilty but broken, Wharton was pure chaos – a remorseless killer with no fear of death. He had attacked guards, taunted his fellow inmates, and harbored secrets that no one knew. But now, the truth emerges.

Coffey was never guilty. Wharton, years earlier, had taken the Detterick twins from their beds, brutalized them, and left them to die in the riverbank. Coffey had found them too late. He had held their bodies, trying to take back the horror that had been done to them, but even his gift could not bring back the dead. When the posse found him, he had no words to explain, only tears.

Paul and the other guards are faced with an impossible choice. The truth is clear, but the law is blind. Coffey does not ask for justice. He does not plead for his life. In his heart, he is already tired of the world’s cruelty, of the suffering he has felt in others. He tells Paul he is ready to go.

The day of the execution arrives, and the Green Mile is heavier than it has ever been. The routine is followed as it always is – the walk to the chair, the securing of the straps, the placing of the sponge. But this time, the weight of what they are doing is unbearable. Coffey, so large he barely fits in the chair, looks to Paul with eyes filled with sorrow and trust. He does not resist. He does not cry out.

When the switch is thrown, the lights flicker, and the air crackles with energy. The room is filled with the scent of burning flesh, and Coffey’s body jolts under the current. When it ends, the silence is deafening. Paul, Brutal, and the others do their jobs as they always have, but they know that on this night, they have not carried out justice. They have executed a miracle.

Years pass. Paul, now an old man, sits in a nursing home, reflecting on the events of his life. Mr. Jingles, impossibly alive, still scurries around, his little body untouched by time. Paul himself has lived far beyond his years, aging slowly, unable to die. Coffey’s touch had left something inside him – a fragment of the same power that had healed and suffered in equal measure.

He wonders if it was a blessing or a curse. He wonders how many more years he will endure, watching everyone he loves pass while he remains. He wonders if, in carrying out the execution that night, he had been condemned in a way no one could have foreseen.

The Green Mile stretches on before him, and he walks it still, waiting for the day when his journey will finally end.

Main Characters

Paul Edgecombe – The narrator and head guard of E Block, the death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Wise and compassionate, he questions the justice system as he witnesses Coffey’s supernatural abilities.
John Coffey – A massive yet gentle black man convicted of murdering two young girls. He has a miraculous gift of healing, which challenges Paul’s perception of guilt and innocence.
Brutus “Brutal” Howell – A kind but firm prison guard who shares Paul’s sense of fairness and becomes one of Coffey’s silent defenders.
Percy Wetmore – A sadistic, power-hungry guard who enjoys tormenting inmates. His cruelty plays a key role in the story’s darkest moments.
Eduard “Del” Delacroix – A Cajun prisoner convicted of arson and murder. He forms a touching bond with a pet mouse, Mr. Jingles, before his execution.
Warden Hal Moores – The prison warden who struggles with his wife’s terminal illness, unknowingly becoming linked to Coffey’s miraculous gift.
William “Billy the Kid” Wharton – A violent and psychotic inmate whose presence reveals shocking truths about the crime Coffey was accused of.

Theme

Justice and Injustice – The novel questions the fairness of the legal system, showing how race, social class, and cruelty influence who lives and who dies.
Miracles and the Supernatural – Coffey’s healing powers highlight themes of divine intervention and the unexplained forces at work in the world.
Good vs. Evil – The contrast between kind-hearted characters like Paul and Brutal against the malevolence of Percy and Wharton examines human morality.
Empathy and Redemption – The novel explores how people can change, show kindness in dark places, and find redemption, even in death.
The Death Penalty – King presents a haunting portrayal of capital punishment, raising ethical and emotional questions about the execution of potentially innocent men.

Writing Style and Tone

Stephen King employs a first-person narrative, giving the novel an intimate and reflective tone. Paul Edgecombe’s perspective allows readers to experience his moral dilemmas firsthand. King’s prose is rich with atmospheric detail, blending historical realism with supernatural elements seamlessly. His pacing builds suspense while maintaining an emotional depth that makes the reader question the true nature of justice and fate.

The tone of The Green Mile shifts between melancholic and hopeful, filled with moments of cruelty but also compassion. King’s storytelling evokes deep emotions, making the reader feel the weight of every execution, the pain of injustice, and the rare glimpses of human goodness that shine even in the darkest places.

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