The Green Mile (book) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Green Mile is a 1996 serial novel

Serial (literature)

In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...

written by Stephen King

Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...

. It tells the story of death row supervisor Paul Edgecombe's encounter with John Coffey, an unusual inmate who displays inexplicable healing and empathetic abilities. The serial novel was originally released in six volumes before being republished as a single volume work. The book is an example of magical realism.

Publication history

The Green Mile was first published in six low-priced paperback volumes. The first, subtitled The Two Dead Girls was published on March 28, 1996, with new volumes following monthly until the final volume, Coffey on the Mile, was released on August 29, 1996. The novel was republished as a single paperback volume on May 5, 1997. On October 3, 2000, the book was published in its first hardcover edition (ISBN 978-0743210898).

Volume list

Title	\|Length	first-person narrative First-person narrative First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the... told by Paul Edgecombe, the novel switches between Paul as an old man in the Georgia Pines nursing home Nursing home A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living... sharing his story with fellow resident Elaine Connelly in 1996, and his time in 1932 as the block supervisor of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary death row, nicknamed "The Green Mile" for the color of the floor's linoleum. This year marks the arrival of John Coffey, a 6'8" black man who has been convicted of raping Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The... and murder Murder Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide... ing two small white girls. During his time on the Mile, John interacts with fellow prisoners Eduard "Del" Delacroix, a Cajun Cajun Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles... arson Arson Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires... ist, rapist, and murderer, and William Wharton ("Billy the Kid" to himself, "Wild Bill" to the guards), a wild-acting and dangerous multiple murderer who is determined to make as much trouble as he can before he is executed. Other inhabitants include Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native American Indigenous peoples of the Americas The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans... convicted of killing a man in a fight over a pair of boots (also the first character to die in the electric chair Electric chair Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body... ); Arthur Flanders, a real estate Real estate In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or... executive who killed his father to perpetrate insurance fraud Insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions... , and whose sentence is eventually commuted to life imprisonment; and Mr. Jingles, a mouse, whom Del teaches various tricks. Paul and the other guards are antagonized throughout the book by Percy Wetmore, a sadistic guard who enjoys aggravating the prisoners. The other guards have to be civil to him despite their dislike of him because he is the nephew of the Governor's wife. When Percy is offered a position at the nearby Briar Ridge psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients... as a secretary Secretary A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit... , 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. Percy deliberately avoids soaking a sponge in brine that is supposed to be tucked inside the electrode Electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit... cap to ensure a quick death in the electric chair. When the switch is thrown, the current Electric current Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire... causes Del to catch fire in the chair and suffer a prolonged, agonizing demise. Over time, Paul realizes that John possesses inexplicable healing Psychic A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot... abilities, which he uses to cure Paul's urinary tract infection Urinary tract infection A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Symptoms include frequent feeling and/or need to urinate, pain during urination, and cloudy urine. The main causal agent is Escherichia coli... and revive Mr. Jingles after Percy stomps on him. John is very empathic Empathy Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B... and sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others around him. One night, the guards drug Wharton, then put a straitjacket Straitjacket A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to themselves or others. Once the arms are inserted into the straitjacket's sleeves, they are then crossed across the chest... on Percy and lock him in the padded restraint room Solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional... so that they can smuggle John out of the prison and take him to the home of Warden Hal Moores. Hal's wife Melinda has a deadly brain tumor Brain tumor A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal... , which John cures. When they return to the Mile, John passes the "disease" from Melinda into Percy, causing him to go mad and shoot Wharton to death before falling into a catatonic Catatonia Catatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein .... state from which he never recovers. Percy is committed to Briar Ridge. Paul's long-simmering suspicions that John is innocent are proven right when he discovers that it was actually William Wharton who raped and killed the twin sisters, that John was actually trying to revive them. Later John tells Paul what he saw when Wharton grabbed his arm one time, how Wharton had coerced the sisters to be silent using their love for each other. Paul is unsure how to help John, but John tells him not to worry, as he is ready to die anyway, wanting to escape the cruelty of the world. John's execution is the last one in which Paul participates. He introduces Mr. Jingles to Elaine just before the mouse dies, having lived 64 years past these events, and explains that those healed by John gained an unnaturally long lifespan. Elaine dies shortly after, never learning how Paul's wife died in his arms immediately after they suffered a bus accident, and that he then saw John Coffey's ghost watching him from an overpass. Paul seems to be all alone, now 104 years old, and wondering how much longer he will live. Characters Paul Edgecombe — The protagonist Protagonist A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify... and narrator Narrator A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for... of the book and the death-row supervisor at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. He is 40 years old when the main bulk of the story takes place, in 1932. He is a caring man and takes excellent care of the men on his block, avoiding conflict and keeping the peace whenever possible. He is the first character to discover John Coffey's amazing abilities, when the prisoner cures his urinary tract infection. It is also his idea to take Coffey to try to cure Melinda, Warden Hal Moores' wife, of her brain tumor. Brutus "Brutal" Howell — He is second in command on the Green Mile. He is a tall, imposing man but not violent at all unless necessary. His nickname of "Brutal" is intended as irony Irony Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions... . John Coffey — He is a massive black man (6'-8" tall), on death row for the alleged rape and murder of two young girls. He is very quiet and prefers to keep to himself, weeps almost constantly, and is afraid of the dark. Even at the end, during his execution, he asks Paul Edgecombe not to put on the traditional black silk mask used to block the view of the prisoner's face because he fears the dark. Coffey is described as "knowing his own name and not much else" and lacks the capability to so much as tie a simple knot. However, he is convicted of luring the girls away from their home, disposing of the watchdog, carefully planning and using abilities he would otherwise not be expected to have. He is the calmest and mildest prisoner the guards have ever seen, despite his hulking form. He turns out to be innocent of what he is accused of, but chooses to die anyway. Percy Wetmore — He is an antagonist Antagonist An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend... of the story, a young and sadistic guard who is only allowed to stay because he is the governor's nephew. He is very homophobic Homophobia Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the... and attacks Eduard Delacroix for allegedly touching him, although it was an accident caused by Del stumbling out of the prison truck. He is later attacked by "Wild Bill" Wharton, consequently wets himself, and is teased by Delacroix for it. In retaliation, Percy deliberately sabotages Delacroix's execution. At the end of the story he is sent to the Briar Ridge mental institution, originally considered for a job but now as a patient, after Coffey transferred Melinda's disease to him which caused him to kill William Wharton. He eventually lives through a hospital fire and dies in 1965. Eduard "Del" Delacroix — He is a Cajun prisoner with a fairly slow grasp of the English language English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... . He is incarcerated for multiple deaths due to a fire he started while trying to cover up his rape and murder of a young girl. While on the Mile, Del befriends a mouse named Mr. Jingles, who becomes his best friend in his last days on death row. Percy, his enemy, sabotages his execution, forcing Del to die in a slow, gruesome death in the electric chair. William "Wild Bill" Wharton — He is on death row for various crimes. He does not like the nickname "Wild Bill Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach... " but prefers to be called "Billy the Kid Billy the Kid William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier... ", a name which he has tattooed on his forearm. When he first arrives he manages to convince the guards that he is in a drugged stupor, only to attack and attempt to strangle to death Dean Stanton when they reach E Block. He continues to wreak havoc on the Mile and plays tricks such as urinating on the guards, amongst other things. He is punished by being placed in solitary confinement, but never seems to learn his lesson. As John Coffey is being smuggled to Hal Moores's house, Wild Bill grabs his arm and Coffey sees that he actually committed the murders Coffey was accused of. Therefore, Coffey gives Percy the "sickness" he took from the warden's wife, causing him to kill Wharton. Mr. Jingles — An unusually intelligent mouse who enjoys eating peppermint sweets. He becomes a friend to Eduard Delacroix in the few days before the man is executed. He is resurrected by John Coffey after being stomped on by Percy Wetmore. This gives him increased longevity and he finally dies 64 years later. Other Characters Arthur "The President" Flanders — An inmate on death row, convicted of killing his father in an insurance-fraud scheme. His sentence is commuted to life imprisonment, during which he is later murdered by an unknown inmate. Arlen "The Chief" Bitterbuck — A Washita Cherokee death-row inmate, convicted of killing a man in a drunken brawl. His execution is the first of three mentioned in Paul's story. Janice Edgecombe — Paul Edgecombe's wife. Dies in a bus accident on the way to her grandchild's graduation. Hal Moores — The warden at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Melinda Moores — Warden Moores's wife, who is dying of a brain tumor and is cured by John Coffey. Curtis Anderson — The assistant warden. Dean Stanton — A guard on E Block who is strangled and nearly killed by William Wharton. A father of young children, he takes no part in the taking of John Coffey to Melinda Moores due to the risk of losing his job. He applies for relocation to C Block after John Coffey's death, where he is murdered by an inmate shortly after. Harry Terwilliger — A guard on E Block. Bill Dodge — A "floater" guard on E Block (not permanently assigned there). Jack Van Hay — A guard who is part of the execution team. He operates the switch room. Toot-Toot — A trustee who stands in for the prisoners during execution rehearsals. Burt Hammersmith — A reporter who wrote on the Detterick twins' murders and John Coffey's trial. Despite believing himself to be an "Enlightenment Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state... " man, he displays prejudice in his stance on "Negroes" and tries to convince Paul of John Coffey's guilt. Elaine Connelly — A friend of Paul in the present-day nursing home where he tells his story. She is later revealed to be the grandmother of the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:... , using this position to scare Brad Dolan from harassing Paul. Homer Cribus — The Sheriff of Trapingus County, where the murders of the Detterick twins took place. Despite playing no part in apprehending John Coffey, he later shows up at the execution. An outspoken Baptist with strong racial prejudice and an immense overweight, he later succumbs to a heart attack while having sex with a 17-year old African American in his office. Rob McGee — The Deputy Sheriff of Trapingus County, who led the search party which found John Coffey. While displaying strong doubt about Coffey's guilt after being showed signs of innocense by Paul Edgecombe, he is still powerless to call for an appeal as he is subordinate to Sheriff Cribus, whom he allegedly hopes to succeed. Brad Dolan — A malicious nursing home employee who harasses Paul Edgecombe. Paul strongly compares him to Percy Wetmore, and several times mistake him for Percy, despite the latter died in 1965. Kathe and Cora Detterick — The two young girls whom John Coffey was convicted of raping and murdering. Klaus and Marjorie Detterick — The parents of the two young girls. Reception The novel won the Bram Stoker Award Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA... for Best Novel Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel The Bram Stoker Award for Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing for novels.-Winners and nominees:The following are the nominees and winners.* 1987: Misery by Stephen King... in 1996. Film adaptation Frank Darabont Frank Darabont Frank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King... adapted the novel into a screenplay for a feature film of the same name The Green Mile (film) The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name... . Released in 1999, the film was directed by Darabont and starred Tom Hanks Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title... as Paul Edgecombe and Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :... as John Coffey. The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL. Silverdale Interactive © 2024. All Rights Reserved. x OK

Publication history

Volume list

Characters

Other Characters

Reception

Film adaptation