The Green Mile Essay Questions

Why is John Coffey denied justice?

The Green Mile explores the injustice that people of color face within the criminal justice system. Within the context of the South during the 1930s, rampant racism provokes people to view a large Black man like Coffey as dangerous. Yet Coffey’s true nature could not be more different; he’s a healer, hyper-sensitive, and immensely compassionate. The specifics of the crime—the rape and murder of two white girls—further inflames people’s hatred. Coffey’s tearful lament that he was unable to heal the girls is misinterpreted as an admission of guilt. Only Paul, who takes it upon himself to look objectively at the facts of the case, realizes that the evidence against Coffey does not add up. His investigation reveals that Wharton is in fact the murderer. However, those with the power to reopen the case are unwilling to be seen as taking the side of a Black convict. Under the guise of morality and justice, John Coffey, an innocent man, is murdered by the state.

Compare Paul and Percy’s characters.

Paul and Percy are the protagonist and antagonist of the novel respectively. Through their characters, King explores opposing sides of human nature. Paul treats others with compassion and dignity. He views his role as a prison guard more like that of a psychologist, to accompany inmates in the final stages of their lives. Percy has a completely different approach to being a prison guard; he revels in lording his power over others. Percy abuses his power and is vindictive, believing that since the inmates are criminals they do not deserve humanity or respect. Paul is careful whereas Percy is careless and disrupts the order of E Block causing chaos and suffering.

What is the significance of the title The Green Mile?

The term the Green Mile refers to the principal hallway on E Block, the part of Cold Mountain Penitentiary designated for convicts on death row. This hallway spans all of the inmates' cells and leads to the electric chair. The Green Mile is both a physical and figurative place. It is the last walk the convicts make to their execution, and a character’s symbolic journey towards their death. The entire novel explores the theme of death and dying: committing it, waiting for it, and meeting it. In this way, the title The Green Mile is emblematic of the novel as a whole.

How is the theme of the supernatural explored in The Green Mile?

The theme of the supernatural is woven throughout The Green Mile, primarily through the character of John Coffey. John Coffey is able to hear others' thoughts, and he can also heal others' ailments. Paul witnesses this for the first time when Coffey heals his urinary infection. Coffey is able to absorb people’s sickness and pain into his body and expel it in the form of black insects. The guards of E Block witness Coffey do just this with Mr. Jingles and Melinda. There are different interpretations of Coffey’s abilities: that God is working through Coffey or that Coffey is practicing black magic. Coffey himself never resolves these questions; seemingly, he does not know how or why he has the abilities he has. The mystery of Coffey’s past further adds to the feeling that he is not fully of this world. Coffey briefly passes his abilities to Paul, who is forever changed by their interactions. Paul lives an unusually long life, immune to sickness and injury. Long after Coffey is gone, Paul feels the mark Coffey left on his life, wondering if Coffey offered him salvation or damnation.

How does Stephen King build suspense in the novel?

The serial form in which The Green Mile was published impacts the way King wrote the novel. A master of suspense, King uses foreshadowing to heighten the tension of the novel. From the very beginning, King hints at the horror of Delacroix’s execution and the way in which Coffey’s death changes Paul and the other guards. This knowledge leaves the reader with a sense of foreboding without any of the details as to how or why. This tactic further draws the reader in as they try to discover the missing clues. The novel is divided into six parts, each of which ends with a cliffhanger. At the beginning of a section, Kings circles back to the present as Paul reflects on the writing process and life at Georgia Pines, thus forcing the reader to wait for the resolution of the previous scene.