The āGreen Mileā is a book beloved by readers around the world, a heartfelt story about ordinary people and life's vicissitudes with a non-trivial plot and a very touching denouement. The Green Mile novel, which has been flattering for more than a dozen years, is not quite typical for Stephen Kingās style, because it contains a minimum of mysticism and not so much from the horror genre. Everyone is obliged to read the Green Mile, because it is like a philosophical treatise, where there is a lot of meaning. In 1999, a feature film was shot from this book, which millions still adore. The author of the book, Stephen King, took part in the creation of the film.
The Green Mile Summary
The narrative is on behalf of a former prison guard named Paul. He once worked at Cold Mountain Prison in Louisiana. At the time you read the book, he is already very old and lives in a nursing home. He decides to tell one of the stories of his life, which actually happened many years ago, to his girlfriend Elaine.
The case took place in 1932, just at that moment Paul was working in the āEā bloc, the most dangerous criminals who were sentenced to death by electric chair were kept there. In this institution, this terrible block is called the āGreen Mileā because of the bright green color of linoleum, along which the prisoners have to go on their last journey.
The duty of Paul is the worst - the execution. Other overseers try to take their work calmly; they simply carry out their duties, just like Paul. Only the behavior of a warder named Percy is unusual, he is young and impulsive, he has obvious sadistic inclinations, this man likes to mock prisoners, but at the same time he is essentially a coward. Surprisingly, Paul is even more negative than the criminals. But Percy does not care, he is a relative of the governor, and therefore feels absolute impunity. Very subtly conveys the emotions of a person Stephen King. The Green Mile, the brief summary of which is in front of you, is a profound psychological work.
Meet the characters
At that time, which Paul talks about, in this section of the prison there were only two prisoners. One of them was a Cherokee Indian, and was sentenced for killing a man in a drunken showdown. And the second one did not stay long in the Green Mile. He is transferred to another block, and the Indian is executed. And then, in the block āEā, the other two characters appear. The first is the Frenchman Delacroix, he has done a lot of bad things in life. Sentenced to death for raping girls and killing people. And the second is John Coffey, a tall and strong African-American with a calm disposition, according to the documents Paul becomes aware that he was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of two twin girls.
Itās a strange thing, or maybe not, but in prison itās in the āGreen Mileā that a little mouse suddenly appears, it either suddenly goes to people, then disappears. Percy immediately disliked the animal; he wants to catch and kill the mouse. But Delacroix tamed the baby, he asked for permission to keep it, and then he taught several simple tricks. The mouse becomes the darling of the whole prison, and only Percy still hates him.
And then a third man gets into the death row, it is Worthon, he is only nineteen, but he is very dangerous, his cruelty simply knows no bounds, he is a real maniac who hates people, he deliberately robbed and killed several people, for which went to jail.
And then a strange thing happens in the book. Paul is very friendly with the head of the prison, he has great sorrow, his beloved wife is ill with an incurable form of cancer and is dying away right before his eyes. The boss tells Paul everything, he perfectly understands his grief, because Paul himself is very sick, he has inflammation of the bladder, which gives him severe pain. And then one day John Coffey does the incredible, he felt how bad Paul was, with a simple touch he completely coped with the inflammation, pulling it like a little haze from Paul's body, and then released it from his mouth, like a flock of locusts. Paul could not believe his eyes, he could not understand how this bruiser, who was talking as if mentally retarded, could do this. Now it becomes strange for Paul that a person endowed with such a gift could create the bad.
Plot development
Meanwhile, a lot of unpleasant events take place in the Green Mile. Worthon quarrels with Percy, a quarrel sees Delacroix and can not help but laugh at the cowardice of the second. Deciding to take revenge, Percy kills the mouse. But only John Coffey again saves the situation and brings the mouse back to life. It turns out that he is capable of such.
It was the last straw, the rest of the overseers are more likely to tolerate the tricks of the spoiled Percy and demand his resignation, Paul speaks among them. Percy himself wanted to go to a more prestigious place, only he sets the condition: he must be allowed to lead the execution of the Frenchman. Colleagues agree, because they believe that he can not do worse. But this is not so, he adjusts everything so that Delacroix literally burned to death.
At this time, the wife of the head of the prison is getting worse, Paul realizes that John could have helped her with his gift, but only a couple of days remain before his execution. Paul takes a very risky act: he and his colleagues neutralize Percy, who could have informed them, takes the car and takes John home to a friend where the woman dies. John saved her, only the disease did not want to leave his body, as it was before. The forces began to leave him before his eyes, by car he was taken back to the walls of the prison.
Denouement
When Percy was able to free himself from the fetters, he began to threaten everyone and everyone in the "Green Mile" that he would bring to them and everyone would be punished. He comes very close to Johnās cell, suddenly Coffey grabs Percy and exhales a hidden illness right in his face. From this, Percy instantly loses his mind and six times shoots at Worthon, who at that moment was just sleeping.
Confused overseers do not understand what is happening at all, but John Coffey explains that he did not commit a crime, and that the girls were killed by Wharton, so the Lord's punishment overtook the real killer. Paul understands that premonitions did not deceive him and John is truly innocent. Then Paul offers Coffey an escape, but John refuses, he himself wants to leave this world, because he does not understand very much: cruelty, anger, pettiness, low passions that many people are obsessed with. John feels very well the pain that absolutely everyone experiences. And he can no longer tolerate this.
Paul has to lead John down the green corridor to the electric chair. Paul himself realizes that he can no longer do this. John is dying. An investigation into the death of a prisoner from bullet wounds showed that one of the guards who had lost his mind was guilty. Percy is taken to a hospital.
Epilogue
At this point, Paul stops the narrative. Elaine has long been neighbors in an almshouse with Paul, she asks about his age. And it turns out that he is already over a hundred years old, and the mouse, which is still with Paul, is over sixty. John awarded both of them the gift of longevity, but Paul was not at all happy about this, because the torment for the murder of an innocent man had haunted him all these years. And besides, all his loved ones had already passed away, he was left alone. The last words of the former overseer in this novel is the legendary phrase: "Sometimes the green mile is so long ..."
Book Reviews
In the world, almost everyone knows the name "Green Mile", reviews about this book are almost all positive. Some first watched the movie, and then read the novel. But this story simply turned many people's ideas about our world.
If you are looking for a book with a soulful plot and non-trivial characters, then choose the novel written by Stephen King - āThe Green Mileā. Reviews of the book are very flattering.
The film made by the work is simply amazing. Dramatic, touching, enormous tension - you experience all this gamut of emotions at the same time. It is simply impossible to break away from the storyline. The film makes the right impression, and the book is beyond praise. Many say that the book is not much stronger than the film, as often happens. The movie is so good that it is not too different from the novel. Everything in it is harmonious and transmitted exactly as the author intended.
The Green Mile is a book whose reviews are of various kinds, but mostly positive.
Most readers unanimously argue that the book is simply brilliant. Let it have a very depressing atmosphere, it tells about killers, racism, the death penalty and life injustice, but it is almost impossible to break away from reading. This is a very moving book. This is a work of all time, and reading King's syllable is a pleasure.
And what revolutions and phrases does Stephen King use in the novel! The "Green Mile", quotes from which have spread around the world, is full of aphorisms about life and about man. Here is some of them:
"Romance does not die even for those who are already over eighty."
"At any age, fear and loneliness are not joyful, but in old age they are especially terrible."
"Itās better to jump right away, before you lose your temper and want to give up jumping."
"Better ridiculous love than none at all."
Many readers believe that The Green Mile is the best work of all that Stephen King wrote. The novel is very easy to read. The plot is addictive from the first pages. Reading, get used to the atmosphere of the work, worry, enjoy and live the story with the characters. And if after reading the movie you see, it will turn out better to present the situation described in the book.
The "Green Mile", reviews of which are numerous, simply cannot but like. And there are a lot of rave reviews. Compassion, sympathy, love, true friendship and so on are not alien to any person. When you read the āGreen Mileā, you experience completely different and very strong emotions, experience the lives of heroes, think about very serious philosophical problems. This novel is not only worthwhile, but simply must be read, it can truly be considered a classic of world literature. The Green Mile is a book whose reviews are quite true.
Reviews
If you want to read something worthwhile, then Stephen King will not disappoint you. The Green Mile, the critics' opinion about which we will examine, was not in vain a cult book.
A lot of excellent reviews have been written on this masterpiece. Their content is not as clear as in the reviews of ordinary readers, but nevertheless even strict critics really like the novel.
The book "Green Mile" received reviews and reviews from the most influential publications. We give one of the reviews below.
āThis is one of Stephen Kingās best books, if not her best. Here, admirers of the writer's work will not see the horrors, but will find a dramatic story of amazing complexity and realism. This is the story of a very kind person born to help others, who has the gift of healing and giving people life. Only now in the modern world such a person did not find a place at all. He was imprisoned for crimes he did not commit, and sentenced to death. And even in these terrible circumstances, a person remains humble, kind to all who deserve it, and selfless, ready to give his life for the sake of another. This character tried to make the life of his cellmates and warders at least a little better, realizing that he was living in this world his last days. Several times, the book nevertheless encounters a certain mysticism; it is hidden in John Coffeyās unusual gift, but there is very little of it in the book, which is not typical of Stephen Kingās novels. Here it is completely appropriate, it only adds some sharpness to the plot and does not spoil the realism with which the content is filled. Each phrase in the novel is very imaginative and bright, the reader perfectly understands the main characters, their actions, thoughts and emotions. The characters in the novel appear to be alive. Roads of the minute spent reading this novel, sometimes I want to close my eyes, imagining what is happening on its pages, sometimes to cry out without restraining surprise, and sometimes just to burst into tears. From this book, tears come out even among adult and courageous readers. It becomes painful because everything happens only in the book, that you canāt change anything and help the main characters. Empathy with the characters here is simply guaranteed. The Green Mile is a terrific book, it was created to give an opportunity to look at life with all its injustice and cruelty without closing its eyes. Everyone should read this book to understand what life is. ā
Stephen King āGreen Mileā wanted to say that humanity with all its vices is not yet ready for the coming of salvation.
A film adaptation of the novel by Stephen King
The Green Mile is not only a wonderful book, but also a wonderful film, which was mentioned earlier. This is a cult mystical drama from the creator of horror stories - Stephen King. The premiere of the film was held in December 1999. The film was awarded four Oscar nominations, three Saturn Prizes and many other awards and nominations. The director was Frank Darabont, and the leading roles were played by the famous actors: Tom Hanks and Michael Clark Duncan.
The film "The Green Mile", reviews of which are as flattering as the book, have been loved by people of different ages for many years. To this day, the audience is delighted to this day, even though the film can be attributed to the classics of world cinema. The picture is not new, very many have familiarized with it, but it is simply impossible to not understand it or not to penetrate it.
Those who watched this movie are divided into two camps. The former are reviewing the film again and again, wanting to refresh past emotions. The latter, having watched it once, no longer want to repeat it, since the film is filled with the injustice and pain with which human life is full.
Kingās Green Mile touched on very serious social topics. Reviews of the work, even from sophisticated readers, are filled with enthusiasm and emotions. By the way, Stephen King himself believes that this film is the best adaptation of his novel. Surely for the actors and the director of the picture, this was the best praise, because they remoteness fully bring the author's idea to life. And this does not happen so often.
Interesting Facts
Tom Hanks wanted to personally play his hero named Paul in old age, but the make-up looked very unconvincing on him, he didnāt add age to him, because this actor was played by another actor, Debbs Greer. Unfortunately, this role was the last in his life.
It's no secret that Stephen King is an outstanding and unpredictable person. He personally visited the set. And he was most attracted to the dummy of an electric chair, on which the criminals were executed according to the plot. Of course, the writer wished to sit on it himself, because the model came out very realistic, it was created according to real samples of the mid-twentieth century. To the surprise of the crew, King admitted that he was very comfortable and even pleased to sit on this device. Then he invited Tom Hanks to try this experiment on himself, but he politely refused, not leaving the role, saying that he was a guard here, and not sentenced to death.
But itās worth knowing that the presence of an electric chair in this book is a historical inaccuracy. Indeed, at a time when events were unfolding in the novel, especially dangerous criminals were executed in Louisiana in another way, by hanging. Only the electric chair in the book and in the film looked more spectacular.
Total
King raised very serious philosophical problems in his work The Green Mile. Reviews of the novel are flattering both among Russian readers and among the world community as a whole.
If you have not had a chance to read this novel of the great master of mystical stories, then you should do it in the near future. Any electronic library has a work created by Stephen King - āThe Green Mileā. Reviews are usually attached.
Just get ready for the fact that the book will squeeze all the emotions out of you, drop it, make you worry, hope, afraid, and in the end, perhaps sobbing uncontrollably over what you read. But it's worth it.
Read this work, even if you are not a fan of the genre in which King works. The Green Mile is a book to read, no matter what country you live in, no matter how old you are.