The Green Mile by Stephen King

What seems to be the major point the author wants you to remember? I belive that the major point is that miracles can occur, that nothing is impossible. The whole book is filled with ”miracles” and things that shouldn’t have been possible in real life. One example is when John Coffey heals Paul Edgecombes urinary infection; you think that a urinary infection couldn’t bee cured just by that some big, black man puts his hands on you – but it worked out for Paul. It was a miracle! Another example is when John brings back Mr Jingles (the extremly intelligent mouse) to life after that Percy had tried to crush him with his feet. John absorbs the death out of Mr Jingles tiny body and suddenly is the mouse alive again! Another beautiful miracle.

Another thing that I think King wants us to remember, is that the evil persons always gets their punishment. Percy is a evil little maniac throughout the novel, but he gets his penalty in the end when John infects him with a brain tumor because Percy burned Del alive (another inmate) and tried to kill Mr Jingles. John also makes Percy to kill another inmate, William ”Billy the Kid” Wharton, because ”Billy” had (inter alia) raped and murded two little girls. Paul and his mates have to kill John Coffey in the end of the novel (because John was indicted for the murder and the rape of the two little girls – a crime that he didn’t performed) and Paul also get a kind of a punishment because he ”killed one of Gods miracles”. When John cured Pauls urinary infection, he also ”happend to” inject Paul with life. In the novel is Paul 104 years old and still not even near death. So his punishment for killing John, is life, not eternal, but a very long, long life. Maybe you think like, ”so what? Everyone want to live a long life.” But when your loveones dies one after another, it’s not so fun to be alive anymore. You have to suffer through the death of your partner, your kids and maybe even your grandchildren. Then it’s not so nice to be alive anymore.

Written by Sandra Johansson