Good and evil in The green mile

“The green mile”, is the corridor that every “dead man” has to walk along to get access to where they die on an electric chair. “Green” suggests life, but to the convict, it is the path of death The green mile lies in between the cage of the convict who are awaiting execution and the execution room. In the green mile, “dead men” passes the last way in life. They feel  upset, regret, hatred, grievance, fear but also love and miracle. Miracle happens along the green mile where the others’ believe that it is filled with sin. In this essay, I am going to portray good and evil in this film.

The story  opens with the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, and then shifts to Paul who narrates to his friends. Paul, has been a head guard in the prison, since  he was young. He cannot  help crying when he watches a movie inside the elderly home as it recalls his unforgettable memory. He executes an innocent man

All the convicts inside the prison where Paul works  are serious criminals. It seems awful to be working with them. Yet, they are not all disgusting ones. Percy, a guard who got the job by knowing a relative working as a high level member of staff, is dreadful. He hits the convicts as he likes, insulting them with  the most appalling tone and countenance. He does  not behave  himself, yet, he can still work in the prison as he maintains a good relationship with the heads . He is truly an evil person. He is scared to death when he encounters some urgent situation. He does nothing to help when one of the guards is being beaten  by an inmate. Yet, he isn't  scared of death. He loves watching executions and he pleads with Paul for a chance to be the executioner. He gets a chance to do so as he promises Paul that he will resign after holding that execution. A wet sponge has to be put on the convicts so as to allow the current to pass through their  bodies, yet, as Percy wants to take revenge on that convict, he puts a dry on his head instead. The scene is awful. All the witnesses are  shocked, scared and they vomit and the situation is very distressing.

I can’t imagine that there is such a  bad person in the world -  someone who never cares about anything but his own benefit. Yet, his definition for benefit is still weird. He even insults a dead person, a person who is already dead. He lives on the earth so as to insult the others, show off himself, and do nothing else. It’s so disgusting. The director successfully portrays  the image of the role, Percy and also the evil side of human beings. Although those convicts have committed capital crimes, they are not worse than Percy at all.

On the other hand, Paul does just the opposite. All of the inmates inside the prison have committed capital crimes and what they do in the prison is  to for dying  on the electric  chair, die in the execution room in  the presence of the witnesses of the public. They have done harm to society and are not accepted by the community ever again, yet, Paul accepts them with love from the bottom of his heart. He cares about what they need and he just treats them as friends. He even thinks of them when he is off the job. Paul treats anyone with a kind heart and does his job honorably. The role brings the audience the positive side of the world, even inside such a dark place. Light is still available. The convicts have lost anything and even  their lives, but they get love from Paul and other guards. Paul loves his job just like he loves everything. However, after he executes John Coffey, he and another guard stop working in a prison for good.

John Coffey, is arrested as he’s being executed for killing  and raping  two little girls. He is big. Everyone would be scared of him because of his size. Yet, he is the most polite one. He heals Paul’s illness by his “power”. It's ’s magic and a miracle. In addition, he is a generous person, and he is willing to share with the others. Once, Paul’s wife made two pieces of cake for Coffey so as to thank him for healing Paul, Del, another convict ask for one, Coffey gives one to him without hesitation although he only has  two and he treasures them very much. By his magical power, Coffey heals the mouse that Del loves most and he conveys the truth of the murder of the two girls to Paul by letting Paul  see the truth.

Although Paul knows that Coffey is innocent, he is unable to help as he can’t get any evidence. He has to put Coffey to death. On the day of execution , Paul and other guards are frustrated and upset. On the contrary, the public is waiting for that day especially the parents of the two girls. They hate Coffey as if they wanted to kill him twice. Coffey cries but he doesn’t hate anyone. It makes me feel like I’m watching the scene when Jesus is being put on the cross. At that time, some people are throwing  stones at him and  spitting at him. Although Coffey is far away in comparison  with Jesus, the scene is touching and can make the audience cry.

Coffey passed away but not his power. He left longevity to Paul and even the mouse he healed is alive for over 50 years. Paul is 108 years old. Longevity brings him nothing but sadness. He  watches his beloved wife, his best friends and all the things round the world pass away one by one, but he is left on the earth to walk his way alone. He lives alone again and again as all of his friends have to die. What most of us are afraid of is death but not Paul. He is worried about what he can be . It’s a real long green mile for him.

Many people long for longevity but absolutely not Paul. The value of life is not measured by length but richness. Those convicts have done  something wrong that they can have no chance to correct it. We may lose ourselves sometimes and may do  something wrong, but we have to beware of paying a price for no matter what we did. And the most important thing is we may not afford it.