Republic of the Philippines

SOUTHERN LEYTE STATE UNIVERSITY-TOMAS OPPUS CAMPUS

San Isidro, Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte
website: www.slsuonline.edu.ph
email: slsu_tomas_oppus@yahoo.com
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Name: ASENIERO, LYKA M. Course& Year: BSED 301 – ENG

Date Submitted:

ENG 306 LITERARY CRITICISM

Enhancement Activity
Topic: Affective Theory
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“The Green Mile”

Affective Literary (Movie/Film) Analysis

The Green Mile (1998), directed by Frank Darabont and based on Stephen King's 1996

novel, is about Death Row prison guards and how one of their prisoners, a black man accused of

child murder and rape who possesses a strange gift, affects their lives. Because of its great

character development, driven by misunderstood prisoner John Coffey, Darabont's adaptation

of Stephen King's The Green Mile generates a deep emotional response. The Green Mile asks the

audience to perceive the characters as actual people rather than stereotypes. Despite the film's

three-hour running time, it could be assumed that the length is a vital method in ensuring that

the viewer is emotionally committed. It may be a strategy that allows the audience to fully

comprehend the characters, allowing the filmmaker to focus on characterization and generate

more intricate audience alignments.

Paul Edgecomb's life as a prison guard on death row in the 1930s is the focus of the film.

It's a "flashback" narrative told by an elderly Paul in a nursing facility. He tells a friend about his

time as a prison guard in charge of death row inmates in the summer of 1935. Because the

linoleum floor was green, his domain was dubbed "The Green Mile." The electric chair, "Old

Sparky" as they named it, was the star of the cellblock, resting contentedly, waiting for his next

victim. A new inmate shows up one day. John Coffey, a seven-foot-tall black guy, was convicted
of raping and murdering two young white girls. Coffey is instantly revealed to be a "gentle

giant," who keeps to himself and is occasionally moved to tears. Coffey soon demonstrates his

exceptional and miraculous healing abilities by curing Paul Edgecomb's urinary infection and

resurrecting a mouse from the dead. At the same time, everyone else in the cellblock is irritated

by Percy Wetmore, a nasty, cruel guard who delights in intimidating and harming convicts. He,

on the other hand, "knows people in high places," making it impossible for Paul or anybody else

to intervene in his aberrant behavior. Percy wants to be positioned upfront for an execution,

after which he vows to move to another government post and Paul will never hear from him

again. As the movie goes on and every other prisoner is electrocuted (except one that was shot

by Percy) when it is time for Coffey to walk on the green mile and meet “Old Sparky,” the scene

exceptionally breaks its viewer's hearts and moved them to a bucket of tears.

Because of the charming features of characters like Coffey and Dale, as a viewer, I can

create an intimate emotional bond with them because of the themes of redemption and

forgiveness. The protagonist, John Coffey, is the focus of the flashback part of the film, which

elicits a strong emotional response as I see the final moments leading up to his unlawful

execution. By placing the viewer in an omniscient position, Coffey becomes a protagonist with

whom the audience can empathize. We are aware of the character's innocence because he is

positioned in this manner, which elicits a strong emotional response when he is executed.

I believe Coffey's spiritual healing abilities resemble Jesus' embodiment, making him an

appealing figure since the viewer recognizes his sacrifice to take on the world's evils to save

others. Coffey's infantile thinking elicits a more sympathetic reaction since he is unable to

defend himself and hence requires protection.

Percy, one of the prison guards, is perhaps the film's antagonist, based on his

performance of his character. He is the character that I personally dislike and am enraged by.

Percy is shown as a nasty bully who enjoys the agony and suffering of others throughout the
film. Although he may be perceived as weak and cowardly, the negative qualities of his

character influence me, and most likely other viewers, into feeling animosity toward him. Percy

is introduced as a spoiled brat who has risen to prominence through his uncle's connections

rather than through hard work or commitment, making him unrelatable in the way that

normally audiences support the underrepresented character.

By the end of the film after Coffey was electrocuted and Percy was thrown into the

psychiatric ward he promised Paul to transfer to, however, not as a guard, but as a patient. The

irony somewhat left the audience a slight sense of relief. But when the film came back to the

present where Paul is an old man in a nursing facility, when Paul told his friend about his

seemingly long life and showed her the mice that Coffey once revived from death is still alive

after all these years, claiming that it might be a gift or a curse from Coffey, it felt warm and

suffocating at the same time that really moved me to tears and probably the other audience.

“ We each owe a death - there are no exceptions - but, oh God, sometimes the Green Mile
seems so long.”

-Paul Edgecomb