Green Mile Ethics

THE GREEN MILE MINI ESSAY The Green Mile, a 1999 film directed by Frank Darabont, focuses on virtue ethics. Paul Edgecombe (played by Tom Hanks) is in charge of overseeing executions by electric chair, and one of the inmates on death row is a huge black man, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), who convicted based on circumstantial evident of the murder of two white children. In contrast to his menacing size, Coffey is quite childlike in his innocence, as well as a magical healer (Rainer, 2018). The principles of virtue ethics are dramatized most clearly in the contrast between the character of Paul Edgecombe and Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchinson), whose aunt is married to the governor, which means he could have any number of state positions,...show more content...

Percy is especially abuse towards inmate Eduard Delacroix. He intentionally Delacroix's fingers with his baton, and steps on his pet mouse. However, his most sadistic action is to sabotage the execution of Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native–American. Percy does this by not wetting a sponge, which placed under the skullcap on the electric chair. This procedure ensures that the electrical current is carried properly, and ensures a swift death. Arlen dies screaming, and it is obvious that Percy enjoys his pain. He taps the Arlen's burned face after his death and comments, "Chief! Drop us a card from Hell, let us know if it's hot enough" (Darabont, Get more content

The Green Mile is a movie that is based on a Stephen King novel that goes by the same name. The story is one of a heart–wrenching and deeply allegorical plot. It is told by the man Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), who, at the time of his recollection, is six decades removed from his position as head guard on death row, or as the inmates call it, "The Green Mile". Edgecomb tells of one inmate who was brought into his custody that changed his life: John Coffey (the late Michael Clarke Duncan), who was convicted of the sadistic rape and murder of two 9–year–old sisters. However, contrary to his size and the fearsome crimes for which he is serving time, Coffey seems to be a very kind and well–mannered man; acting more like an innocent child than a...show more content...

I assured them that I would do the project, and that they could just copy down my work and make it look as if it were their own; taking their burdens upon myself. Of course, they agreed to this plan of action, as it required little work from them with a large pay–off. During the week, I allotted a substantial amount of time to work on this project, and when the due date arrived, it was finished. The next time I saw them, I allowed my friends to see my work and copy it. They got to go to their party, and they also got to turn in their work. Later in the school year, I began to notice that whenever some work needed to be done, my "friends" looked to me to handle it so that they could reap the benefits when it was done. I decided that what I had developed with my friends was a parasitic relationship: they would just wait until all of the hard work necessary to achieve something was completed, and then leap in to wade in the benefactors. I decided that what I was doing was not right for me, or them: my work ethic was being exploited by people who I assumed were friends, and they were growing unhealthily dependent on me as they were not able to develop certain life skills due to their lack of participation in these academic endeavors. Consequently, I cut the cords on the relationship; I stopped doing work for my friends and allowed them to do it on their own. Their grades dropped, but they also learned that

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Knaub 1

Jill Knaub

Professor Janet Ward

English 110

November 3, 2011 Summary of the Novel, "The Green Mile"

A summary of any novel by Stephen King has to include a small biography of the horror novelist, himself. Publishing this novel in 1996 as a serial novel, with the first edition actually coming out as one of six small paperbacks that were eventually made into one novel. Stephen King is well known for his horror novels, therefore, this summary of the novel "The Green Mile" shows this book set in the 1930's and is a deviation from some of his other works.

The story is told in the first–person narrative by Paul Edgecombe, switching between Paul as an old man in the nursing home in 1996 and his time as block supervisor...show more content...

Percy is offered a job at Briar Ridge psychiatric hospital and Paul and the other guards think they are finally rid of him, however, Percy refuses to leave until he supervises an execution. Paul hesitantly allows Percy to run Dels execution. Percy the snake he is, deliberately avoids soaking a sponge in water, which are supposed to be tucked inside the electrodes; this ensures a quick death in the electric chair.

Paul, over time, realizes that John possesses unexplained healing abilities, which he uses to cure Paul's Urinary infection as well as reviving Mr. Jingles after Percy stomps on him. John Cofey is very sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others around him. One night the guards drugged Wharton ("Wild Bill"), and then put a straitjacket on Percy and locked him in the padded cell so they could smuggle John Cofey out of theprison to take him to the home of the Warden Hal Moores. Hal's wife Melinda has a deadly brain tumor, which John Cofey cures. When they returned to the mile, John passes the "disease" from Melinda into Percy, causing him to go mad and shoot "Wild Bill" to death before going into a catatonic state from which he never recovers.

Paul's suspicions about John Cofeys innocence is proven when he discovers that it was actually "Wild Bill" who raped and murdered the two girls and that John was trying to revive them when he was discovered holding the two in his arms. John tells