The Green Mile by Stephen King - Character Analysis and Plot Summary

1. THE GREEN MILE BY STEPHEN KING I- Answer the following questions. Who wrote the book? What is the film maker’s name? When was the film released in France?

2. II- The characters. 1- List the main characters and fill in the chart below.

3. Paul Edgecomb

4. Brutus « Brutal » Howell

5. Jan Edgecomb

6. John Coffey

7. Eduard Delacroix

8. Arlen Bitterbuck

9. Percy Wetmore

10. « Wild Bill » Wharton

11. Dean Stanton

12. Melinda Moores

13. Toot-Toot

14. Elaine Connelly

15. Harry terwilliger

16. Burt Hammersmith

17. Klaus Detterick

18. Mr. Jingles

19. 2- Here is a list of adjectives which can describe each character’s personality. According to you, which adjectives correspond the best to each one ?Nice, crazy, endearing, sad, wicked, dangerous, funny, human, comprehensible, sensitive, helpful, sadistic, stupid, grateful, respectful, disrespectful, coward, perverted, depraved, inhuman, good, bad, simple-minded, moving, selfish, altruistic. • Paul Edgecomb : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Brutus Howell : …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • BurtHammersmith :……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Jan Edgecomb : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Warden Hal Moores :…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • John Coffey : …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Eduard Delacroix ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. • Percy Wetmore : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • William 'Wild Bill' Wharton : ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Toot-Toot : …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Arlen Bitterbuck : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Dean Stanton : …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Harry Terwilliger : ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… • Melinda Moores : …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

20. 3- An important animal. • - What sort of animal is it? • - Who does it belong to? • - What’s his name?

21. III- THE SYNOPSIS First and last scenes. 1- Which character appears in the first and last scenes of the film? Give his name, his age and the place where he lives. Name: Age: Place: 2- Which event forced him to think about his past? How did he react? 3-Narrative study. a) The scene takes place: • In the U.S.A. • In Europe. • In France.

22. Story board Put the following photographs into the right order.

23. Story board 9 5 9 11 12

24. 8 10 15 18 25 33

25. Summary of the film Write the following paragraphs in the right order. One day, a new inmate arrived. He was about 2.1 meters high and his name was John Coffey. He was a black man wrongly convicted of having raped and killed two young white girls. At the same time, Percy Wetmore, a sadistic guard who took pleasure in intimidating and injuring inmates, exasperated everybody in the cellblock. He felt strong because he was the governor’s nephew. What Percy wanted was to be “put on front” during an execution. Then, he promised he would transfer himself to a mental institution. The Green mile is a story told in « flashback » by an elderly Paul Edgecomb in a nursing home. He tells about a friend about the summer 1935 when he was a prison guard in charge of Louisiana “death row” inmates. His domain was called “The green Mile” because the condemned prisoners walking to their execution are said to be walking “the last mile” on a stretch of green linoleum. The main feature of the cellblock was “Old Sparkly”, the electric chair. Coffey was taken to Hal’s home in order to save his wife. He succeeded but refused to split the woman’s disease from himself. But, when back to the cellblock, he grabbed Percy, transmitted him bad things. Percy became crazy, shot “Wild Bill” to death and Percy was sent to the mental hospital, not as a guard but as a patient. Meanwhile, a violent prisoner, William Wharton whose nickname was “Buffalo Bill” arrived. At one time, he grabbed Coffey’s arm and John sensed that he was the true killer of the little girls. Coffey immediately showed himself to be a nice giant, afraid of the dark and being moved to tears on occasion. Soon, John revealing his extraordinary powers by curing Paul’s urinary infection and bringing a mouse back from the dead. Later, he would heal Hal’s wife from a tumour. At the end of the film, Paul took his female friend to a sort of hut and introduced her with Mr Jingles, Ed’s mouse, which was very old. Paul revealed his age (108 years old) and explained that John Coffey had given him and the mouse some of his powers, something like eternity. Yet Paul was waiting for one thing, death. Later on, John Coffey took Paul Edgecomb’s arm and let him see what really happened to the little girls. Coffey was not their murderer, but “Wild Bill” was. Paul was upset and knew that John was a good man. He did not want him to be executed and was ready to help him to escape. But John Coffey refused. He could not bear anymore to live and bear people’s harm. He asked Paul, before his execution, to have a good meal and watch a film with Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers. Then, he was executed singing the song of the film he had just watched: “I’m in heaven”. Sadness could be seen in all the guards’ face. But they were powerless in front of injustice.

26. John Coffey 1- Why is he sent to jail (prison) ? 2- Describe him physically. 3- How many miracles, in the film, did he accomplish ? 4- Which ones ? 5- Is he the murderer of the two little girls ? Who is it ? 6- Why did he refuse to be helped by Paul Edgecomb? 7- What are his main qualities? 8- What do you think of him? Would you like to have him as a friend?

27. DOCUMENTS PROFS

28. II- The characters. 1- List the main characters and fill in the chart below.

29. STORY BOARDSOLUTION

31. Summary in the right order • §1 • The Green mile is a story told in « flashback » by an elderly Paul Edgecomb in a nursing home. He tells about a friend about the summer 1935 when he was a prison guard in charge of Louisiana “death row” inmates. His domain was called “The green Mile” because the condemned prisoners walking to their execution are said to be walking “the last mile” on a stretch of green linoleum. The main feature of the cellblock was “Old Sparkly”, the electric chair. • §2 • One day, a new inmate arrived. He was about 2.1 metres high and his name was John Coffey. He was a black man wrongly convicted of having raped and killed two young white girls. • §3 • Coffey immediately showed himself to be a nice giant, afraid of the dark and being moved to tears on occasion. Soon, John revealing his extraordinary powers by curing Paul’s urinary infection and bringing a mouse back from the dead. Later, he would heal Hal’s wife from a tumour. • §4 • At the same time, Percy Wetmore, a sadistic guard who took pleasure in intimidating and injuring inmates, exasperated everybody in the cellblock. He felt strong because he was the governor’s nephew. What Percy wanted was to be “put on front” during an execution. Then, he promised he would transfer himself to a mental institution. • §5 • Meanwhile, a violent prisoner, William Wharton whose nickname was “Buffalo Bill” arrived. At one time, he grabbed Coffey’s arm and John sensed that he was the true killer of the little girls. • §6 • Coffey was taken to Hal’s home in order to save his wife. He succeeded but refused to split the woman’s disease from himself. But, when back to the cellblock, he grabbed Percy, transmitted him bad things. Percy became crazy, shot “Wild Bill” to death and Percy was sent to the mental hospital, not as a guard but as a patient. • §7 • Later on, John Coffey took Paul Edgecomb’s arm and let him see what really happened to the little girls. Coffey was not their murderer, but “Wild Bill” was. • §8 • Paul was upset and knew that John was a good man. He did not want him to be executed and was ready to help him to escape. But John Coffey refused. He could not bear anymore to live and bear people’s harm. He asked Paul, before his execution, to have a good meal and watch a film with Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers. Then, he was executed singing the song of the film he had just watched: “I’m in heaven”. Sadness could be seen in all the guards’ face. But they were powerless in front of injustice. • §9 • At the end of the film, Paul took his female friend to a sort of hut and introduced her with Mr Jingles, Ed’s mouse, which was very old. Paul revealed his age (108 years old) and explained that John Coffey had given him and the mouse some of his powers, something like eternity. Yet Paul was waiting for one thing, death.