Once again, the gritty realism of life and its horrors run up against a set of circumstances that inspire wonder, fear, hope...even magic.
In the 20th century, writers who picked up the mantle of magical realism addressed a completely different set of societal ills. Issues of race, poverty and segregation became the focus for African-American writers like Toni Morrison. Stories like "The Beloved" and "Song of Solomon" dealt with the issues faced during the national shame of slavery and how those freed from bondage attempted to find their place in a post-slavery society.
When Stephen King published "The Green Mile", he focused his work on the capricious nature of the death-penalty - particularly, in the southern United States.
The Green Mile is about a man named Paul Edgecomb. He is a slightly cynical veteran prison guard on Death row in the 1930's. His faith, and sanity, deteriorated by watching men live and die, Edgecomb is about to have a complete turn around in attitude. Enter John Coffey (for all you fans of religious symbolism 101 - initials JC), He's eight feet tall. He has hands the size of waffle irons. He's been accused of the murder of two children... and he's afraid to sleep in a cell without a night-light. And Edgecomb, as well as the other prison guards - Brutus, a sympathetic guard, and Percy, a stuck up, perverse, and violent person, are in for a strange experience that involves intelligent mice, brutal executions, and the revelation about Coffey's innocence and his true identity.
Before all that, it's just another normal day on the Green Mile for prison guard Paul Edgecomb - a man suffering with horrible kidney-stones. That is until huge John Coffey "helps". Unlike the hulking brute that Coffey looks like, he is in fact much more than the meets the eye. Whilst watching over Coffey, Edgecomb learns that there is more to Coffey than can any one man could possibly discover in a lifetime of searching.
In the film clips that you are going to see, take note of the instances of magical realism used to tell the story.
In your journals, discuss the following:
1) What are some of the physical traits of the characters that make them seem ordinary?
2) Discuss how the film's setting (death row) adds contrast to the magic that occurs on The Green Mile.
3) John Coffey's name is an overt religious symbol. Are there any other religious symbols present in the clips we viewed? If so, what are they and what religious beliefs do they represent?
4) What themes are being developed in the thread of the film clips we viewed in class?
5) What are the similarities between "The Green Mile" and the other excerpts we have read regarding magical realism?
