The Green Mile

The Green Mile Literary Elements

Genre

Horror

Setting and Context

Cold Mountain Penitentiary in 1932 and Georgia Pines nursing home 1996

Narrator and Point of View

Paul Edgecombe narrates the story from the first person

Tone and Mood

Magical, violent, dark, and chaotic

Protagonist and Antagonist

Paul Edgecombe is the protagonist and Percy Wetmore is the antagonist

Major Conflict

The major conflict of the novel surrounds John Coffey: the truth about his case and the moral dilemma this creates for the guards.

Climax

The climax of the novel is when Percy kills Wharton.

Foreshadowing

From the beginning there is foreshadowing that something terrible happens at Delacroix's execution.

Understatement

Allusions

Imagery

Delacroix's execution is described with vivid and horrifying imagery.

Paradox

John Coffey is a large and outwardly intimidating man and yet, he is afraid of the dark.

Parallelism

There are many parallels drawn between Brad Dolan and Percy Wetmore in regards to their personailties and treatment of others.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification

The inmates personify the electric chair by calling it "Old Sparky."

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