Summary
After he finishes writing about Delacroix’s execution, Paul is exhausted and wakes up late in Georgia Pines. Paul needs to go for his morning walk to the shed but is nervous about running into Dolan. Dolan has been asking the staff and residents about Paul, trying to find out his secret. Elaine offers to help Paul by smoking a cigarette and setting off the fire alarm to distract Dolan. Paul admires Elaine for her brashness and willingness to help him; he gives her a kiss and tells her he loves her. The plan works, after hearing the alarm Paul slips out on this walk with some old toast from the kitchen.
Returning to 1932, Harry Brutal, and Dean question Paul about how he can be so convinced of Coffey’s innocence. Paul has been mulling over the inconsistencies and gaps from the trial and explains his thinking. In the trial, lawyers claimed that Coffey tempted the Detterick’s dog with sausage and then snapped its neck so it would not bark. The sausage supposedly came from his lunch, which the search party found on him in the clearing. Yet, the night Delacroix died, Paul asked Coffey to tie his shoe for him and Coffey could not do it. If Coffey is unable to tie a knot, he could not have opened his lunch, fed the dog, and retied his lunch with twine. Furthermore, when the dogs were following the trail of the murderer, there was a point when they got confused. This occurred near a flattened patch of grass where the search party found one of the twin’s nightgowns. Paul figures out this must have been the point where the true killer raped and wounded the girls. Then the killer ran off, Coffey found them and took them to the clearing. The dogs were confused because some were tracking the killer and others the twins.
Finally, when the search party found Coffey they heard him say “I couldn’t help it. I tried to take it back, but it was too late.” What they took for a confession, was in reality Coffey lamenting that he tried to heal the girls but could not because it was too late. The other guards are stunned by Paul’s understanding and impressed by how he put it all together. The weight of the realization hits them that they are holding an innocent man sentenced to death while the real killer remains free. This further convinces them that the plan is worth the risk. They decide to act that night before they lose their nerve. Dean will stay behind in the prison while the others accompany Coffey to Warden Moores’ house. Since Dean has a family with young children, there’s more at risk if they are caught.
Paul and the others arrive for their night shift on E Block. They try to act normal, but everyone is on edge and the tension is thick. They quietly make their preparations for later that night: Dean goes to the infirmary, and Paul sends Percy to clean the storage room. Out of the blue, Coffey says to Brutal, “Sure, I’d like a ride.” Just before midnight, Paul signals it’s time. Paul offers Wharton some soda with enough morphine pills dissolved in it to knock him out for two days. Harry, Brutal, and Paul go to Paul’s office where they find Percy reading. The moment they enter, Percy senses something is wrong and tries to escape but they block the exits. Percy screams. Paul almost loses his nerve but Brutal continues unfazed. They force Percy into the straightjacket. Percy starts crying, thinking they’ll lock him up with Wharton, who has already shown sexual interest in Percy. When Dean sees them he acts shocked, so he can fain innocence later. The guards tape Percy’s mouth and lock him in the restraint room; they tell him to spend a few hours reflecting on what he did to Delacroix. Next, they unlock Coffey’s cell. Coffey is quiet, cooperative, and seems entirely unsurprised by the events. Just then, Wharton’s arm shoots out and grabs Coffey. Somehow Wharton is awake, although he’s slurring his words and clearly feeling the effects of the drugs. Coffey’s demeanor changes, he becomes sharper, more aware, and there’s a cold tension running through him. In a low voice he mentions that Wharton is a bad man. Brutal brushes Wharton off, the moment passes, and Wharton falls back asleep.
Paul, Harry, Brutal, and Coffey make their way out of the prison. They pass through the storage room and Coffey freezes when he sees Old Sparky, the electric chair. In a dreamy voice he states that there are still pieces of the men in the room and he can hear them screaming. This makes the guards nervous and they move him along to the tunnel that passes under the highway and out of the prison. Coffey is too big for the tunnel so they wheel him through on the gurney they use for disposing of men’s bodies. On the other side, they walk through the woods to where Harry has hidden the truck. Coffey is happy walking, he soaks up the night sounds and sights. Paul joins Coffey in the back of the truck. For the entire hour-long ride, Coffey has a look of pure joy on his face as he looks up at the stars.
For Paul, the drive to Warden Moores’ house brings all his doubts flooding back. Their plan is risky and he feels unsettled, unsure why they are doing this. He considers turning back, but knows it’s too late. Reaching Warden Moores’ house, Paul looks at Harry and Brutal and can tell they feel just as scared and uneasy as he does. Lights turn on and Warden Moores comes outside with a rifle, demanding to know who is bothering them at 2:30 in the morning. Paul had prepared a speech for this moment, but finds himself tongue-tied. Then Coffey and Harry, who had been hiding out of sight, walk toward the house. Thinking there was a prison break, Warden Moores is ready to shoot Coffey but Harry stands in front, protecting him. Just then Melinda yells from inside, demanding to know what is going on. Although Warden Moores had previously mentioned her swearing to Paul, Paul is shocked by how incredibly foul her language is. The way she is speaking is so out of character compared to the Melinda he knows. Hearing his wife deflates Warden Moores enough that Coffey is able to reach for his gun and pass it to Paul. Coffey announces he wants to help Melinda. Slightly hypnotized, Warden Moores says his wife is beyond help. By this point, Coffey’s focus is on Melinda inside the house. He gently but firmly pushes past the others and makes his way inside. The others follow.
Melinda looks completely unrecognizable: her skin is gray and hanging, she’s lost most of her hair, and one side of her mouth turns down. The room smells of sickness. Paul is horrified by how quickly she's declined in the past few days. Melinda sees Coffey and with the demeanor of a child delightedly orders him to pull down his pants so she can see how big a Black man’s penis is. Coffey ignores this and sits next to her on the bed. With just his presence, some of Melinda’s awareness returns; she becomes sharper and asks him questions about himself. As the others watch, light bathes the two of them in their own private world. Coffey can see whatever is making her sick. He bends close, puts his lips on hers and inhales, sucking out the sickness. The whole house shakes, furniture falls over, smoke rises from the bedcovers, and Melinda’s body spasms. Those watching hear a scream, but it sounds more like a wild animal than Melinda. Coffey pulls away and Melinda looks ten years younger; the color comes back to her cheeks, her mouth no longer droops, and she’s livelier. However, Coffey looks haggard, he falls from the bed and begins coughing on the floor. The guards wait for Coffey to cough up the black insects as he has in previous healings, but he seems unable to. Whatever sickness he absorbed from Melinda is stuck in him.
Warden Moores is overjoyed. His attention is entirely on Melinda as if he cannot believe what he is seeing. Melinda’s personality is back, but she has no memory of recent events. The last thing she remembers is heading to the hospital for X-rays. Paul tells her the X-rays came back negative. Then Melinda notices Coffey in the corner of the room. She does not remember meeting him a few moments earlier but tells Coffey she dreamed the two of them were wandering in the dark and found one another. Melinda gets out of bed with ease and walks over to Coffey. The two hug tenderly, then she pulls back and thanks him. Harry reminds the group that soon it will be dawn and they need to get Coffey back before anyone notices. Warden Moores and Melinda give Coffey their heartfelt thanks, and Melinda gifts Coffey with her necklace of St. Christopher, telling him it will keep him safe. Paul reminds Warden Moores that they were never there. The men make their way back to Cold Mountain, but Coffey’s condition is worsening. Coffey is weak and coughing uncontrollably. Brutal worries that if Coffey cannot expel whatever is in him, he will die. Paul silently agrees, hoping this kills him before they have to send him to the electric chair.
Analysis
King weaves together the themes of racism and criminal justice to illustrate how the system can fail someone like Coffey. People see a giant Black man and immediately assume he must be dangerous. Coffey was found in a highly compromising situation which added to peoples’ prejudices so that he never received a fair trial or a chance to prove his innocence. From the beginning, Paul intuitively knew something was off about Coffey’s case. Paul strives to see the humanity in every one of the inmates on E Block, and this allows him to look at Coffey’s case with fresh eyes. Where others see a violent monster, Paul notices Coffey’s gentleness and his ability to heal others. Paul’s curiosity leads him to reassemble pieces of a puzzle that everyone else missed. The realization that an innocent man is headed to his death demonstrates the failures of the criminal justice system, especially where racial bias is concerned.
Paul is willing to risk his job and freedom to do what he believes is morally right. Although Janice does not know what the four guards are planning, she urges Paul to do anything he can to help Melinda. Neither Percy nor Wharton suspects what the guards are up to and the guards welcome the chance to punish Percy for all the grief he has caused. Everything goes smoothly until Wharton wakes up early, which is shocking given how much morphine he received. Paul notices a radical change in Coffey when Wharton touches him. There is a coldness and mix of pain, anger, and fear in Coffey’s voice that Paul does not understand.
During the events of that night, Coffey demonstrates that his otherworldly abilities go beyond healing. Coffey can sense energy shifts and knows things he seemingly could not know. Before the guards mention anything to him, he knows their plan and tells Brutal he would like to go for a ride. He even discerns that they’re going to help a woman. Coffey admits he does not understand how he knows these things, he just does. Coffey is used to being underestimated by others and shows humility about his abilities, saying, “I don’t know much of anything. Never have.” Passing Old Sparky, Coffey hears the spirits of the men who have died in the electric chair. Coffey perceives things that others cannot, understanding on an intuitive rather than cognitive level.
The reader feels the injustice of Coffey’s fate even more deeply by seeing how alive he becomes on their night journey. Coffey approaches their dangerous and risky mission with an innocent exhilaration. He laughs at being wheeled through the tunnel on the gurney. Paul can only think that the next time Coffey rides the gurney, he will be dead. Coffey is completely at home in nature. He exudes joy at being able to walk in the woods, a reminder that his freedom has been wrongly stolen from him. Yet, rather than bitterness or a desire to escape, Coffey is just happy to be free for a night.
When the reality of what they are doing catches up with Paul, he experiences a crisis of faith. Despite all his careful planning, Paul is indecisive and tongue-tied when Warden Moores demands to know what is going on. The guards have accepted that they are breaking the rules for a morally good reason. However, Warden Moores is ignorant of their plan, and his reaction highlights the practical disaster they have embarked upon by trying to save Melinda’s life. Paul attributes his crisis of faith to an evil force that sows chaos and discord. He understands Coffey to be a force of divine good that cuts through the chaos to take control of the situation. When Coffey is in proximity to someone who needs his help, he possesses a certainty and power that seems to hypnotize others around him.
Melinda’s brain tumor causes drastic changes in her body as well as her personality. Paul has known her for twenty years as a caring, sweet woman. Yet the Melinda they encounter is vulgar and violent. Something about the look in her eyes makes Paul wonder if she is possessed by a demon. This only adds to his belief that he is witnessing a clash between forces of good and evil. Melinda is near death's door, and the process of healing her is energetically more intense than the previous healings Paul has witnessed. Glass breaks, the entire house shakes, and Coffey seems unable to expel the sickness from his body. Mirror opposites of one another, Melinda magically regains her health while Coffey takes on her sickness. Coffey seems to have risked his own health to help a complete stranger.
Melinda has no memory of the events or her behavior, and Paul and Warden Moores try to shelter her from the ugly truth of the past few weeks. Yet, she feels an intuitive connection with Coffey. Melinda’s dream is highly symbolic. She was lost in a world of darkness, out of touch with her true self and near death's door. Coffey joined her in that dark place and brought her back. There is a tenderness and connection between Coffey and Melinda that transcends race and status to connect on a deeper level where Coffey is healing much more than physical illness. Although she does not strictly remember what happened, a part of her knows and understands. She wants to thank him, and offer him protection by giving him her necklace.
As Paul writes his account of 1932, he meditates on how writing is its own form of magic, a practical magic. Writing can transport a person, not physically, but through their mind and soul. This makes Paul cautious. After seeing what Coffey is able to do, Paul recognizes that magic is also dangerous. His reflections sound ominous, foreshadowing more danger to come.
