John Coffey is Better than Most
“I couldn't help it, boss. I tried to take it back, but it was too late” (King, 20), John Coffey said to Paul Edgecombe, executer at Cold Mountain. Throughout ‘The Green Mile’ by Stephen King, you learn more and more about how innocent John Coffey is. From being scared of the dark, to having magical Jesus powers, how could he hurt anyone? After the incident with the Detterick twins, he was convicted of a crime, and labeled a criminal. Although, he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and was actually trying to help them. But, because he was black, and overly large, he did not stand a chance. Through ‘The Green Mile’ you learn that sometimes those that are labeled as criminals can be better than those who have not been convicted a crime.
Melinda Moores, Hal’s wife, had a tumor and was very sick because of it. Paul, knowing John can help her, gathers his guards and discusses an escape plan to get John out to help Melinda. They get to Melinda’s safely and John sucks the sickness out of her, risking his own life, carrying the disease with him to the jail. Not only did he save Melinda, but he also could have saved everyone at Cold Mountain their jobs, giving the disease to Percy. What normal person, who’s never been convicted of a crime, would have helped Melinda? John ‘the criminal’ saved more than one person that night, but is still labeled as a criminal. During John’s act of kindness he proves that, even though he will always be remembered as a criminal, he isn’t, and is nicer and kinder than any other human out there.
When John gets back into the prison, half dead because he refuses to cough the disease up, he does a very smart, brave thing. As Percy, a guard at the prison, walks back from the restraint room, John grabs Percy and blows the disease he got from Melinda into him. Some crazy way, this allows John to control Percy and ‘uses him as a gun’ to kill Wharton. Wharton is still drugged from the medication given to him by Paul and Dean (sounds like Paula Dean XD) when Percy goes to his cell and shoots him 6 times. John, killing two birds with one stone, possibly could have saved anyone’s life that night. Who knows what Wharton had planned for his execution; he might have tried killing someone there. Percy was a bad man; he could have easily told his Uncle about how the straight jacketed him in the restraint room, or even worse. Even though, John technically killed two men, they had it coming;