In The Green Mile, the audience witnesses Paul Edgecomb deal with the greatest personal dilemma of his life. Paul, the head prison guard, has to carry out the execution of John Coffey. John Coffey’s time on the Green Mile, the death row sector of Louisiana State Penitentiary, was everything but ordinary. John revealed his supernatural healing powers to the guards, and healed Paul, Mr Jingles (an amazing mouse), and the Warden’s wife. John also proves his innocence to Paul, and this makes Paul’s job of executing John difficult. The most important takeaway of The Green Mile is to simply ask others what they want.
Paul deals with his own moral dilemma by putting himself at the mercy of John. He tells John that he will do whatever John wants him to do prior to John’s execution. The most important part of this scene is when Paul asks John what he wants to happen. John then explains that he just wants to die, to end all of the pain and suffering that he endures. Paul carries out the execution, and he knows that it is what John ultimately wanted. However, Paul still feels guilty for killing an innocent man, who also seemed to be one of god’s greatest gifts. My takeaway from this scene was that once Paul just asked John what he wanted, the conflict was resolved. This open line of communication between Paul and John is what solved Paul’s dilemma, not Paul doing what he thought John would want. Communication is a big part of my own life, as I am the captain and leader of the basketball team. Without communication our team cannot function as a unit, and then we fail to reach our goals. This scene specifically spoke to me because of the connection I made between the need for communication in the scene and within my own life. Without an open line of communication with John Paul’s moral dilemma couldn’t have been solved, for this reason I believe the main takeaway of The Green Mile is to simply ask others what they want.
Similar to the situation with John, Paul has a complicated relationship with fellow guard Percy. Percy has a connection to a powerful state official, so his job is secured, but Paul and the other guards want him out. Paul finally asks Percy what he wants to transfer out, as he can secure a better job through his connection. Percy says he wants to be front row for an execution, and a deal is struck. Even though the situation is not ultimately resolved through this deal, the situation got better when Paul just asked Percy what he wanted. The communication between Percy and Paul, whether or not it resolved the problem, still eased the tension between the guards as a whole.
Two of Paul Edgecomb’s dilemmas in The Green Mile were resolved by just asking people what they wanted. Being straightforward with people through open communication can solve a lot of problems, and this message applies to my own life through basketball. On the basketball court I need to openly communicate with my teammates so we can work as one, and this is why this message of simply asking others what they want spoke to me. The most important takeaway from The Green Mile is to simply ask others what they want, it saves a lot of thinking.
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