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Part 3: Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Green Mile, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Death and the Death Penalty
Morality and Justice
Love, Compassion, and Healing
Racism
Summary
Analysis
That week, Melinda Moores returns from the hospital and Paul and Janice go to visit her. When they see their friend, the two of them are shocked to note how terribly illness has affected her. Melinda looks fragile and empty, and Paul feels that the room she is sitting in is merely another version of the Green Mile. While Janice chats with Melinda, Paul suddenly remembers the way in which John Coffey healed him.
Paul realizes that the threat of death and pain exists outside of the prison setting, capable of striking innocent people at any time. However, Paul’s memory of John Coffey gives him a bit of hope—reminding him that goodness and healing, too, can take on unexpected forms.
Themes
Hal walks in and takes Paul aside, telling him how hard it is to see his wife like this. When Paul and his wife drive home, both of them agree that Melinda’s situation is terrible, and Paul thinks of John Coffey again. At home, Paul and Janice make love. When Paul drives back to the prison, he remembers it is time to prepare for Delacroix’s execution and feels a deep sense of dread at the idea that Percy will be in charge of it.
Paul’s recurrent thoughts about John Coffey suggest that he is nursing an idea that connects Melinda Moores’s illness to John Coffey’s healing powers.
Themes
