John Coffey is a protagonist character from the book The Green Mile. In The Green Mile film he was portrayed by the late actor Michael Clarke Duncan. His date of birth is unknown.
Character Description
The first time we see John Coffey, he is described to be a large and imposing man by many different people; even "Brutal", the guard who usually manages to intimidate more rowdy prisoners by the virtue of superior bulk alone, looked like a normal man standing beside Coffey. None of the guards (except for Percy Whetmore, the sadistic guard who is also generally portrayed as the least intelligent) were willing to get closer than they absolutely had to be with Coffey. The narrator, Paul Edgecombe, felt that had Coffey really wanted to, he could have snapped his chains apart as though they were paper.
But gradually, he reveals that despite John Coffey's imposing stature, he is a simple-minded creature who seems to be willing to cooperate with the guards - Coffey's only request was that the guards keep the lights outside his cell on at night, as he was afraid of the dark.
Synopsis
John Coffey is a new prisoner sentenced to death for raping and murdering two young white girls. He is a very big, tall, child-like black man, that possesses the power to heal. Even though he's also innocent, the prejudiced times in which the story take place; United States of the 1935, he is tried as guilty.
The story of Coffey is told in narration by former corrections officer at the prison Paul Edgecombe. He relates how John performed miracles, bring back an inmates pet m
ouse Mr. Jingles from the dead, and cures his bladder infection with a touch.
He also cures the warden's wife of her brain cancer, and performs other miracles. Nevertheless, in the end, Coffey, tired of suffering from the heightened awareness of the world's evils and too aware of his lowly position as a poor black man, asks to go through with the execution.
When he is executed, the wardens make sure it becomes for him as comfortable as possible.
Trivia
- His initials are similar to Jesus Christ's (J.C.)
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