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| “ | On the day of my judgement, when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job? | „ |
| ~ Paul trying to convince Coffey to not want to be executed. |
Paul Edgecomb is the main protagonist of the 1999 film adaptation of The Green Mile. He is a considerate and caring guard at The Green Mile prison who interacts with the death row inmates to make sure they are having their best experiences before their executions. After being given a supernaturally lengthy life by John Coffey, Edgecomb decides to spend the rest of his days taking care of Mr. Jingles who was also given a lengthy life as a way to punish himself for killing one of God’s true miracles.
He was portrayed by Tom Hanks while 44, who also portrayed Forrest Gump in the film of the same name, and is portrayed by the late Dabbs Greer when he is an old man.
What Makes Him Pure Good?[]
- As a death row guard whose job is to execute prisoners, Paul treats them all (except Wild Bill who does not deserve it) with respect and makes sure they are having their best experiences before they are executed, and never takes pleasure when the prisoners are eventually killed by electric chair.
- Refrains Brutus from going overboard and harming Percy when the latter was antagonizing him.
- When Wild Bill attempts to strangle Dean with his handcuffs, Paul distracts him so Brutus can sneak up on him and knock him out, saving Dean's life.
- When Wharton calls John the N word, Paul reprimands Wharton for treating John disrespectfully.
- After Percy is grabbed by Wharton, Paul aims his gun at Wharton and demands he let Percy go despite not getting along with Percy.
- When Percy kills Mr. Jingles, Paul is shocked that he could do something like that just out of cruelty.
- When Mr. Jingles is killed by Percy, he gives him to John as he knows that John can bring him back to life and succeeds in doing so.
- After Percy sabotages Delacroix's execution, Paul attempts to stop it but is unable to as Brutus says it is too late.
- Stopped Brutus from assaulting Percy after Del's execution.
- He sneaks John out of the prison with the others so John can heal Melinda Moores of her brain tumor.
- He, along with the other guards, punish Percy for sabotaging Del's execution by locking him in the padded room, despite the fact Percy constantly threatened to get them fired.
- He attempts to save Percy after he is grabbed by John and after John attempted to give him the brain tumor, and showed concern for Percy when he changed his behavior afterwards, and caught Percy after he shot Wild Bill dead and sent Percy to the mental hospital.
- Upon realizing John is innocent, he gives him a chance to prove his innocence and be released from prison. Despite John wanting to die anyway, Paul still tried to convince him to not want to die.
- When he and the other guards had to execute John, they showed great sadness over his death and Paul, feeling like he should punish himself, kept himself alive after John blessed him and Mr. Jingles with a long life and took care of Mr. Jingles until the day they will both die of old age.
- Despite being taken seriously, he does not make the story any darker than it already is.
- While he can come off as harsh towards Percy, such as slapping him and threatening to have him beaten up, it is more or less justified given Percy's actions and behaviour leading up to that point. Furthermore, he subverts this antagonism when he tries to save him from John and later when Percy is sent to the mental hospital, showing genuine concern for him.
- While not as admirable as John, he has less resources than him as John has healing powers while Paul is a regular human.
External Links[]
- Paul Edgecomb on the Heroes Wiki
- Paul Edgecomb on the Stephen King Wiki
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 Pure Goods
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The Dead Zone | ||
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The Green Mile The Dark Tower | ||