On King's Style

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blunthead

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AgentX-feature.png
Y?
 

Walter Oobleck

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Hi everyone, I love Stephen King's works and right now I'm writing a diploma thesis on his novel- "The Green Mile". It's been my favourite book ever since I read it for the first time, but now that I'm writing about it, I have difficulties. The question that I need to answer is: What makes "The Green Mile" different from King's other works? I mean, it is not one of his spooky tales, it is radically different from most of his works. Please, any help would be useful. Thanks :)

I'm a bit taken back by the idea that so many like Paul. Why? Because Tom Hanks was in the starring role? Consider what happens in the story, consider what the story is about, and then ask your self, why is that "like-able"? Is Paul a monster? Well, no...it's Tom Hanks! So if Tom starred as Pennywise we'd think the same? Or is going along to get along that important?
 

Shoesalesman

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Aug 12, 2010
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I like King’s style chiefly because I am under the impression that he cares little about the social ramifications his text might create when published.

Simply stated, King doesn’t seem to care a great deal about what some might deem as ‘sensitive subject-matter’, consequently why I enjoy much of his work.

I tend to agree. SK tells you the truth and doesn't spare your feelings when doing so. That pretty much sums up my interest in his older work and my desire to keep reading the new stuff. Great post, Agent (X).
 

Pucker

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May 9, 2010
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It's pretty basic for me -- the style thing.

I've always found that King writes characters that are not only believable, but are also people you might be interested in knowing.

In my notes while I was reading Finders Keepers I wrote down:

I like the idea of a criminal (Morrie) who rides the bus.

Now, there's a lot about Morris that troubles me . . . mostly because he's a lot like me in several ways, but mostly I liked him because his getaway car is the city bus.

You just can't make that up.

Wait . . .
 

jchanic

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I'm a bit taken back by the idea that so many like Paul. Why? Because Tom Hanks was in the starring role? Consider what happens in the story, consider what the story is about, and then ask your self, why is that "like-able"? Is Paul a monster? Well, no...it's Tom Hanks! So if Tom starred as Pennywise we'd think the same? Or is going along to get along that important?

Walter, we are talking about the book here, not the movie. In the book, Paul comes across as a very decent, caring man who has a lousy job.

John
 

GNTLGNT

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Hi everyone, I love Stephen King's works and right now I'm writing a diploma thesis on his novel- "The Green Mile". It's been my favourite book ever since I read it for the first time, but now that I'm writing about it, I have difficulties. The question that I need to answer is: What makes "The Green Mile" different from King's other works? I mean, it is not one of his spooky tales, it is radically different from most of his works. Please, any help would be useful. Thanks :)
....I don't see that it's "radically" anything....as others have said, it's the way it was originally presented as a "cliffhanger" series of installments that truly set it apart... it can be argued-it's not "spooky" unless you consider John Coffey's ability scare inducing rather than nearly magical....the richly drawn characters and story are pure King excellence...it is some of his best story-telling ever....if you are indeed looking to pin a "difference" somewhere, then focus on ordinary people, doing a thankless job-that encounter something extraordinary guised in the form of a mis-convicted killer...John is a wonderous "being" that has no idea where his gift comes from... Don't know. To tell the truth, Boss, I don't know much'o anything.....Coffey knows something about him sets him apart, but he cannot describe nor comes to grips with it....that's the crux of this tale...I'm tired boss Tired of bein' on the road lonely as a sparrow in the rain Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with or tell me where we's coming from or going to or why Mostly I'm tired of people being ugly to each other I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday There's too much of it It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time......
 

skimom2

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Oct 9, 2013
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Hi everyone, I love Stephen King's works and right now I'm writing a diploma thesis on his novel- "The Green Mile". It's been my favourite book ever since I read it for the first time, but now that I'm writing about it, I have difficulties. The question that I need to answer is: What makes "The Green Mile" different from King's other works? I mean, it is not one of his spooky tales, it is radically different from most of his works. Please, any help would be useful. Thanks :)

I don't find it different from the rest of his body of work. Though the 'hugger-mugger' of a monster/alien/outside evil force isn't present, the story is in its essence classic King: normal people facing an abnormal circumstance with a mixture of failures and successes. This scenario occurs in every King book, including The Green Mile. Mr. King manifests faith in the basic goodness of humanity, and an underlying belief in an outside 'good power'. I don't think he'd always use the name 'God', but he shows a consistence of this core spiritual belief throughout his novels. Mr. King has always featured strong characterization in his stories, and this book is no exception. The only thing that is radically different about The Green Mile is that it was published in serialized form.
 

Walter Oobleck

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Walter, we are talking about the book here, not the movie. In the book, Paul comes across as a very decent, caring man who has a lousy job.

John

I realize that, John. The movie followed the story close, seems like. But you seem to have missed my point. What does Paul know? What does Paul do anyway? Would you have been able to do the same? I would not. So Paul should be heralded because he did a good job? Heh!
 

FlakeNoir

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I realize that, John. The movie followed the story close, seems like. But you seem to have missed my point. What does Paul know? What does Paul do anyway? Would you have been able to do the same? I would not. So Paul should be heralded because he did a good job? Heh!

This is a really very complex one for me. First, overall, I did enjoy Paul's character and I did realise what choice he made and with the knowledge that he had.

The complexity...
I didn't like the choice he made. I desperately wanted him to make a different choice and I kept arguing with myself throughout reading, trying to find Paul a way to save John and also at the same time to be true to all the other people he was beholden to. (including his God) I couldn't come up with the answer. I was bound by the law, I was bound by the time period and I was bound by the love for his wife and work colleagues.
In the end, what allowed me to still feel for Paul as much as I did before he made that choice, were three things:

1) People/situations are never black and white, the reason we even have a spectrum is because things are not supposed to be just one way or another. Paul had many, many good qualities and even when he came to a decision (that because of his religion) made him question every moral fibre of his being... he still behaved in a way that begged respect. He agonised over this, was tormented by it and did all he could to make it easier on everybody else once the decision was made.
I didn't have to like the choice he made, to still like the man... as is the case in most human relationships.

2) John Coffey wanted, begged and needed the release from the pain he was enduring. I think this allowed me to accept Paul's decision more easily.

3) It was a fictional story. Once done, I could put the book down and choose the times that I would allow the story and the emotions back in.
I wasn't confronted with it on a day to day basis, so had some control on my feelings.
 

E. Moneva

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Aug 23, 2015
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I don't find it different from the rest of his body of work. Though the 'hugger-mugger' of a monster/alien/outside evil force isn't present, the story is in its essence classic King: normal people facing an abnormal circumstance with a mixture of failures and successes. This scenario occurs in every King book, including The Green Mile. Mr. King manifests faith in the basic goodness of humanity, and an underlying belief in an outside 'good power'. I don't think he'd always use the name 'God', but he shows a consistence of this core spiritual belief throughout his novels. Mr. King has always featured strong characterization in his stories, and this book is no exception. The only thing that is radically different about The Green Mile is that it was published in serialized form.
Did you really read "The Green Mile"? Of course, there's the "normal people being put into a situation with abnormal circumstances" which is present in every King book, but, how can one say that its publication is the only thing that differs "The Green Mile" from his other works. I'm just shocked. "The Green Mile" is a bright example of King's brilliance as we know he is not fully accepted in the literature world by critics. My task is to explain why it is worth to be regarded as fiction, as it doesn't fit into the horror genre, nor is it a supernatural drama only.
 
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FlakeNoir

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Did you really read "The Green Mile"? Of course, there's the "normal people being put into a situation with abnormal circumstances" which is present in every King book, but, how can one say that its publication is the only thing that differs "The Green Mile" from his other works. I'm just shocked. "The Green Mile" is a bright example of King's brilliance as we know he is not fully accepted in the literature world by critics. My task is to explain why it is worth to be regarded as fiction, as it doesn't fit into the horror genre, nor is it a supernatural drama only.
skiimom2 is a published writer and might actually be a valuable asset in dissecting one of Stephen's stories. Given the chance, she has a lot of good insight when it comes to writing. :)
 

E. Moneva

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skiimom2 is a published writer and might actually be a valuable asset in dissecting one of Stephen's stories. Given the chance, she has a lot of good insight when it comes to writing. :)
She might be, but I surely do not agree on that with her. Believe me, publication is not what makes "The Green Mile" special.
 
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Walter Oobleck

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Hi everyone, I love Stephen King's works and right now I'm writing a diploma thesis on his novel- "The Green Mile". It's been my favourite book ever since I read it for the first time, but now that I'm writing about it, I have difficulties. The question that I need to answer is: What makes "The Green Mile" different from King's other works? I mean, it is not one of his spooky tales, it is radically different from most of his works. Please, any help would be useful. Thanks :)

If you have time, I'd encourage you to read Lisey's Story. There's a detail in that story that is a kind of link in the chain of being...and there's a chain there, as well. That link in the chain is attached securely to the link in The Green Mile. Let me know what you think when you discover it. We like to tame our monsters and keep them in the basement, out of sight, out of mind. We like to go along to get along, a theme that is very prevalent in King's stories and a phrase that is repeated more than once...Hearts in Atlantis...The Dark Tower.

Seems like there's another metaphor that rings my bell...or rattles my chain...something about weeds in the garden.

FlakeNoir: Would it have made a difference if the job description called for numbers instead of only one? Paul still went along to get along with Prussian efficiency, he did a job and he did it well, rehearsed it a number of times, followed the script. What's more important, following the script that others have agreed is the course we should take? Or questioning the script when one knows one of the parameters the script is based upon is off base?

Had a man work for me a number of years ago, a fan of The Green Mile he was, could recite that passage, John Coffey, tired of the pain. The man had his ups and downs, as we all do. A year or two ago I heard from another that he had ended his life, a problem with the law, drinking and driving, the knocking on the door, and that pushed him over the edge. Who decides what the script should be? Don't we have a choice in the matter?
 

FlakeNoir

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She might be, but I surely do not agree on that with her. Believe me, publication is not what makes "The Green Mile" special.
I don't think she was saying that the publication made it special. I could be wrong, but I thought she was pointing out that The Green Mile really was no different to the bulk of the rest of his work, even with having a radically different publication method.
(Which taught me something, because I had thought it might actually be part of what had made the story seem to not let up. I had felt that the G.M was a go, go, go kind of story and wondered if this was because of the pace it had been written, polished and published.)
 

FlakeNoir

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FlakeNoir: Would it have made a difference if the job description called for numbers instead of only one? Paul still went along to get along with Prussian efficiency, he did a job and he did it well, rehearsed it a number of times, followed the script. What's more important, following the script that others have agreed is the course we should take? Or questioning the script when one knows one of the parameters the script is based upon is off base?

Had a man work for me a number of years ago, a fan of The Green Mile he was, could recite that passage, John Coffey, tired of the pain. The man had his ups and downs, as we all do. A year or two ago I heard from another that he had ended his life, a problem with the law, drinking and driving, the knocking on the door, and that pushed him over the edge. Who decides what the script should be? Don't we have a choice in the matter?
Do you mean numbers as in all the people he had already fed to Ol' Sparky? (or might have to in the future)
I'm trying to understand.... are you asking me what it would take for me to not like Paul because of his job? (In general? Or in the case of somebody/s that is innocent of guilt having that fate?)
 

PatInTheHat

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Did you really read "The Green Mile"? Of course, there's the "normal people being put into a situation with abnormal circumstances" which is present in every King book, but, how can one say that its publication is the only thing that differs "The Green Mile" from his other works. I'm just shocked. "The Green Mile" is a bright example of King's brilliance as we know he is not fully accepted in the literature world by critics. My task is to explain why it is worth to be regarded as fiction, as it doesn't fit into the horror genre, nor is it a supernatural drama only.
Huh?
I mean, by saying that thing about 'differing from his other works', sounds like all his other works are, at least to you, completely similar.
Misery, Dolares Claiborn, The Body, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,.......
All and more outside his 'genre', muchos burn your retinas bright ones at that.
I guess I don't understand what your goin' for.