The contrasting ideas of life and death are present throughout the entirety of Stephen King’s novel The Green Mile. They play a vital role in the development of the story and of the main character, Paul Edgecombe, a former prison guard and executioner on death row at a southern prison. His tone in the way that he speaks of death changes by the end of the novel, when he realizes, along with the other guards, that murder is murder, and death is death, no matter how much one deserves it. King as an author and Paul as a narrator successfully manages to convey the concept of life versus death in regard to both the innocent and guilty by utilizing multiple rhetorical strategies, including juxtaposition and euphemism.
Life and death are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum of humanity. Paul describes the prison at the beginning of the novel and calls the long hallway that the prisoners walk before being executed the Green Mile. He writes that once you get to the end, “A left turn meant life [...] A right turn, though – that was different” (King 6-7). The strategy used here is juxtaposition, because the two contrasting ideas of existence and execution are placed in close proximity to one another, with a complete idea being formed. The hallway also acts as a symbol for the fine line that falls between life and death. When the prisoner is led down the Green Mile, they are either facing their death or facing another day in prison. The effect that the strategy has on the novel is it helps to develop how Paul feels about his job. He looks at the electric chair executions as something he just does in his life; he is seemingly desensitized to it. It does not occur to him until he is faced with the harrowing challenge of ending an innocent man’s life that he has been committing murder all this time.
Death is a very dark and heavy topic, especially when dealt with on the level that Paul Edgecombe deals with it. In order to lighten the mood not only for himself and for the reader, he makes use of euphemisms quite often. In one instance in particular, an execution has just taken place, and Paul writes that him and the guards “had once again succeeded in destroying what we could not create” (113-114). The effect that this strategy and phrasing has is that they allow the reader to understand what Paul feels about execution, without having to directly mention death. The darkness is alleviated without taking away the complete idea. Paul understands that death is permanent and he is at the helm of the ship taking on the rough waters of killing prisoners. He is starting to see the significance of his actions, even if it is something he has to do for his job. The euphemism also shows how important the concept of death versus life is to the story because the reader is able to understand what he intends them to.
Paul’s changing views on death are made apparent by the use of rhetorical strategies. He believes that the innocent do not deserve to die, however when he has to end the lives of the guilty, it does not seem to impact him. It takes the experience of killing an innocent man to make him realize that murder is murder, no matter how or why someone is eliminated from Earth.