Structuralist Approach of the Green Mile Essay Example

Structuralist Approach of the Green Mile Essay Example Structuralist Approach of the Green Mile Essay Structuralist Approach of the Green Mile Essay Nikki Green 9/24/09 Structuralism Dr. McKnight The Importance of the Healing The Green Mile is a movie about a man that has the gift of healing and is punished for it. Throughout the movie, you learn more about this man and his supernatural power. I reviewed two scenes in The Green Mile and found several binary oppositions that work together to make the meaning of the movie. Life/death, trust/doubt, silence/suffering, and good/evil are all binary oppositions but of this life/death, trust/doubt, and freedom/imprisonment work with each other to form the main concept which is Jesus/man. Life/death is the first binary in the two scenes. In the first scene the mouse is killed. Life is taken away, but also given. As the guard takes the life from the mouse, J. C. gives life to the mouse. The same sequence occurs in the second scene, except somewhat twisted. The woman is dying and in great pain. In this scene, J. C. takes death away from the woman but someone must receive it. That someone is J. C. The price he had to pay to take the death away. The scene in which life is given makes you happy as well as when death is taken away. As much as one is happy for the life given, one is also sad for the death that was given. For one to understand the happiness of life, they must comprehend the devastation of death. This binary is a controlling in the movie. Life/Death is intertwined throughout the entire movie. Trust/doubt is shown through the people who come in contact with J. C. When J. C. heals the mouse, Mr. Jangles, no one questions him. Everyone is welcoming of his talent. Everyone has complete trust in him, asking him to heal Mr. Jangles. The trust ties in with the life. It was easy for them to trust him to give life. If something did not work nothing was lost. In the scene where J. C. s taken to heal the woman, her husband is skeptical. He doubts J. C. and does not want him to touch her. Although J. C. was trying to take the death away, there was the chance that death could be given. The doubt resides once the woman is healed. Freedom/imprisonment is a binary that stems from J. C. In the scene where Mr. Jangles is healed, he is imprisoned. He reaches through the bars to heal the mouse. In the nex t scene, a healing is again occurring, except J. C. is free. He could have left and ran but he understood that his freedom could only come from one being imprisoned. He had to suffer and prove that he was able to be free and not escape full imprisonment. J. C. healed under each circumstance leading to the controlling binary in the movie. Throughout the movie the main concept is Jesus/man. The supernatural healing that occurs in each scene is clearly not an example of humanity. Humans cannot create miracles such as. In each scene though, the image of God himself is depicted through J. C. Not only are the initials the same, but the response given is that of which humanity gave Jesus when such miracles were performed. J. C. ike Jesus knew that in order to heal and give life, life must be given. Just as J. C. had the opportunity to escape from the imprisonment in his moment of freedom, he stayed. He knew that his freedom would come soon enough. His freedom was reached when accepted death. He left doubt, life, and imprisonment behind. When the woman was being healed, she was scared; she didn’t want to trust that J. C. wouldn’t hurt her. Her humanity was in the way of the salvation she would receive. The Green Mile is a quilt of binaries woven together to understand the movie. The code is depicted throughout life/death, trust/doubt, and freedom/imprisonment to make the main concept; Jesus/man. To understand the value of life, viewers must see the value of death. Trust is not understood without every feeling doubt. You cannot appreciate freedom with out once being imprisoned. J. C. throughout the movie shows that not everyone will accept him the same or appreciate his gift. Just as J. C. suffered Jesus suffered as a result of man. The binaries help in letting readers see these connections and work as a code to tell what is important.