Old Sparky His Ownself
King describes the electric chair used to execute the men on death row in detail. This, combined with the nickname “Old Sparky,” gives it a presence, almost as if it were a character in the novel. He writes, “Old Sparky his ownself, sitting up on a plank platform…stout oak legs, broad oak arms that had absorbed the terrorized sweat of scores of men in the last few minutes of their lives, and the metal cap, usually hung jauntily on the back of the chair, like some robot kid’s beanie in a Buck Rogers comic-strip.” The sturdiness of the chair emphasizes its immovable presence on death row. The grim reality of this chair’s function, which absorbs the terror and sweat of countless men as they die, is contrasted with the levity of a robot kid’s hat from a comic strip. This contrast mirrors the humor the inmates use when talking about “Old Sparky'' to lighten the reality of their fate.
Sat Bawling Up at the Sky Like a Moonstruck Calf
The image of John Coffey holding the dead Detterick girls' bodies is described with vivid, horrific detail. The search party finds John Coffey, an enormous man, sitting on the riverbank in a bloodstained jumper. “Gnats circled him in a black cloud. Curled in each arm was the body of a naked girl. Their blonde hair, once curly and light as milkweed fluff, was now matted to their heads and streaked red. The man holding them sat bawling up at the sky like a moonstruck calf.” The sheer contrast of the image is at once jarring and confusing. Coffey is covered in the blood of two naked, dead girls. Despite his size, his posture sitting on the ground, barefoot and crying like a “moonstruck calf,” is that of a child. From the beginning, there is a disconnect between the monstrous crime he’s supposedly committed and John Coffey’s demeanor and character.
Her Face Had Fallen Away
Paul and his wife visit Melinda Moores, who is dying of a brain tumor. Melinda, the warden’s wife, is very sick. King uses imagery to describe the drastic change in her physical appearance. Paul notes, “Her face had fallen away to show the shape of the underlying skull, and her skin was as white as parchment. There were dark circles under her eyes. And it was the first time I ever saw her in her rocker when she didn’t have a lapful of sewing…She was just sitting there. Like a person in a train station.” When Paul and his wife see Melinda they realize how sick she truly is; everyone in Melinda’s life has given up hope that she will get better. This makes her return to health, later in the novel, all the more dramatic and moving.
Misshapen Globs of White, Filmy Jelly
King describes in vivid detail how Delacroix’s body burns during his execution. He writes, “His eyes, now nothing but misshapen globs of white, filmy jelly, had been blown out of their sockets and lay on his cheeks. His eyelashes were gone, and as I looked, the lids themselves caught fire and began to burn…And still the humming of the electricity went on and on, filling my head, vibrating in there. I think it’s the sound mad people must hear, that or something like that.” With visual and auditory imagery, King paints a scene out of a nightmare. Paul watches in revulsion as Delacroix’s body burns. The incessant hum in the background fills his head, burrowing in, and making him feel even more helpless and trapped.
