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The Last Spin

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The Last Spin is a short story written by Evan Hunter, a American writer specialized into crime fiction. It tells a story about two rivaling gangs, which are trying to get peace between each other by selecting one boy from both sides to play Russian roulette. That way they try to avoid fighting on streets. ¨

The main protagonist of the short story is Danny, a member in a gang that uses blue and gold jackets. Danny meets Tigo, a member of rivaling gang, in a basement. Boys state to each other that there is nothing personal in this event. The two boys have not even met before.

The boys begin the game with one bullet. Tigo offers to go first. He points the gun to his temple and fires, but there is no bullet in the chamber. He hands the gun to Danny, but again: no bullet in the chamber. The game goes on and on until Tigo decides to add one more bullet to speed things up.

During the game the boys are having a talk about girlfriends, their families, gangs, guns and army… The boys realize that they have more in common than it appears. Again Tigo ads one bullet, making the odds now 3:6. Still the game goes on. The boys start to think their lives and how they are controlled by the gangs. They decide that Danny is going to try one more time; if nothing happens, they would leave the basement and resign from their gangs and start a new life. Danny raises the gun to his forearm and fires. For Tigo’s horror, the gun fires, ripping away half of Danny’s head, shattering his face. The story ends as Tigo puts his face on the table and starts to cry.

Hunt’s story is more of a drama story rather than a crime story, which he is used to. Although it tells a story about gang members solving a conflict, it still focuses more into the growing friendship of the two boys. The plot itself is not very addicting as the key element, the Russian roulette, slowly sneaks into backgrounds.

Narration is often pretty straight forward, but you can find parts with quite a lot of description. Language of the story is quite is easy to understand.

Personally I don’t think that Ethan Hunt’s The Last Spin to be so wonderful. Still it is well written and quite entertaining.

 

The Green Mile

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The Green Mile is a drama film directed by Frank Darabont in 1999. It is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Plot

The film tells a story about “The Green Mile”, a death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary during the summer of 1935. The death row is called “Green Mile” because the inmates waiting for their execution are said to be walking on “the last mile”. The corrections officer in charge of “the Green Mile” is named Paul Edgecomb. Edgecomb suffers from urinary tract infection, which causes him great pain.

One day, a prisoner named John Coffey arrives to the Mile. He has been convicted of killing and raping two young girls. Coffey is revealed to be shy, soft-spoken and emotional. He heals Edgecomps urinary tract infection with extraordinary powers and brings a mouse back from death. Later he heals the Wardens fatally wife. When he is asked to explain his powers, John only responses that he “took it back”.

Coffey puts the sickness that he took from the Wardens wife, and puts it into Percy Wetmore, a sadistic and unpopular guard. Percy shoots violent prisoner named ”Wild Bill” Wharton who is actually guilty of crimes that Coffey has been convicted. Percy falls into a state of permanent catatonia.

In the aftermath of these events, John Coffey shows to Paul Edgecomb what really happened to those girls. Paul asks Coffey if he should let him go, but Coffey answers that he is so tired of pain and is ready to rest. The next day, John Coffey is executed.

Characters

  • Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is corrections officer in charge of death row. He is shown to be kind but stern man. He has wife and adult son. Edgecomb is the main protagonist in the movie.
  • John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) is an inmate who is sentenced to death. He has mystic powers to heal people just by “taking it back”. He is the secondary protagonist in the film after Paul Edgecomb.
  • Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) is a guard that everyone hates. The only thing why he is kept in duty is that he is nephew of the governor’s wife.
  • ”Wild Bill” Wharton (Sam Rockwell) is the most violent and rowdiest inmate in the mile. He tries to piss the guards off any way he can.