Summary
Paul Edgecombe works at Cold Mountain Penitentiary where he is the superintendent of E Block, an area of the prison designated for inmates on death row. Now retired and living in a nursing home, Paul narrates the story, as he looks back on the events of 1932. E Block has six cells reserved for those awaiting execution. Unlike the rest of the prison, E Block is not segregated by race. The main hallway of E Block leads to the electric chair, where inmates meet their death. They jokingly refer to it as “Old Sparky.” In most prisons this hallway is called the Last Mile; at Cold Mountain it's been dubbed the Green Mile due to the lime-green linoleum floors.
In October of 1932, John Coffey comes to the prison. John Coffey is a towering Black man who is convicted of the rape and murder of two nine-year-old white girls, the Detterick twins. Two prison guards, Harry Terwilliger and Percy Wetmore, escort John to his cell where Paul is waiting for him. Coffey is bound in chains around his arms, chest, and ankles. Percy tries to intimidate Coffey, and Paul, frustrated with Percy’s behavior, sends him away to do another task. Paul is suffering from a painful urinary tract infection that leaves him uncomfortable and irritable. Coffey is six feet, eight inches tall and around three hundred and twenty pounds. Despite his size, Coffey appears to be gentle. Unlocking his chains, Paul gives Coffey a brief intro to life in E Block. Coffey shares that he is illiterate. The only question Coffey asks is whether a light will be left on at night because he is scared of the dark. Before leaving, Paul shakes Coffey’s hand, something he’s never done with an inmate before. Coffey sits on the bunk, his head down in grief and whispers to himself, “I couldn’t help it boss, I tried to take it back, but it was too late.”
Paul’s narration backtracks to June 1932 when the Detterick twins were murdered. Their father, Klaus Detterick, is a cotton farmer; he’s considered well-to-do by the low standards of the Great Depression. One summer night the twins, Cora and Kathe, ask to sleep on the screened-in porch. In the morning, the family is horrified to find the twins gone, the screen door ripped off its hinges, and blood on the steps. The family also discovers that someone or something has broken their dog's neck. Klaus and his son Howie set off in a panic to try and find the twins. They chase the tracks through several fields, finding torn bits of the twins' clothes, some soaked in blood. Having lost the trail, they are joined by Deputy Sheriff Rob McGee who brings hounds to pick up the trail.
With feelings of dread, the men find the remains of a nightgown in a bloody mess on the forest floor. At this juncture, the dogs become confused and divided over where the trail leads. Then the men hear a man howling. With trepidation, they enter a clearing and find Coffey sitting on the ground holding the naked girls in his arms. Their once blond hair is matted in blood and he’s sobbing uncontrollably. Detterick screams and throws himself at Coffey, kicking him in the head. It takes four men to pull Klaus off of Coffey. Deputy McGee questions Coffey, who responds with simple, honest answers. He seems completely unphased by Klaus’s attack and cries while looking out across the river. Coffey says he "couldn't help it" and that he "tried to take it back but it was too late." The men arrest Coffey for murder. The murder and trial are front-page news for months. On the day of the trial, the jury only takes 45 minutes to convict him and impose the death penalty.
Back in October 1932, the day after Coffey is admitted to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, Paul is called into the prison warden’s office. Warden Hal Moores and Paul have a good working relationship; Moores confides to Paul that his wife, Melinda, is sick. Moores warns Paul not to reprimand Percy, despite his incompetence. Percy is lazy, sadistic, and ill-suited for work as a prison guard, but Moores reminds Paul that Percy has the job because his uncle is the governor. Paul finds Percy intolerable but Moores signals that soon Percy might switch jobs to work in Briar Ridge, a state-run hospital. Moores suggests that Paul let Percy take an active part in Delacroix’s execution. Delacroix was convicted of rape and the murder of seven people. He is a mild-mannered Frenchman with a pet mouse and is the only other prisoner on E Block at that time. Paul is extremely hesitant. He does not trust Percy with such a delicate job, but is willing to do so if it means he’ll be able to get rid of Percy faster.
Then Paul recounts the story of a mouse that came to E Block at the beginning of the summer, before Coffey and Delacroix. The guards nicknamed it Steamboat Willy, although Delacroix would later rename it Mr. Jingles. It looks like an ordinary brown mouse, but the guards are entertained by its human-like mannerisms: how deliberately it eats and the way it moves down the Green Mile, almost like a prison guard making rounds. Paul remarks on its lack of fear of humans, and its intelligence. When Percy sees the mouse, he chases it into the storage room that is also used for restraining unruly prisoners. Percy wants to kill the mouse and is infuriated that he cannot find it.
The narration jumps forward in time to the winter of 1932, after the executions of Delacroix and Coffey. One of the other prison guards, Brutus Howell, finds the mouse’s former hiding place in the restraint room and shows Paul. Together they examine a nook in the ceiling that smells of peppermint and has colored bits of spool. Both are shaken, and Paul feels the place is haunted. Seeing Mr. Jingles’ hiding place, Paul remembers the day of Delacroix’s execution and how Delacroix made Paul promise to keep Mr. Jingles safe from Percy. Brutal and Paul share a moment, both acknowledging that after Coffey's execution, they want to be transferred to another prison. Neither feels able to take part in another execution after witnessing Coffey’s.
Analysis
The backdrop of The Green Mile is the Jim Crow South during the Great Depression. Although King never states explicitly where in the South the novel is set, clues in the narrative point to Louisiana. Of the 78 executions that Paul oversees at Cold Mountain, Coffey’s is his last. Something about it has stuck with Paul over the years and compels him, at the end of his life, to write down events in order to try and understand them better.
The novel’s title, The Green Mile, refers to the main corridor of E block. The Green Mile is the setting for the majority of the novel. Symbolically, it also represents the final journey to one’s death. The inmates use gallows humor as a coping mechanism to face the reality of their death, such as giving the electric chair the nickname, “Old Sparky.” Paul notes that the true reality of their fate usually sinks in as they walk down the Green Mile and are strapped into the electric chair.
Paul and the other guards exercise paternalistic control rather than outright force to keep the inmates calm. One of the ways they try to achieve this is by “getting the talking started.” They recognize how much psychological strain inmates are under as they face the knowledge of their own deaths. Getting the inmates to talk about their lives is a way for them to open up and acknowledge their humanity. Looking back, Paul reflects that the guards on E Block function more like psychiatrists than traditional prison guards. The only guard who fails to grasp this is Percy, who is universally disliked by guards and inmates. Percy is a bully who enjoys exerting control over others, evinced by the specially crafted holster in which he carries his baton. Paul finds Percy’s meanness and incompetence intolerable and does not trust him with the prisoners. He’s disgusted by how eager Percy is to take part in an execution but agrees to Moores’ idea if it means getting rid of Percy.
Paul is shocked by Coffey’s size when he enters the prison. He remarks that Harry and Percy look like children next to Coffey as they escort him to his cell. Yet for all his imposing size, Coffey is described as “quiet as a lamb” and placid. His request for the guards to leave a light on at night is like something a child would ask, and is at odds with his reputation as a murderous monster. Paul addresses Coffey as “big boy,” reflective of the racist paternalism that white people used to address Black men at the time. Paul notices something striking about Coffey’s eyes, which have a far-off look. His eyes along with his hard-to-place accent lend him an air of mystery.
Coffey’s child-like innocence is present on the day of the murder as well. When Coffey is discovered by Klaus and the other men, he makes no effort to hide or run away. Rather, he’s completely wrapped up in grief as he holds the young girls’ dead, naked bodies. The contrast is unnerving; he seems full of remorse, and yet he’s convicted of this horrendous crime. Sitting on the ground, barefoot and crying, Coffey answers questions with the honesty and simplicity of a child who does not know better than to tell the truth. Coffey seems to admit both guilt and remorse for his crime. Both at the scene of the crime and on his first day on E Block, Coffey confesses to being “unable to help it” and “trying to take it back.”
A mouse named Mr. Jingles, also known as Steamboat Willy, appears on E Block before Coffey and Delacroix arrive. Paul notes in hindsight that Mr. Jingles seemed to be looking for Delacroix. At first, Mr. Jingles is a novelty; the guards find his intelligence entertaining, laughing at his human-like mannerisms. However, the different ways characters interact with Mr. Jingles reveals aspects of their personalities. Seeing the way Mr. Jingles scampers bravely up to the guard’s desk, Paul imagines himself to be a convicted criminal. Within the prison, Paul holds a position of power; yet his empathetic nature prompts him to imagine what the inmates feel as they face the guards and the judgment of the law.
Looking at Mr. Jingles’ hiding place, smelling the peppermint and seeing the tiny bits of wood, brings back memories of Delacroix. King foreshadows Delacroix's execution, remarking that “the bad un,” or Percy, does something awful to Delacroix. Even though Delacroix’s crime is heinous, Paul does not believe that Delacroix deserves what happened to him. Both Brutal and Paul seem subdued and haunted. King foreshadows that something about Coffey’s execution changed them and how they felt about their job—so much so that, even during the Depression when they were lucky to have any job, the two of them left Cold Mountain to find work elsewhere.
