Summary
The narration jumps back to the present. King starts the beginning of each section by returning to Paul when he is living in Georgia Pines nursing home outside of Atlanta. One of the workers there, Brad Dolan, reminds Paul of Percy due to his mean and thickheaded nature. As Paul writes down the events of 1932, he realizes that while he remembers everything that happened, he struggles to keep it all in order. He reminds himself: Mr. Jingles arrived at E Block in the summer when Arlen Bitterbuck and “The President” were the only inmates, then Delacroix showed up. John Coffey arrived in October, and finally Wharton.
Returning to the summer of 1932, the story picks up with the reappearance of Mr. Jingles. At this time there are only two inmates on E Block, The President and Bitterbuck. Bitterbuck is a member of the Cherokee nation, whom the guards have nicknamed The Chief. Dean Stanton is a serious man and one of the regular guards on E Block. When Mr. Jingles approaches the guard’s desk, Percy throws his baton, trying to kill the mouse. Mr. Jingles narrowly escapes and Percy chases it into the restraint room. The interaction causes a ruckus on the normally calm E Block. As Percy’s superior, Dean tries to offer Percy advice that they want to avoid chaos and noise on E Block, but Percy angrily dismisses him. The following times Mr. Jingles only returns to E Block when Percy is gone. The other guards feed the mouse and realize it will only accept food from the regulars. Inexplicably, the mouse knows which guards are regularly assigned to E Block and which are floaters, who only have occasional shifts.
As Bitterbuck’s execution draws nearer, Paul makes sure to spend time with him, talking about his family and the afterlife. Bitterbuck was drunk when he killed a man, after they had an argument over a pair of boots. The guards run rehearsals before every execution. Toot-Toot, the old man who runs the prison snack cart, always stands in for the condemned. Toot-Toot enjoys his role and seems to come alive during the practices. Practicing, they walk down the Green Mile and into Paul’s office where the condemned have a moment to pray with a religious leader. Afterward, they enter the connecting shed where Old Sparky is. Paul assigns all of the guards duties and they practice their roles. He makes sure to keep Percy out of the way to watch and learn. Practicing, they lead Toot-Toot to the electric chair, strap him in, and put a bag over his head. There’s a hole at the top of the bag where they always put a sponge soaked in brine to help channel electricity. Inmates are offered a chance to say their last words, Toot-Toot cracks a joke and all the guards laugh except Paul. Paul reprimands the others telling them to be serious. In a real execution, the process concludes when a cap is strapped over the inmate's head and the electric current is turned on until the inmate's death.
Bitterbuck’s execution goes smoothly. His daughter comes to support him and braids his hair since he is too shaky to do it himself. She and her father conduct themselves with dignity. Unlike other prisoners Paul has witnessed, Bitterbuck does not protest or try to fight the guards when he’s led out of his cell for the last time. Only when he walks into the room and sees the forty-some witnesses does Bitterbuck briefly hesitate, but Paul reminds him to be strong. Paul describes in detail how a man’s body thrusts forward against the restraints when the electric charge surges. Once the doctor on call confirms his death, the guards quickly usher Bitterbuck’s body out on a stretcher because one of his braids has caught fire. They put it out while Percy comments on the horrible smell. As they take the body away to be buried, Percy slaps Bitterbuck’s cheek saying “Adios, Chief, hope hell’s hot enough for you.” Percy brushes off the reprimand he receives from Brutal with a glitter in his eyes.
Paul pauses his narration of 1932 to remark on the writing process. He did not expect to have to go back so far in order to tell Coffey’s story, but feels context is important. Until he sat down to write, he did not realize how important Mr. Jingles was to the story. Paul remarks that Bitterbuck died while the President only got life in prison. However, 12 years later, when Paul was no longer working at Cold Mountain, he discovers that the President was drowned in a vat of dry-cleaning fluid.
In late July of 1932, when Delacroix comes to E Block, Percy drags him in and accuses him of trying to touch him inappropriately. Percy yells at Delacroix and beats him severely with his baton. Paul and Brutal stop Percy but Paul is reluctant to formally reprimand Percy, because his connection to the governor protects him. Percy knows this, and any time the guards try to criticize his behavior, Percy threatens to “make a report of his own.” Within the context of the Great Depression, Paul knows he’s lucky to have a steady job and does not want to do anything to risk it. Later, Brutal tells Paul that Delacroix “touching Percy” was a complete accident and Percy probably knew that but used it as an excuse to beat him. Brutal questions why Percy would get a job in a prison if he could use his connections to get work anywhere.
At this time, Delacroix, a small, balding Frenchman, is the only inmate on E Block. One day, Mr. Jingles appears and Delacroix claims to have tamed him. Normally cowering and miserable, Delacroix is genuinely happy with Mr. Jingles and spends time teaching him tricks. The guards even help Delacroix get a cigar box so Mr. Jingles can sleep under his bed. Delacroix remains terrified of Percy. Delacroix teaches Mr. Jingles how to play fetch with a wooden spool and gives Mr. Jingles peppermint candies. Harry finds crayons and suggests that Delacroix color the spools so Mr. Jingles can be a circus mouse. Besides keeping Delacroix calm and happy, Mr. Jingles is entertainment for the guards. Around this time, Paul notices that Percy is acting much calmer than usual. Years later, Paul finds out that Percy complained to Warden Moores about him, trying to get Paul transferred. However, Moores promises that if Percy calms down he can take an active role in Delacroix’s execution.
Paul’s urinary infection comes back and it’s even worse than before. Going to the bathroom leaves him in excruciating pain. He almost calls in sick, but then remembers William Wharton is arriving at E Block that day. Paul was warned that Wharton is out of control and decides he needs to be there. Paul arrives early to ask Warden Moores for a sick day and finds Moores distraught. With eyes swollen from crying, Moores shares that his wife Melanie has a brain tumor and the doctors have given her only months to live.
Wharton, or Wild Bill as the guards call him, is at the hospital for testing. During his trial, he faked having a seizure. While the judge still sentenced him to death for the murder of four people, he mandated that Wharton get tested before going to Cold Mountain. Seven guards head to the hospital to pick up Wharton. He’s a scrawny nineteen-year-old with a pimply face and tangled blond hair. Wharton acts dull and unresponsive; his eyes are distant and he needs help changing into his prison uniform. The guards believe he’s been drugged. All goes smoothly until they reach E Block. The extra guards go back to their posts and Wharton is left with Dean, Harry, and Percy. As Dean unlocks the door to E Block, Wharton moves with startling speed. He lifts his arms, which are in chains, and pulls them over Dean’s throat to strangle him. Harry attempts to pull Wharton off but fails. Meanwhile, Percy stands by uselessly, panicked and scared. Paul has been waiting in Wharton’s cell for them to arrive. He hears the commotion, and comes running, drawing his gun. However, he cannot get a clear shot at Wharton without risking shooting Dean. Dean’s face turns red and it appears he’s going to die.
Analysis
The narration jumps back and forth in time and Paul admits to the reader that, while he remembers all of the events of 1932, he struggles to put them in order. King’s decision to divert from a chronological telling of the story reflects just that: an older man recalling events that happened many years ago. While he’s writing, Paul realizes how important Mr. Jingles is to the story. That, looking back, it seems Mr. Jingles was looking for Delacroix. Mr. Jingles is highly intelligent, and has a mysterious, supernatural air about him. The fact that Percy fixates on Mr. Jingles, a harmless being so much smaller than him, is telling. It infuriates Percy that he cannot capture or kill the mouse. Essentially, Mr. Jingles gets the better of him.
In his job, Paul sees the dark side of human nature. The inmates he oversees have committed the most violent crimes, sometimes for trivial reasons. While Paul believes that they deserve to be punished, he still finds a way to see the humanity in each of them. As the date of Bitterbuck’s execution draws nearer, Paul spends more time with him, wanting to provide comfort and prevent Bitterbuck’s fear of death from taking control. The guards prepare for every execution with a rehearsal, to ensure they understand their responsibilities and assigned roles. Paul finds it unnerving to see how much Toot-Toot enjoys his role. Although he secretly finds Toot-Toot’s joke funny, as the boss he wants to set an example for the other guards and remind them of the gravity of what they’re doing. In their job, the guards and Toot-Toot are surrounded by death, and it can be easy for death to become normalized. Paul does not want them to forget that they are about to kill a man. Paul never seems to lose sight of this reality, but seeing their levity makes him feel old. The job is wearing on him.
King describes in great detail the process of an execution. He details the mechanics of the electric chair and the smell of the machine and burnt flesh. The imagery immerses the reader in the experience. Death is no longer abstract but visceral and real. The guards have a careful set of protocols to assure everything goes according to plan. This is in direct contrast to the murders of passion and impulse that led to the convictions of many of the men on E Block. The formal nature of the executions is an effort to differentiate between the two, but in the end, violent death is the result. This system is not without its flaws. Both Bitterbuck and The President commit murder, but Bitterbuck is executed while the President, a white man, has his sentence commuted to life in prison. The racial discrepancies in sentencing demonstrate that for all of the talk that justice is being served, the criminal justice system is often subjective and racist. The President’s subsequent murder in prison demonstrates that justice was served not by the state but by an act of chance.
Bitterbuck meets his death with dignity. Braiding his hair, as a symbol of his cultural identity, gives him strength. He walks down the Green Mile with his head held high, a contrast from some inmates who lose their nerve at the end. Paul recalls how, in a futile effort to escape their fate, some inmates hold onto the bars of their cell or kick the guards as they're being strapped into the electric chair. Yet King also explores the lack of dignity in death. During the execution, Bitterbuck’s braid catches fire and the guards are forced to rush his body out and douse him with water. The careful braid his daughter made for him becomes a charred lump on the side of his head. Percy adds insult to injury by casually slapping Bitterbuck’s cheek. The other guards find Percy’s action shocking, and another indication of his lack of respect for life and death.
As the nephew to the governor, Percy could get a job anywhere. His choice to work in a prison reveals his sadistic nature. He believes working as a prison guard proves that he’s tough. Percy loves using violence and exerting control when he feels he has the upper hand, such as with Delacroix. This is why Paul finds the shift in Percy’s behavior so unnerving. Percy behaves better once he learns he will play an active role in Delaxcroix’s execution, but this calmer, more friendly demeanor is out of character. In a situation of actual danger, when Wharton is trying to kill Dean, Percy stands by and makes no attempt to intervene. In reality, Percy is a coward, something he tries hard to overcompensate for with his bravado.
King’s writing style is designed to create suspense and draw the reader in. He achieves this by dropping hints and foreshadowing, revealing bits of the action to come while withholding key details. He starts off stating plainly that Wharton tries to kill Dean, remarking on the purple bruises on Dean’s neck, then works his way back to the events in question. William Wharton is sly, mean, and cunning. Sentenced to death at nineteen years old, Wharton is determined to wreak as much havoc as possible before he dies. The guards completely underestimate Wharton. When Coffey, a huge Black man, enters E Block the guards are on high alert. Yet it is Wharton, a scrawny, young white man, who has a truly violent nature. Wharton takes advantage of the guards’ carelessness, taking them completely by surprise.
