The Green Mile

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1996

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Part 2, Chapters 9-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2: The Mouse on the Mile

Chapter 9 Summary

Brutal manages to convince Toot-Toot to sell the cigar box to Delacroix with minor contributions from other guards, including Paul himself. Toot-Toot agrees. The mouse takes to the box very quickly. Delacroix gives his new pet a portion of the peppermints his aunt sends him. Someone gifts Delacroix a wooden spool, which he uses as a toy for Mr. Jingles. Harry offers Delacroix a box of crayons to color the spool with. Delacroix happily does so, showing off the mouse’s tricks with the spool to all the guards except Percy.

Paul remarks that the early days of Delacroix’s arrival are pleasant, prior to Paul’s urinary tract infection returning, and the inmate William Wharton’s arrival to the Green Mile.

Chapter 10 Summary

Delacroix’s executiondate arrives earlier than expected. Delacroix’s execution makes room for the arrival of William Wharton, whose trial has run longer than expected due to his hospital visits. In court, Wharton’s lawyer claims that Wharton suffers from epilepsy, but the hospital finds no physiological issue with his brain. The day of Wharton’s arrival to Cold Mountain, Paul’s urinary tract infection worsens. He wakes up in unbearable pain, falling over when he goes to urinate, and is almost unable to get back up. He considers calling in sick but remembers Wharton’s arrival is that day and anticipates some difficulty with the guards getting Wharton into his cell. He decides the best thing to do is to arrive early to discuss his situation with Warden Moores, get Brutal assigned to E Block to assist with Wharton’s arrival, and then make his way to the doctor. When he arrives at Moores’ office, however, the warden reveals that his wife has a brain tumor. Paul attempts to comfort Moores and forgets his plans for the day, opting to stay at work for the full of his shift.

Chapter 11 Summary

On the day of Wharton’s arrival, Dean, Harry, and Percy drive to Indianola to pick him up. When they arrive, Wharton appears to be sedated, and is moving slowly as a result. The guards let down their defenses, thinking Wharton no threat. When they arrive at E Block of Cold Mountain, Dean is about to unlock a door when Wharton lets out a primal cry and lifts his chained hands over Dean’s neck. Using his chains, Wharton chokes Dean. Harry jumps on top of Wharton, hitting the inmate and forgetting that as a guard, he has weapons he could use. Wharton throws Harry off easily and continues to choke Dean, laughing as he does so. Harry yells at Percy to use his baton but the usually aggressive guard is stunned with fright. Paul, who has been waiting at Wharton’s cell, hears the commotion and takes out his gun. He points to shoot, but Wharton catches sight of the gun and turns Dean’s body toward Paul, so that if Paul shot at him, the bullet would go through Dean as well.

Chapters 9-11 Analysis

These chapters introduce William Wharton, a dangerous inmate whose seeming lack of conscience and remorse makes him a chief antagonist throughout The Green Mile. Prior to Wharton’s arrival, the inmate was hospitalized for epileptic seizures, a condition that Paul suspects he faked in order to delay his verdict. Wharton’s convincing performance is an alarming talent that makes him unpredictable, as he can appear normal in one instance and become very violent in the next. This is evident in Chapter 11, when he manages to trick the guards into believing he is sedated when he is picked up for transport to Cold Mountain. It is not until he attacks Dean that others realize they never asked if he was sedated when they picked him up. Wharton’s ability to lull others into believing that he is not a threat foreshadows how Wharton has been able to evade blame for the murder of the Detterick twins.

Chapter 9 juxtaposes Chapter 10 through a rapid shift in tension. While Chapter 9 portrays happier days at Cold Mountain, when the most the guards have to contend with is Delacroix’s delight over his new pet, Chapter 10 introduces an impending threat to the calm. In Chapter 10, conflict escalates, from Paul’s worsening urinary tract infection to the news of Warden Moores’ wife’s brain tumor. These medical conditions, combined with Wharton’s impending arrival, suggest the calmer days of Cold Mountain are over.