The Green Mile Summer Reading Study Guide Academic American Literature Directions: Handwrite your answers to the study guide questions in complete sentences on lined paper. The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 1 1. When does the story take place? 2. What was Old Sparky? Who gave it this nickname? Why? 3. How does the narrator describe the convicted criminals reaction to their death penalty? 4. What was Death Row called at the prison? Why? 5. Who was Beverly McCall, and what happened to her? Why do you think her story is significant? 6. Describe the Green Mile, and describe what was found at the left turn and then at the right. 7. Describe Old Sparky. The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 2 1. What did Percy Wetmore call the big prisoners? Why? How did he feel about big prisoners in general? Why? 2. What is Delacroix s accent? Where does he come from? 3. What is Delacroix s pet mouse s name? 4. Why was Delacroix in prison? What does Edgecomb say about Delacroix s character? 5. How does Edgecomb describe the way Coffey spoke? 6. How does Coffey always introduce his name to people? 7. What privileges do the prisoners have? 8. What does Coffey say about his lawyer? 9. What comment does Edgecomb make about African-American prisoners in the justice system at that time? 10. What was the most important question that Coffey asked Edgecomb and what effect did it have on Edgecomb? 11. What did Edgecomb do with Coffey that he had never done before? The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 3 1. What does Stanton warn Edgecomb about? 2. What was the pun that Stanton made at the bottom of p. 22? 3. Who is Edgecomb worried about more than Percy?
4. How does Edgecomb describe the library and infirmary building? 5. What does he go to the library to do? 6. What more do we find out about the crime that Coffey is supposed to have committed? The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 4 1. Describe what happened to the Detterick girls. 2. What had happened to Bowser, the dog? How was this used in the case against John Coffey? 3. What did Klaus Deterick and his son Howie do? 4. How was Sheriff Homer Cribus a hypocrite, according to Edgecomb? 5. Why does Deterrick need help in tracking the girls? 6. Who does the mother finally call to help? What are they going to bring in to help? 7. How did the hunt go? What happened with the dogs? 8. What did the men on the hunt begin to hear as they got closer to the girls? 9. What did they find at the end of their search? 10. What was Coffey doing? 11. What was Klaus reaction? 12. What did Coffey tell the search party when they found him with the girls? The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 5 1. What keeps Paul up that evening? Does he tell his wife Janice? Why? 2. How does she try to get him to come to bed? 3. What is wrong with Paul? What does his wife recommend that he do the next day? What does he reply? 4. What does he dream about? The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 6 1. What was waiting for Paul at work the next day? What do you think it was about? 2. What does Paul start to do the first thing? 3. What had happened the evening before? 4. What was getting the talk started? Why was this so important? 5. What was going to happen soon? 6. How was Wharton described?
7. Describe Hal Moores. What did Paul think of him? 8. How does Paul start the conversation in Moores office? 9. What is wrong with Melinda Moores? 10. What does Hal talk to Paul about? 11. How does Hal urge Paul to handle the situation? 12. Why is Paul unlikely to quit? 13. What secret does Hal let Paul in on? 14. Why do they think that Percy is staying around Cold Mountain when he could have any job he wanted? The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 7 1. What were Edgecomb and Brutal doing when they first saw Delacroix s mouse? 2. Who saw the mouse and what was the mouse doing? What did Edgecomb compare the mouse to? 3. What was unusual about the mouse s behavior? 4. What did Edgecomb imagine about the mouse? 5. What was Dean going to do to the mouse? When Edgecomb stopped him, what did Brutal do? 6. How did the mouse approach the sandwich? 7. Where did the mouse run off to? What was in that room? 8. After the mouse disappeared what did Brutal do? What name did Brutal give the mouse? Why? 9. Where did they search for the mouse the next day? Why? 10. Did they find the mouse? 11. What happened three days later? Who chased the mouse? The Green Mile: Part 1 - Ch. 8 1. What did Brutal discover about the origins of the mouse later that winter? 2. When Paul is on the ladder looking into the hole in the wall and gets a whiff of peppermint, what does he remember? 3. What did Paul and Brutal find in the hole? What were these pieces a part of? What did they think the mouse had done? 4. What was the promise that Paul and Brutal made to each other that day?
The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch.1 1. Where is Paul Edgecomb at the beginning of this part of the book? 2. So when is he narrating this story? At what time in his own life? 3. Who came to E Block in the summer of 32? Who were the prisoners? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 2 1. When did the mouse come back? 2. What happened to the President? Who was he? 3. When the mouse came back, what did he do? What did Brutal and the other guards give him? What did they think about the mouse? What was Percy s impression of the mouse? 4. As the mouse was nibbling at the food, what did Percy do? 5. Who actually probably saved the mouse s life at that time? How? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 3 1. Why did Paul want to talk to the Chief? 2. What did Bitterbuck tell Paul about? 3. What did Bitterbuck ask Paul s opinion about? What did Paul reply? What did he really think? What does this tell us about Paul s perspective? What does he think about the criminal justice system? 4. After the chat with Bitterbuck, who showed up on the Green Mile that evening? 5. What did Steamboat Willy do? 6. What happened when Toot Toot tried to feed the mouse? What happened when the others gave him food? What does this imply? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 4 1. Who was being executed? What was his crime? 2. What special treatment would the Chief get before the DOE? 3. Where would Percy be stationed for this execution? 4. What was right outside the window of the switch room? What was it to be used for? 5. Who played the role of the condemned man in the rehearsal for the execution? 6. What did Paul Edgecomb think of Old Toot-Toot? 7. What were the steps in the execution as they rehearsed it? 8. What were the most vulnerable times for the guards during an execution? Why?
9. Why would Bitterbuck s left calf be shaved? 10. What did Paul Edgecomb think when he heard Percy ask what Roll on one meant? 11. What did Toot say during rehearsal when Edgecomb asked if there was anything he wanted to say before dying? What was the reaction of all the guards? How did Paul react? Why? 12. When the final step in the rehearsal for the execution had been completed, who did they discover had been watching? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 5 1. How did Bitterbuck s execution go? 2. What was Bitterbuck s reaction? 3. At what point did Bitterbuck falter? Why? 4. How did Bitterbuck die? 5. What did Edgecomb really hate about the execution room? What effect did that association have on him later in life? 6. When the first volts of electricity had finished what did the doctor find upon examination? What did the guards do? 7. What did Edgecomb and the others, including Percy, feel sick about? 8. What did Percy do to the dead man s body? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 6 1. Why does Paul tell us the story of going to his uncle s funeral in Chicago? What is the significance of that experience? 2. What does he say about the value of writing? 3. What has been his experience in writing about John Coffey? 4. What comment did Paul say about Coffey s suffering? What did he mean by that? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 7 1. What happened to the Pres? How was justice served in his case? 2. When Paul was sitting on Delacroix s bunk, who came in and what happened? 3. Why did Percy beat Delacroix? What did Paul do about the situation? Why does he respond in this way? 4. What does Brutal later tell Paul about Delacroix copping Percy s joint? What happened? What does Percy s reaction tell us about him?
The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 8 1. How does Paul handle Percy s hate for Delacroix? 2. What does Brutal discover that Delacroix has found and done with his friend? 3. As Paul and Brutal are watching Delacroix with the mouse, who comes along and what is his reaction? 4. How does Percy surprise everyone? 5. What did Paul later find out about the change in Percy s attitude? What had Percy done? Who had promised him something? What was the promise? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 9 1. How did Edgecomb describe the worth of the cigar box? 2. How did the staff convince Toot to sell the box for $.04? 3. What did Delacroix do with the box? 4. What did Delacroix give Mr. Jingles to eat? What was so amusing about this to Paul and the others? 5. What did Delacroix train Mr. Jingles to do? 6. How did Delacroix get the idea of getting the spool? 7. What thought made Delacroix as happy as he had ever been? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 10 1. What two major events happened around the same time in October? Why were they unexpected? 2. What had been Wharton s defense? 3. What was wrong with Edgecomb on the day Wharton arrived? 4. Why didn t Edgecomb call in sick? 5. When Edgecomb arrived at work at 6 am, how did he find Hall Moores? What was the problem? 6. What does Moores do when Edgecomb is in his office? 7. Why does this make Paul feel uncomfortable? The Green Mile: Part 2 - Ch. 11 1. At the beginning of the chapter, how does Dean explain their experience with Wharton? 2. Who went to transport Wharton to Cold Mountain? 3. When the staff goes to get Wharton in Indianola, how do they find him? What assumption do they make about this? 4. How does Edgecomb describe his personality?
5. What did Dean and the others have to do with Wharton before they left with him? 6. What made Dean, Harry and Percy feel that there would be no problem with Wharton? 7. As Dean was unlocking the cell door, what did Wharton do? 8. How was Wharton different from the prisoner they thought they had been escorting? 9. What was Percy s reaction? 10. How did Edgecomb react?