The Green Mile

After reading about Coffey at the prison library, Paul has trouble falling asleep due to the gruesome nature of the crimes. Back at home that night, his wife, Janice, comes to find him in the kitchen at two in the morning. Paul lies and tells her that he has trouble sleeping due to Percy being difficult at work. She tries to console him by proposing they have sex to help with his worries. He declines, stating that his urinary tract infection would worsen with sex. She suggests he gets some sulfa pills from Dr. Sadler. He refuses, as the pills would make him vomit constantly. He pees outside before returning to bed. That night, he dreams of the dead twins.

The next morning, Paul returns to work to find that Warden Hal Moore wants to speak with him. Paul groans, knowing it is likely about his treatment of Percy. At his office, he takes his time settling in, reviewing prison guard Brutus “Brutal” Howell’s notes from the night shift. In his notes, Brutal writes that Delacroix spent most of the night weeping, while Coffey barely spoke. He suggests that perhaps the other guards may have better luck “getting the talk started” (47), by which he means communicating with the prisoners so they do not lose grip of their sanity through their isolation.