Mr. Sir acts as the guard at Camp Green Lake. He wears a big cowboy hat and sunglasses and has a rattlesnake tattoo on his arm. He habitually eats sunflower seeds, which have replaced his habit of smoking cigarettes. Mr. Sir appears to be an extremely unhappy person. He is sarcastic and verbally abusive to the boys, always reminding them that they aren’t attending a Girl Scout Camp. (Ironically, the camp does become a Girl Scout Camp at the novel’s end.) Mr. Sir’s actions are totally controlled by the Warden. Mr. Sir is humiliated when Stanley sees the Warden slap him (after she has painted her nails with rattlesnake venom) and hears the Warden tell him that she liked him better when he was smoking cigarettes than eating sunflower seeds (which he claims Stanley stole from his truck). Afterward, to show Stanley that he is in charge, he repeatedly neglects to fill Stanley’s canteen with water. One day, Stanley is sure Mr. Sir put “some vile substance” in his canteen of water. By the time Stanley and Zero return to Camp Green Lake to dig up the suitcase, Mr. Sir is smoking cigarettes once again—an indication of a character weakness. Even though Mr. Sir appears intimidating to the boys at Camp Green Lake, his tough, mean demeanor is a façade. In fact, Mr. Sir is intimidated by the Warden and, therefore, does whatever she says.
