The Stainless Steel Rat · Chapter
II explained
After a successful robbery, Slippery Jim diGriz rebuilds his James diGriz personality while planning a new heist: holding up Moraio's department store.
What happens
After a successful robbery, Slippery Jim diGriz rebuilds his James diGriz personality while planning a new heist: holding up Moraio's department store. He executes a daring armored car robbery using an anesthetic bomb, then hides the truck in the store's own loading area, repacks the money into shipping boxes, and has them taken away by robots, completing the perfect crime.
Themes in this chapter
Individualism vs. Society
Jim diGriz explicitly contrasts his outlaw life with the 'fat, rich union of worlds' that has almost forgotten crime, framing his existence as a philosophical rejection of societal norms.
Psychology of the Outlaw
Jim discusses his theory that criminality is a philosophical choice to avoid boredom, and reflects on the loneliness and self-pity that threaten those in his profession.
Crime and Identity
Jim rebuilds the personality of James diGriz, using disguises and careful role-playing to execute his heist, highlighting the link between criminal acts and constructed identities.
Characters to notice
- Slippery Jim diGriz
Narrator and protagonist; plans and executes the Moraio's robbery, reflecting on his life as a 'stainless steel rat'.
Key passages
“About the only thing they had in common was the fact that they all made money.”
The only consistent feature of his various rackets was that they were profitable.
Jim reflects on his career of never repeating a scheme.
“It is a proud and lonely thing to be a stainless steel rat—and it is the greatest experience in the galaxy if you can get away with it.”
Being a criminal in this society is both isolating and exhilarating, provided you aren't caught.
Jim's philosophical musing on his identity as an outlaw.
“Loneliness is the thing to fear in this business, that and self-pity can destroy you if they get the upper hand.”
The greatest dangers in his line of work are emotional isolation and self-pity.
Jim acknowledges the psychological risks of his solitary life.