The Stainless Steel Rat · Chapter
XI explained
After being shot by Angelina, Slippery Jim diGriz fakes his death in an ambulance and at the hospital, manipulating medical forms and swapping identity tags in the morgue to escape detection and continue his survival.
What happens
After being shot by Angelina, Slippery Jim diGriz fakes his death in an ambulance and at the hospital, manipulating medical forms and swapping identity tags in the morgue to escape detection and continue his survival.
Themes in this chapter
Transformation and Reinvention
Jim fakes his death and alters his identity through forgery and tag-swapping, embodying a literal reinvention from victim to escapee.
The Hunt and the Hunted
Jim is hunted by Angelina and the hospital system, but turns the tables by using deception to evade capture and continue his own hunt.
Characters to notice
- Slippery Jim diGriz
Narrates his own near-death experience after being shot by Angelina, fakes his death by forging medical reports and swapping toe tags in the morgue.
- Angelina
Referred to as the shooter who attempted to kill Jim; her failure to confirm his death allows his escape.
Key passages
“I took the tag off the toe of the most badly battered male corpse and substituted mine. His tag I pocketed, then spent a merry few minutes changing around all the other tags.”
Jim swaps his identification tag with a badly damaged corpse and rearranges other tags to confuse any identification efforts.
Illustrates Jim's resourcefulness in faking his death and creating a false trail.
“I filled this with a very passable imitation of his handwriting. 'Massive internal hemorrhage, shock …' I wrote, 'died en route.'”
Jim forges the doctor's signature and adds false cause of death to the medical report.
Shows Jim's skill in forgery and his determination to be declared dead officially.