Author's Purpose
Harry Harrison was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War 2. During his time in the military he became a weapons specialist, but this also caused him to hate the military. You can see in his character James Bolivar diGriz, the anti-military and anti-violence view. For example, diGriz carries around a gun on him that he only uses as a last resort when his plans go awry, which almost never happens.
The origin of the Stainless Steel Rat was from a short story he published a while before. It was an instant hit, but when he attempted to sell it as a paper back it went unnoticed due to the fact that readers weren't originally looking for a humorous story from him.
Another reason behind the character James diGriz is Harry Harrison's admiration for portraying the villain as the hero. I also love it when there is a villain being portrayed as a hero. In the Stainless Steel Rat James Bolivar is most definitely a sociopath. This can be proved through the fact that he understands laws and morals of most people, he just chooses not to follow them. He is a thief, and a con man, bringing chaos to the normally quite peaceful universe. In the beginning he drops an entire safe full of money on a cop. Here's the excerpt, "When the door opened suddenly I knew the game was up. It had been a money maker - but it was all over. As the cop walked in I sat back in the chair and put on a happy grin. He had the same somber expression and heavy foot that they all have - and the same lack of humor. I almost knew to the word what he was going to say before he even uttered a syllable. "James Bolivar diGriz I arrest you on the charge - " I was waiting for the word charge, I thought it made a nice touch that way. AS he said it I pressed a button that set off the charge of black powder in the ceiling the crossbeam buckled and the three-ton safe dropped through right through on the top of the cop's head. He squashed very nicely, thank you. The cloud of plaster dust settled and all I could see of him was one hand, slightly crumpled. It twitched a bit and the index finger pointed at me accusingly. His voice was a little muffled by the safe and sounded a bit annoyed. In fact he repeated himself a bit."( The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, 1961). That is my kind main character.
Cites
The origin of the Stainless Steel Rat was from a short story he published a while before. It was an instant hit, but when he attempted to sell it as a paper back it went unnoticed due to the fact that readers weren't originally looking for a humorous story from him.
Another reason behind the character James diGriz is Harry Harrison's admiration for portraying the villain as the hero. I also love it when there is a villain being portrayed as a hero. In the Stainless Steel Rat James Bolivar is most definitely a sociopath. This can be proved through the fact that he understands laws and morals of most people, he just chooses not to follow them. He is a thief, and a con man, bringing chaos to the normally quite peaceful universe. In the beginning he drops an entire safe full of money on a cop. Here's the excerpt, "When the door opened suddenly I knew the game was up. It had been a money maker - but it was all over. As the cop walked in I sat back in the chair and put on a happy grin. He had the same somber expression and heavy foot that they all have - and the same lack of humor. I almost knew to the word what he was going to say before he even uttered a syllable. "James Bolivar diGriz I arrest you on the charge - " I was waiting for the word charge, I thought it made a nice touch that way. AS he said it I pressed a button that set off the charge of black powder in the ceiling the crossbeam buckled and the three-ton safe dropped through right through on the top of the cop's head. He squashed very nicely, thank you. The cloud of plaster dust settled and all I could see of him was one hand, slightly crumpled. It twitched a bit and the index finger pointed at me accusingly. His voice was a little muffled by the safe and sounded a bit annoyed. In fact he repeated himself a bit."( The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, 1961). That is my kind main character.
Cites
- www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/15/harry-harrison
- www.michaelowencarroll.com/hh/n02-.htm
- The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, 1961