Swindle

“A word to the wise: The world is a big fat scary place filled with people who’ll chew you up and spit you out if you give them half a chance.”

Swindle delivers these lines to Griffin after he cheats Griffin out of the Babe Ruth baseball card. Swindle’s philosophy of a dog-eat-dog world explains why he has no compunction about cheating a child. His attitude represents the theme of greed in the novel, which directly opposes Griffin’s belief that people should be honest, and that money should be shared equally.

“Picturing the sentence as it might have appeared in one of his famous plans made him feel a little more in control.”

Griffin’s habit of writing out his plans as detailed outlines helps him feel like he can manage any difficulty he might face. When he discovers that Swindle has cheated him, he imagines the phrase “(i) I’ve been CHEATED!!” in a way that helps him make sense of an event that he did not foresee.

“‘Like in the movies? A robbery? That’s stealing!’ ‘Not stealing,’ Griffin amended. ‘Stealing back. There’s a big difference.’”

This conversation between Ben and Griffin summarizes the central moral dilemma of the heist: whether it is right to steal something that someone has taken from you unfairly. Griffin does not consider this dilemma until the baseball card is recovered and sent to its rightful owner, proving that it never belonged to Griffin in the first place.

“How many times had Ben prayed for a break from Griffin’s never-ending schemes? Now he would have given his right arm to hear his friend burst out with ‘All right, here’s the plan…’”

The potential sale of the Bing’s home worries Ben because it has dampened Griffin’s usually indominable spirit and threatens to break up their friendship. As annoyed as Ben acts with Griffin’s endless plans, he admires his friend and does not want to see him hurt.

“In a way, the operation had been the perfect crime—in and out without a trace. How could such a glorious success have been such a dismal failure?”

Griffin’s and Ben’s first heist attempt at Palomino’s Emporium foreshadows and contrasts the second heist attempt at Swindle’s home. While the boys carried out the first heist with precision but failed to find the card, the second heist was successful but fraught with accidents, which led to the capture of Griffin and his friends. The question applies to the novel in a larger sense as well: The reader questions whether Griffin’s heist was a success because, while things worked out for the best in the end, they did not go according to his plan. 

“Swindle saw a couple of kids, and he took advantage of us because he didn’t think we could do anything about it. We’re going to show him he is wrong.”

Griffin delivers these lines to the team he has assembled to carry out the heist. The sentiment resonates with Griffin’s desire for adults to take him and his classmates seriously. In robbing Griffin of the fair value of the baseball card, Swindle takes the adults’ dismissal of the children to another level; he preys on their perceived lack of power. To Griffin, Swindle’s action is not an isolated incident, but part of a larger pattern of exploitation that he is trying to change.

“Griffin sat back and examined the time table. It should all go like clockwork. They had the right plan and the right people. They should be able to nab the card and be safe at home before the start of the third period of the Rangers game—even allowing for the odd glitch.”

Griffin underestimates the potential risks he and his friends face by breaking into Swindle’s house because the two things he cares about most are riding on his success: his family’s stability and his desire to be taken seriously. Retrieving the baseball card means more to Griffin than just getting revenge on Swindle—though that motivates Griffin, too—it means that he will restore order to his universe. For this reason, he diminishes potential complications to “the odd glitch,” not considering that he may encounter difficulties he cannot overcome. 

“Still, Griffin couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling. Everyone was risking serious trouble by being part of this. If something went wrong on Thursday, and they were caught, Griffin knew he would have to find a way to take all the blame. This was his struggle, his family’s fate. Ben and the others shouldn’t have to pay for that.”

Soon after Griffin creates his plan, he begins to realize the implications of carrying it out. He feels responsible for the risks his friends are taking by carrying out his plan. While Griffin’s aim is noble, by focusing all of the responsibility on himself, Griffin takes away his friends’ agency and fails to recognize what they could gain through their involvement.

“‘What we’re doing tonight isn’t about a baseball card,’ he began. ‘It isn’t even about money. Tonight we show that fairness isn’t something that’s just for adults, and that you can’t get away with dumping on people just because they’re younger than you.’”

This passage contrasts Griffin’s serious sentiments with his casual language. Throughout the novel, Korman uses such moments to remind the reader that, although Griffin takes on significant responsibilities and has steadfast morals, he is still a playful 11-year-old. The contrast in diction also adds to the scene’s humor.

“Melissa knew she was a whiz with electronics. At home, she had built her own computer from a kit. She could do this with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back. But the stakes had never been this high, with so many other people involved. She was such a loner. Being part of a team was a whole new experience for her.”

Melissa’s hesitation at disconnecting the alarm is emblematic of one of the novel’s main themes: the difficult transition from working alone to being part of a team. Griffin faces a similar struggle when he must trust his friends to execute their parts of the plan and when he must relinquish his perceived control of his family matters to his parents. 

“The thrill was indescribable. Barely a thread remained between him and the final realization of the greatest plan he would ever be a part of. It was so many things all at once—victory, justice, revenge. Not to mention a boatload of money.”

This passage sets up the moment when Griffin realizes the baseball card is not in the safe. The card’s disappearance symbolizes that Griffin cannot achieve any of the triumphs he describes through the heist. More importantly, the passage’s underlying message is that one single plan cannot bring Griffin any of the rewards he desires. His entire community, including his parents, the police, and even Darren, must contribute to reestablishing order and righting Swindle’s wrongs.

“‘That’s not fruit,’ Savannah pointed out. ‘That’s my vet school tuition, Melissa’s computer, Logan’s acting lessons, Pitch’s climbing trip. College paid for, new cars when we’re old enough—’”

Savannah’s comment underscores the baseball card as a symbol of Griffin’s and his friends’ hopes and dreams for the future. Unlike Swindle, they do not see the card as simply a means to acquire wealth. For them, the card’s sale will help each of them achieve what is most important to them. This passage also highlights the card as a symbolic link between the past, present, and future. 

“Just the thought of a successful operation brought a smile to his lips. As he pedaled toward home he allowed himself a few moments of self-congratulation. True, there had been hiccups—Pitch’s injury, Ben’s catnap, the empty safe, the extra dog, the guy at the door, and especially Darren’s betrayal. But the team had improvised, sidestepped, overcome. After all, the team was part of the plan, and this had been the plan to end all plans.”

This passage, which follows the completed heist, contrasts Griffin’s thoughts before the heist takes place. He is just as pleased with his plan after the heist’s success as he was when he was anticipating it, but now he understands that it was the team’s ability to work together and solve problems in the moment, rather than his carefully laid out master plan, that led to their success. 

“Quiet, sleepy Cedarville was suddenly on the map. TV news mobile units wandered the town, searching for Park Street Extension and Palomino’s Emporium. A fleet of vans equipped with satellite dishes formed in front of West Suffolk Medical Center, where S. Wendell Palomino had gone, suffering from nervous collapse.”

The first unexpected consequence of the heist is the publicity it brings to Cedarville. A newspaper article calls the heist “The most spectacular robbery in the history of sports collectibles” (216). On one hand, the publicity validates Griffin’s claim that he carried out “the plan to end all plans” (218), but on the other it demonstrates that Griffin’s plan was only a small part in a series of events that are unfolding on a larger scale than he could have conceived.

“Of course the cops had put two and two together. Was the perfect plan unravelling before their very eyes?”

When the initial rush of the media attention and success of the heist dies down, Griffin begins to consider the harsh reality of what he and his friends have done. He also realizes that their actions may have consequences beyond what he had envisioned, and that he might not be able to protect his friends from punishment. This passage also creates suspense, as it sets the reader up to discover what the police will do with the evidence they have found at the scene.

“He set out his homework, but could not bring himself to touch it. It would have felt too much like that Roman emperor fiddling while his city burned.”

Korman’s reference to Nero draws a parallel between the destruction of the city of Rome and the collapse of Griffin’s almighty plan. In addition to establishing a weighty tone, the comparison hints at Griffin’s grandiose sense of himself.

“Griffin never put the latest plan down on paper, but it was very much in his mind when the police came to question him in the case of the stolen Babe Ruth card.”

This scene shows Griffin’s unwavering belief that he is in the right. His strategy for answering the detective’s questions rests on the idea that “You can’t steal what’s already yours” (224). Griffin’s indignation at Swindle’s conduct blinds him to the fact that the card did not belong to him in the first place. 

“Throughout the planning and execution of the heist, Griffin never suffered a single moment of regret. Now, as he saw his parents’ distress, adding to their burdens this way cut straight to his heart.”

Korman creates dramatic irony by having Griffin’s plan produce the exact opposite of the intended effect. Instead of saving Griffin’s family, the heist put them in danger. This reality adds another layer to the outcomes Griffin did not foresee because he was focused on his plan’s success. 

“For once, the subject wasn’t money. It was what to do with their son the burglar.”

This passage is a turning point for Griffin and signals his character development; it is the first time in the novel that he sees events from someone else’s perspective. Griffin realizes that he couldn’t see beyond his plan and had given “zero consideration to his parents” (231). He no longer sees himself as a savior, but as an 11-year-old who must take responsibility for his actions.

“It shocked Griffin a little, but he instantly recognized that his father was right. In spite of all the adults involved, only Griffin was capable of laying hands on the Bambino. […] This should have made him feel powerful. Instead, he felt trapped and very much alone.”

In another critical moment of dramatic irony, Griffin realizes that rather than feeling free and vindicated, achieving his aim having adults take him seriously has created the opposite effect. Just as Griffin could not anticipate the effect the heist would have on his family; he did not understand the burden that comes with adult responsibility. Now that he is in a position of power vis-à-vis the adults, he realizes that there is no one he can ask for help. 

“Word had spread that the dealer could not be trusted. Griffin held that fact to his heart. It was a glowing coal on an icy night, a tiny measure of justice.”

Despite Griffin’s struggles with the other consequences of the heist, one factor that remains constant is his desire to see Swindle punished for cheating him out of the card. Though Swindle cannot be arrested, the incident has drawn attention to his underhanded dealings, and his reputation has suffered. Although the narrative does not entirely condone Griffin’s method of obtaining justice, it judges Swindle’s greed and predation as irredeemable. 

“I hope you know how lucky you are. Mr. Palomino isn’t going to press charges. He wants to avoid an investigation into whether he broke the law when he cheated you. It’s a pretty happy ending all around—probably happier than you deserve.”

Korman creates narrative symmetry here: Swindle can’t press charges because he swindled Griffin in the first place. However, the passage also highlights that two wrongs do not make a right. The detective voices Korman’s supposition that Griffin’s heist leaves him in a morally (and legally) gray area. Nevertheless, Korman does not tell readers how to judge Griffin’s actions; readers must decide for themselves.

“‘Darren kept saying he was related to the Rockfords,’ Ben reminded him. ‘We didn’t think he was telling the truth.’”

Ben’s dialogue reveals an important irony; while Griffin was fighting for the adults to take him seriously, he failed to believe Darren’s claims about his relation to the Rockfords. Like Swindle, Darren represents dishonesty, so Griffin and Ben had reason to doubt him. However, one of the lessons Griffin learns in this story is to not be dismissive; if Griffin believed Darren, Griffin could have learned sooner that the card belonged to someone else.