King Rat

Corporal King stands out as one of the few Americans among the British and Australian inmates in the Japanese camp. He thrives by conniving and running black market enterprises inside the camp. He recruits Flight Lieutenant Peter Marlowe to act as translator, and as they become acquainted, he comes to like King and appreciate his cunning.

Marlowe serves as translator between the British prisoners and the Japanese guards, becoming indispensable. As they work together, Marlowe's presence allows King to display his cunning. King grows to like Marlowe and appreciates his intelligence.

When Marlowe is injured, King obtains expensive medicines to treat his gangrenous arm and prevent amputation. He stays by the sick man's bedside, but the motive is ambiguous—friendship or because Marlowe knows where King’s profits are hidden. This act illustrates the complicated bond between them.

Provost Lieutenant Grey holds contempt for King and schemes to bring him down. Grey accidentally discovers that the high-ranking officer in charge of food rations has been stealing. He rejects a bribe and takes the matter to Colonel Smedley-Taylor, hoping to act with integrity.

Colonel George Smedley-Taylor relieves the corrupt officer and his assistant from duty. He tells Grey to forget the matter, effectively quashing the investigation. Grey's attempt to challenge the corruption is thwarted by a lack of proof and maneuvering from above.

Grey accuses Smedley-Taylor of complicity in the corruption scheme. The tampered weight evidence Grey presented has been replaced, leaving him with no proof. Smedley-Taylor offers Grey a promotion to acting captain, and Grey's silence is interpreted as consent.

King starts breeding rats and selling their meat to British officers under the alias mouse-deer. This illicit venture expands the camp's black market economy. The escalation foreshadows the fragility of the camp's social order.

When a pet dog is put down for killing a chicken, King has it cooked and he and his friends secretly eat it. Although they protest when they learn the meat's origin, they ultimately relish it. This episode reveals the group’s moral ambiguity and pragmatism in the camp.

The group acquires a diamond to sell, raising the stakes for their black market activities. The addition of precious wealth intensifies competition and fear of discovery. King's hold on leadership becomes more precarious as others eye his wealth and influence.

The Japanese commander reads a surrender scroll while a junior officer translates. The prisoners celebrate the news of the war's end, but King realizes he is no longer the de facto ruler of the camp. The loss of his control foreshadows the camp's fragility.

King manages to squelch a premature attempt by resentful underling First Sergeant Max to reassert his rank and authority. This action delays the inevitable and underscores his lingering grip on the camp's hierarchy. However, the victory is only temporary as the structure remains unsettled.

Weaver, a lone British paratrooper, appears seemingly from nowhere to liberate the camp. He disarms the guards and attempts to talk with the prisoners; most are in shock. King is polite and deferential, but Weaver grows suspicious of his clean, healthy appearance.

Marlowe rushes to say goodbye to King, but the truck carries him away. King belittles their friendship by saying Marlowe had worked for him and that he had paid him. The departure marks a sharp turn in their relationship and the camp's future.

Grey makes a disparaging remark about King. Marlowe replies that Grey should be grateful, as it was Grey's hatred of King that kept him alive. The exchange underscores the brutal logic of survival in the camp.