Chapter 9, "Does This Tab Include the Tip?" Summary and Analysis

The spurious nature of this chapter title lends to the overall tone of the book. The author, narrator, and subject, Frank Abagnale, seeks to present his disreputable life in glamorous packaging. Interestingly, this is the same approach Frank uses to pass fraudulent checks. Chapter 9 reveals the darkness lurking beneath Frank's glamorized crime spree. The chapter deals with some truly horrifying conditions in the French prison in which Frank finds himself, yet it is laughably titled "Does This Tab Include the Tip?" Even at this juncture, Frank is unable to face the dark reality of his past and chooses to make it into a joke. This almost desperate hilarity permeates much of the book, at times succeeding as true comedy but mainly alluding to Frank's buried feelings of...