There's a sucker born every minute, and The Confidence-Man is banking on it.
Several characters in the novel make the case that to part with one's money is a clear sign that you've got a few screws loose. Only the gullible, the foolhardy, or the straight-up dumb-dumbs of the world would fall for charlatans and tricksters peddling their snake oil. Right?
Here's the catch: some of the loudest champions of skepticism in this text are the hardest to fall when they get played. In keeping with the ship-of-fools motif he's built his novel on, Melville paints a picture of the great variety of human missteps.
Questions About Foolishness and Folly
- What's the difference between foolishness and folly?
- Which characters are most foolish, and why?
- To what extent do the characters in this text who call others fools exhibit foolishness of their own?
- Is there a way to recover from folly in this text? If so, how?
Chew on This
According to the novel, foolishness and folly are moral failings, and a smart person can still be foolish.
According to the novel, foolishness and folly are intellectual failings rather than sins.