The Confidence Man
by Herman Melville
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See Also
- Herman Melville (Critical Survey of Poetry: American Poets)
- Herman Melville (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
- Herman Melville (Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century)
- Herman Melville (Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition)
- Herman Melville (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Herman Melville
- First Published: 1857
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Setting: Mississippi River
- Characters: The Confidence Man, The Man in Cream Colors, Der Black Guinea, John Ringman, The Man in the Gray Coat and White Tie, John Truman, The Herb-Doctor, A Representative of the Philosophical Intelligence Office, Francis Goodman, Roberts, The College Sophomore, The Miser, Pitch, Charlie Noble, Mark Winsome, Egbert, William Cream
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire, Novel
- Subjects: South or Southerners, Nineteenth century, Christianity, Good and evil, Rivers or waterways, Ethics, Amputation, amputees, or prosthetics, Fraud, Impostors or imposture, Steamboats
- Locales: United States, North America, Mississippi River
The Story:
On an April morning in St. Louis, a deaf-mute boards the steamer Fidèle (faith). Many passengers gather around a placard advertising a reward for the capture of a mysterious impostor, and some take this opportunity to purchase money belts or biographies of famous criminals. The deaf-mute approaches the placard, writes platitudes about charity on a slate, and displays them to the crowd. Meanwhile, a barber opens his shop and hangs a sign that reads “No Trust.” Rebuffed, the mute walks to the forecastle and falls asleep at the foot of a ladder.
...(The entire page is 2776 words.)
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Popular Questions
See all »- In The Confidence Man, what type of commentary does Melville make regarding slavery?
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- Is the confidence man gullible in any way himself?
