Ship of Fools | Self-Deceit
In this essay, the author discusses Porter’s novel in
terms of the self-deceit of many of the characters.
In this essay, he discusses Porter’s novel in terms of the self-deceit of many of the characters. Perhaps it is not too obvious to remark that Ship of Fools is aptly titled. The sum total of human wisdom assembled on the Vera is heavily outweighed by the accumulation of folly, ignorance, vice, and sheer evil. If this novel is a portrait of the human condition, as some critics take it to be, it gives little cause for comfort.
The human failings presented in the novel are varied and numerous: the hateful rantings of Herr Rieber, the contemptuous authoritarianism of...
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