There's a sucker born every minute, and as The Confidence-Man can show you, there's a con for every type. The con-man's goal isn't simply to apply a one-size-fits-all ploy to dupe people. Nope—the key to being a successful con-man is to work your smarts to fit the situation and, um, customer at hand.
Questions About Cunning and Cleverness
- How do character interactions in the text seem to play tricks on the reader?
- Who is the cleverest character in the novel? How did you come to that conclusion?
- How do you know when a character is being played?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Cunning and cleverness are innate attributes in this text: some characters have them, some don't.
Cunning and cleverness are inevitably servants to deception; the smarter a character is, the less likely that character is a good person.