316 RüdigerKunow
on. The diagnostic element in dealing with embodied non-normativity
whichIearlieremphasizedisheredepictedasfrustratedandfrustrating,
asthemutestrangerdefiesidentificationandallattemptsatplacinghim
among the usual motley crowd, "the multiform pilgrim species" (9)
aboardaMississippisteamboat.^145
Soon after, another object of curiosity appears and captures the
attention on board, "a grotesque negro cripple... who, owing to
something wrong about his legs, was, in effect, cut down to the stature
of a Newfoundland dog" (16). Aside from highlighting his physical
impairments, Melville's depiction of the "Black Guinea" here makes
obvious reference to the racist stereotype of the simple-minded, good-
natured "darkie" (11). Acting like a dog (like Animal in Animal's
People), that character soon becomes an object of both "diversion and
charity" (11), the "frolic benignities of the pitch-penny players" (12)
who throw pennies at him which he is supposed to catch. This show of
"conspicuous compassion" (Moeschen 3, 18-48) finds a rather abrupt
end when the Black Guinea's disability identity is suddenly questioned,
byanotherphysicallyimpairedpassenger,a"wooden-leggedman[who]
with the air of a beadle, would, to prove his alleged imposture on the
spot, have stripped him and driven him away" (12). However, at this
point, the crowd takes the side of the Black Guinea and "finding
themselves left sole judges of the case, could not resist acting the part"
(12). Their interrogation comes to an end when a young clergyman
informs them that another passenger, not present at the moment, could
vouchforthe"cripple's"trueidentityandthatheisindeedworthyofthe
crowd's charity. Putting the Black Guinea in the position of a deserving
(^145) The broad array of picturesque characters and the setting of the tale on a
Mississippi steamboat, both evoking multiple associations among Melville's
contemporaries, are probably the reasons why Richard Chase, in the first book-
length study ofConfidence-Manclassified it as "a book of folklore" (333)
whereas later readings would insist on the political-allegorical overtones of the
text. Thus, according to the editors of the Northwestern Newberry Edition of
Confidence-Man, Melville's novel "displays the rotten foundations of American
capitalistsocietyandprophesiesitsend"(esp.bymeansofitsfocusonslavery)
(Branchetal.348).