The passengers are: "men of business and men of pleasure; parlor men and backwoodsmen; farm-hunters and fame-hunters; heiress-hunters, gold-hunters, buffalo-hunters, bee-hunters, happiness-hunters, truth-hunters, and still keener hunters after all these hunters."  Their various reactions to the man's attempts to test their confidence illustrate what Melville considered to be the human masquerade, forcing the reader to question the foundation of her own trusting nature.

   It is satire, rife with lessons on sincerity, morality, religiosity, economic materialism, irony, and alas...cynicism.                       
 
    I'm familiar with the "con" character.  A year ago,
I did a vlog titled "Fear of the Con" about my father- how it was that our relationship compelled me to ask many of the questions Melville, perhaps, wanted his readers to ponder. 

   Why do we trust who we trust and what do we get out of it that we're not exactly honest with ourselves about?  That's a biggie. 

   And the question I've long since answered that Melville never ventured to explore: Can you still have a relationship with someone (even love them) and not trust them as far as you can throw them?  I've found the answer to be yes, you can.

  But it's not long before you realize you can't keep it up without sacrificing your own integrity.   Some of us, however,  only see it in retrospect.  WE are the fools, no matter how much we profess to be guarded by some interior, steeled-up fortress. 

  WE are always the last ones we tell our deeper truths to.