The Similarities Between Poitier And David Hampton

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What I aim to do in this essay is show that unlike David Hampton, Paul Poitier is constructed as an “honest liar,” a self-conscious translator between the contested reality of the imaginary and the accepted reality of everyday life. I also want to show that the similarities in their actions are not especially important, and that Poitier and Hampton are very different individuals. Poitier ultimately is redeemed, at least somewhat, by the manner in which he seeks out the help of the Kitteridges, whereas Hampton is not, because he continues his confidence schemes and deceptions until death.
Now, the first thing that I have to do is show what I mean by “honest liar,” because Poitier is clearly dishonest in the ordinary sense of the word. But his dishonesty creates, in the real world, the sort of circumstances that he is lying about. A quotation from the play is particularly apt here: “I believe that the imagination is the passport we create to take us into the real world. I believe the imagination is another …show more content…

Poitier’s death is only implied, of course, and is not in any way certain, but even if he survived or lived well in prison, his conclusion has a sense of tragedy about it. The freedom that he created for himself in his confidence schemes was ultimately destroyed, and those same cons were responsible for the loss of his freedom. Similarly, the interpersonal connections that Poitier was able to forge were ripped apart as a result of his crimes. It seems that Poitier’s story is a tragic one. Hampton’s is similarly tragic, although it lacks the crucial element of redemption that Poitier attained. He died from AIDS-related complications after a long string of confidence schemes. Integral to his schemes was the seduction of his male victims, and it is almost certain that this is how he ultimately contracted AIDS. His death was therefore in this sense

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