Bravo "Benito Cereno"

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I was a little relieved when it was finally over. As the actions of Cereno, Babo, and the others on board the Bachelor's Delight became increasingly more suspicious, I wanted to know more and more what was going on. Melville doesn't let the reader know the truth until the very end and then everything makes sense. Cereno's behavior was incredulous and even absurd at times, and when we finally find out he's been held hostage the whole time everything comes together. Great rising action and climax. I think reading the story the second time through will be amusing and will make much more sense. It reminds me of the movie Fight Club where the main character has a "friend" that he interacts with the whole movie and the friend turns out to be a creation of the main character. At the end the viewer has an epiphany about whats really going on, much like with Benito Cereno. If you go back and watch the movie again all the oddities all make sense.

One thing that I was thinking about during our discussion in class on Tuesday was how the slaves were depicted as the villains. It's only reasonable that the slaves would try to revolt. I think it would be interesting if the story was rewritten from the perspectives of the slaves. Let's say the narrator told the story from Babo's point of view, and only Babo and the other slaves thoughts were included in the dialogue. How easy would it be then to see Babo in a good light and the oppressive, enslaving Cereno in a good light? Would Delano be seen as a villain since he poses a threat to their noble plan rather than the innocent hero? It reminds me of watching old westerns when I was a kid. In one movie the Native Americans were seen as butchering savages, while in another they were noble people simply defending their land. I remember being confused about who to "root" for because I had seen movies from each perspective, and I knew that the white cowboys were in the wrong, even when threatening music would come on at the sight of a Native American. If we were to view Benito Cereno from a completely neutral point of view, with every character's intentions and thoughts considered, who's side would we be on?