Cereno as a complex character

In rereading Benito Cereno, I have most noticed Melville’s use of certain words almost as motifs, and I have also found Cereno to be a more complex character. Melville constantly uses the words “gray” and “grayness” and illusions of fog. Although these could be interpreted as a furthering of the grim and melancholy scene being set, I believe it is a deliberate attempt at representing some aspect of Cereno and Delano’s lack of information. Delano, for example, has a “knot in head” throughout the entire book; he has no idea why he should fear the slaves or the boat upon which he visits. Cereno, on the other hand, seemed like an oblivious character to me in the first reading. However, upon closer inspection, I believe Cereno is just terrified of what he understands he does not understand. Cereno knows characters like Babo and Atufal have power; he describes Atufal as having been a king before becoming a slave. Surely Cereno is intelligent enough to know that one does not become a king by having weak willpower. Similarly, Cereno may keep Babo as a close companion in the spirit of “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Because he knows there is much he is not seeing, Cereno tries to keep an even closer watch on his sneaky slaves.