So far it is my favorite story we have read so far. The language was a challenge but after completing it I personally feel accomplished. Melville is known for dense writing, but I personally found Benito Cereno page-turning. And now that I have finished reading it I am looking back on events that I noted as a reader and have come to the conclusion that Captain Delano was the epitome of oblivion. Yes he may have noticed certain things such as the “affair of the Spanish lad assailed with a knife y the slave boy… [and] the trampling of the sailor by the two negroes” (p. 79) but he acknowledgments as the narrator at some times were not conclusive. He merely vacillated in his mind between whether he was in danger by being on the ship or if Don Benito was “as good a folk as any in Duxbury, Massachusetts.”(p. 80) Honestly, Cereno could barely stand the site of blood, let alone be able to murder someone. The constant interruptions of Babo kept the suspense because it seemed that every time Don Benito was asked a question, Babo would quickly remind of the “eye that was always watching”. The portrayal of the characters was well done I believe. Although I will admit that imagining Babo, a small slave, maneuvering and conniving around characters truly made him seem obsessed with his freedom.
This, unlike The Heroic Slave, portrayed the uprising on the ship in a different manner. I felt it was very different in terms of description and action. I thoroughly enjoyed this method. The overall structure of retelling the tale at the end of the story in terms of a written account left me feeling complete. Although a few questions remained, they were mostly because of phrasing Melville used and commas and asterisks. Probably one of my favorite parts in the book was on page 86 where Captain Delano comes so close to suspicion but ultimately “regards the notion as a whimsy, insensibly suggestion”. He seemed so sure based on the whispered conversations between Cereno and his servant but ultimately through the idea out the window. One critical point I will make is the lack of back bone Cereno had throughout the story. I commended his idea of a treaty, thus making an aggressive situation settle, but was a little surprised that such democracy could be reached with the barbarically portrayed slaves on the ship. The detail in murder then an olive branch of cooperation seemed suspicious and very passive; a characteristic much like Cereno. More likely of a character in Cereno’s position should have been one that Babo took; revolt and stealthy planning. It is interesting to see the role reversals in the story as slave became master and master became flexible to every whim of Babo’s dangerous “eye.” Overall I enjoyed the story and, while the language and punctuation made it dense, I found it suspenseful and exciting; a true dramatic adventure.
And one more note is that I found two lines that led me to Delano’s view on slavery, and possibly the view of the Narrator/Melville (I am not sure if they can be decided between). But, on page 84 it says how, “Captain Delano took to negroes…as other men took to dogs”. And on page 87 Delano’s thoughts are again described as “this slavery breeds ugly passions in a man”.
As a comment on Alexis' post, I, too, found the quote about Newfoundland dogs to be interesting. I guess it could be taken two ways: either Melville is comparing the "negros" to dogs (which would prove that Delano, if not the narrator, as well, is racist), or, Melville is simply describing Delano's very strong attraction.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the character of Babo is perhaps the most rounded (as in, not flat) character of the book. When I first began reading "Benito Cereno", I thought that Babo was "kind, naive, and compassionate". It wasn't until the shaving scene, when it finally hit me that Benito was AFRAID of Babo. I am really excited about reading the book again and being able to understand how much of Benito's weird behavior comes from his fear for his life and the manipulation from Babo.