Benito Cereno

“To Captain Delano’s surprise, the stranger, viewed through the glass, showed no colors.”

The ship Captain Delano observes lacks a flag (or colors). The absence of this standard maritime symbol suggests a disregard for ordinary navigation protocols, hinting at illicit activity. This serves as foreshadowing, signaling that the San Dominick operates outside the norm.

“Captain Delano’s surprise might have deepened into some uneasiness had he not been a person of a singularly undistrustful good-nature, not liable, except on extraordinary and repeated incentives, and hardly then, to indulge in personal alarms, any way involving the imputation of malign evil in man.”

Melville directly characterizes Captain Delano as a man who is inclined to see good in others. His naive and innocent nature plays a crucial role in the narrative, as it renders him unsuspecting of the true nature of the ship; he is particularly ill-equipped to deal with The Unreliability of Appearances.

“By his side stood a black of small stature, in whose rude face, as occasionally, like a shepherd’s dog, he mutely turned it up into the Spaniard’s, sorrow and affection were equally blended.”

This passage encapsulates the text’s ambiguous portrayal of slavery and the relationship of that ambiguity to perspective. The novella employs a limited third-person point of view, so much of the narration reflects Delano’s perspective, which is biased in ways he himself does not understand. His comparison of Babo to a shepherd’s dog illustrates the themes of Slavery and Racial Bias as Dehumanizing and The Ambiguity of Morality. Delano views Black people as inferior and animalistic despite considering himself a moral person and an opponent to slavery. His belief that Black people are naturally subservient (another implication of the dog simile) also hinders him from grasping what has actually happened on board the ship, as it simply does not occur to him that Babo could have led an uprising.

“‘Faithful fellow!’ cried Captain Delano. ‘Don Benito, I envy you such a friend; slave I cannot call him.’”

By viewing Babo as Cereno’s friend, Captain Delano shows his innocence and ignorance of the true situation on the ship. In another instance of the unreliability of appearances, Babo has successfully tricked Delano into thinking he’s not merely trustworthy but also obedient. Delano’s statement also demonstrates his racism; instead of recognizing slavery as dehumanizing and oppressive, he suggests that Black people can willingly and happily engage in it as their enslavers “friends” (and that this in some way negates their enslaved status). Nevertheless, his remark that Babo is no “slave” has an ironic truth. Babo has in fact liberated himself, though through resistance rather than “faithfulness.”

“I know no sadder sight than a commander who has little of command but the name.”

Delano’s observation of a Black man assaulting a white boy with a knife, coupled with Cereno’s indifference, leads him to the conclusion that Cereno is a bad leader. This sheds light on Delano’s idea of leadership, as he expects Cereno to assert authority and enforce discipline. This incident also serves as an example of Delano’s characteristic naivety, as he fails to discern the gravity of the situation; Cereno truly does wield “command” in name only.

“The slave there carries the padlock, but master here carries the key.”

The use of the padlock and key symbolism is ironic. In reality, the power dynamics on the ship are reversed, and though Cereno is not physically chained, his actions are not his own. This moment illustrates the unreliability of appearances.

“If Don Benito’s story was, throughout, an invention, then every soul on board, down to the youngest negress, was his carefully drilled recruit in the plot: an incredible inference. And yet, if there was ground for mistrusting his veracity, that inference was a legitimate one.”

Despite harboring suspicions, Delano brushes them aside as implausible. This highlights his naivety, which makes him susceptible to deception and manipulation. In retrospect, there is great irony to Delano’s reflections; everyone aboard the ship is in on “the plot,” but it is Babo rather than Cereno who has “drilled” them on their story.

“But if the whites had dark secrets concerning Don Benito, could then Don Benito be any way in complicity with the blacks? But they were too stupid. Besides, who ever heard of a white so far a renegade as to apostatize from his very species almost, by leaguing in against it with negroes.”

Captain Delano is so prejudiced against Black people that he underestimates their intelligence, believing them incapable of devising a plot. What’s more, he fails to recognize his deep-rooted racism, which further skews his perspective.

“‘What are you knotting there, my man?’

‘The knot,’ was the brief reply, without looking up.

‘So it seems; but what is it for?’

‘For some one else to undo,’ muttered back the old man, plying his fingers harder than ever, the knot being now nearly completed.

While Captain Delano stood watching him, suddenly the old man threw the knot towards him, saying in broken English—the first heard in the ship—something to this effect: ‘Undo it, cut it, quick.’”

The intricate knot crafted by the Spanish sailor serves as a symbol for the convoluted circumstances aboard the San Dominick. By asking Delano to untie it, the sailor symbolically entrusts him with the challenge of unraveling the situation—an endeavor that Delano in unable to accomplish.

“All this is very queer now, thought Captain Delano, with a qualmish sort of emotion; but, as one feeling incipient sea-sickness, he strove, by ignoring the symptoms, to get rid of the malady. Once more he looked off for his boat. To his delight, it was now again in view, leaving the rocky spur astern.”

This reflects Captain Delano’s approach to problems: He believes that if he ignores them, they will disappear. This mindset backfires, as he remains oblivious to the revolt of the enslaved passengers.

“In fact, like most men of a good, blithe heart, Captain Delano took to negroes, not philanthropically, but genially, just as other men to Newfoundland dogs.”

The same sentence describes Captain Delano’s professed fondness for Black people while comparing them to dogs. The passage also hints that he projects his own attitude onto others, ascribing a false universality to it (“like most men of a good, blithe heart”). This illustrates the moral contradictions at play within Delano and the extent to which he fails to recognize his own racism.

“Altogether the scene was somewhat peculiar, at least to Captain Delano, nor, as he saw the two thus postured, could he resist the vagary, that in the black he saw a headsman, and in the white a man at the block.”

The shaving scene is a metaphor for Babo’s and Cereno’s relationship; holding a razor to Cereno’s throat, Babo wields power over his life, symbolically and physically, yet he seems to be performing a service. Delano’s recognition of the deadly symbolism proves his intuition is correct, but he once again opts to dismiss it.

“He felt a slight twinge, from a sudden indefinite association in his mind of Babo with Atufal.”

Delano’s instinctive association of Babo with Atufal proves that his intuitive understanding of the unfolding events is correct; he senses a potential alliance between the two. This adds to Delano’s characterization and creates an atmosphere of mystery and foreboding in the narrative.

“Or was the Spaniard less hardened than the Jew, who refrained not from supping at the board of him whom the same night he meant to betray.”

Delano’s suspicion of Cereno illustrates the unreliability of appearances, as Cereno’s behavior stems not from his own deceptions but from Babo’s. Moreover, Delano’s comparison of Cereno to a Jewish person—specifically, Judas—exposes an antisemitic dimension in his character.

“Atufal, the pretended rebel, but punctual shadow, that moment lurked by the threshold without. He seemed a sentry, and more. Who, by his own confession, had stationed him there? Was the negro now lying in wait?”

Atufal is characterized by his statuesque and imposing presence. Positioned outside Cereno’s door, he evokes the imagery of a guard, creating an atmosphere of suspense and secrecy. This is at odds with what Babo and Cereno have told Delano of Atufal’s “rebellion,” yet Atufal is a “rebel”—just not in the way Delano believes, once again highlighting the deceptive nature of appearances aboard the San Dominick.

“I have done him wrong, self-reproachfully thought Captain Delano; his apparent coldness has deceived me: in no instance has he meant to offend.”

Delano’s persistent naivety compels him to trust in Cereno’s goodness. By consistently dismissing his suspicions and refusing to entertain the possibility of deception, he remains oblivious to the Black passengers’ intricate plot. Consequently, he fails to recognize the truth even in moments when he believes he is correcting a former misconception; it is not Cereno’s “apparent coldness” that misleads Delano but rather his reaction to it.

“That moment, across the long-benighted mind of Captain Delano, a flash of revelation swept, illuminating, in unanticipated clearness, his host’s whole mysterious demeanor, with every enigmatic event of the day, as well as the entire past voyage of the San Dominick.”

This moment marks an epiphany for Delano and the climax of the narrative, as the American captain finally connects the dots and understands what is going on aboard the San Dominick. Herman Melville depicts this moment with imagery of light and darkness that both harkens to the initial description of the day as gray and misty and takes on added significance in light of the novella’s concern with race.

“Captain Delano, now with scales dropped from his eyes, saw the negroes, not in misrule, not in tumult, not as if frantically concerned for Don Benito, but with mask torn away, flourishing hatchets and knives, in ferocious piratical revolt.”

Delano finally perceives the reality of the situation. Through the symbolism of masks, Melville illustrates the theme of the unreliability of appearances; the rebels, who were concealing their true intentions, now reveal themselves. Whether they are truly “ferocious” and “piratical,” however, remains an open question.

“Some disclosures therein were, at the time, held dubious for both learned and natural reasons.”

This statement underscores the unreliability of Cereno’s testimony. As the narrative relies on Cereno’s and Delano’s perspectives, omitting the voices of the rebels, its completeness and objectivity are questionable.

“Babo asked him whose skeleton that was, and whether, from its whiteness, he should not think it a white’s.”

Babo’s remark on the whiteness of Aranda’s bones is ironic, as bone color is the same for everyone. This moment suggests that in death racial distinctions become inconsequential. Whether this is Babo’s point is not entirely clear, but his demonstrated propensity for irony lends weight to the interpretation that he knows perfectly well what color bones are and is mocking the racism of his enslavers.

“If the Deposition have served as the key to fit into the lock of the complications which precede it, then, as a vault whose door has been flung back, the San Dominick’s hull lies open to-day.”

Here, Melville employs the symbolic imagery of a lock and key: Cereno’s deposition functions as the key to unlock the figurative vault door of the San Dominick. As a result, the mysteries shrouding the ship are laid bare, revealing the secrets concealed within.

“You were with me all day; stood with me, sat with me, talked with me, looked at me, ate with me, drank with me; and yet, your last act was to clutch for a monster, not only an innocent man, but the most pitiable of all men. To such degree may malign machinations and deceptions impose. So far may.”

Cereno’s statement underscores the theme of the unreliability of appearances, highlighting Delano’s susceptibility to deception. Cereno presents himself as an innocent man while depicting the enslaved passengers as malevolent figures using cunning tactics and deceptions. This raises questions about the reliability of Cereno’s account, as it fails to acknowledge the injustices of slavery.

“‘You generalize, Don Benito; and mournfully enough. But the past is passed; why moralize upon it? Forget it. See, yon bright sun has forgotten it all, and the blue sea, and the blue sky; these have turned over new leaves.’

‘Because they have no memory,’ he dejectedly replied; ‘because they are not human.’”

This interaction showcases the stark contrast between Cereno and Delano. Delano’s enduring optimism persists even in the aftermath of the ordeal, sharply contrasting with Cereno’s lingering distress. It also implies that the need to make moral sense of events, even and especially those that are deeply ambiguous, is intrinsic to human nature.