Benito Cereno
In Herman Melville's "Benito Cereno" ignorance appears to be an overwhelming theme. Although "Benito Cereno" holds a powerful message about slavery, this is not the major idea of the story. Ignorance is the fire that fuels slavery. During the entire story every main character displays signs of idiocy. Unfortunately, the most important decision-maker in the story, Captain Amasa Delano, falls into this category. Melville's story is told through a narrator. He purposely tries to let the reader slowly learn more about the truth than Delano. By doing this, it is easy for the reader to become frustrated with the Captain. Over the years the word bachelor has been associated with inexperience, cockiness, and ignorance. It is ironic that Captain Delano's ship is called the Bachelor's Delight. In fact, Delano spends the entire story in a puzzled state. From the beginning the captain has good intentions. Delano even admits his dim-wittedness by blaming his over-generous nature on his ignorance. Unfortunately, Delano's faults seem to take advantage of him in every situation. Due to the fact this story was written ten years before the Civil War, Melville makes bold statements in "Benito Cereno." Slavery
Another characteristic of this the Captain is self-centeredness. Delano displays this attribute several times during the coarse of the story. In one instance Don Benito explains the turn of events that lead them to the present. He starts to tell Captain Delano about his partner that was struck with illness and died. Delano then interrupts him to tell about the loss of his brother while abroad. He has no idea about what Benito has really been through with his partner. His one-track mind would only allow him to understand situations that he had experienced. While looking over the San Dominick, Delano shows his egotistical side. The neglect of the ship repulses him from the beginning. He never takes into account the possible reasons why it has been neglected. Once again he only thinks of how he would never leave a ship unattended. Delano fails to recognize his self- "Whether, in view of what humanity is capable, such a trait implies, along with a benevolent heart, more than ordinary quickness and accuracy of intellectual perception, may be left to the wise determine." (Baym, 2372) centeredness until the conclusion of "Benito Cereno". The reader can only hope that he was wise enough to learn his from his mistakes. "Benito Cereno" is told in third-person narrative form. However, the narrator focuses his knowledge as though it was limited, m
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 927
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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