Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Captain Amaso Delano

Since this is a collection of short stories, we've decided to analyze the character roles of just one story. Click through our analysis of the characters in "Benito Cereno," then see if you can pick out the protagonist, antagonist, and more for the other stories.

"Benito Cereno" is, as we've mentioned, a tricky novella. If you read it straight, Delano is the protagonist. He's the main point of identification, and he's the detective-like figure who spends the story trying to figure out what's going on—and ultimately the hero who sets all to rights. But…if you twist things about just a bit, he's the evil racist jerk who recaptures the black people and murders them. So he could be the antagonist too.