Whose side is Melville on in "Benito Cereno"? Is he, like Captain Delano, a racist, who thinks the slaves are evil revolutionaries who deserve death? Or does he think Delano is a vicious clod, whose inability to detect the plot covers over his deeper inability to see the humanity of Babo and other black people? It's difficult to tell. But whatever Melville's intentions, the story urges you to look beneath the surface and see what Delano does not. As a result, whether or not Melville did so, it's easy now to read "Benito Cereno" from the perspective of Babo and the freed blacks, and to see the end, not as victory, but as tragedy.
Questions About Race
- Is Babo treated as a human being in "Benito Cereno"? Or is he a racist caricature?
- What if this story were told from Babo's perspective? How would it be different? How would Delano appear?
- Is "Benito Cereno" a story about racism? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
"Benito Cereno" is a racist story.
"Benito Cereno" is an anti-racist story.