The Impactful Ending of Benito Cereno on the Modern Reader. While some critics argue that Benito Cereno is an abolitionist text, this essay will show that the overall tone of the story, the animalistic comparisons and the ending, implies a victorious dénouement for the whites. However, Melville gives the reader chances to figure out that the blacks are in control of the ship, like specific scenes in which the blacks show power or create a  performance and the different characterization of the two different races of people, for example, if the reader picks up on these subtleties. Learn more about Benito Cereno with a detailed plot summary and plot diagram. Discussion of Benito Cereno. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of Benito Cereno. Led by Delano's mate, the Americans take possession of the Spanish ship and render aid to the weakened captain. For example, there is a scene in which a black slave attacks a white crew member and Babo oftentimes directs veiled threats and control towards Cereno. “Benito Cereno” is an argument against slavery because it exposes a deserved ending for those European whites, who have imprisoned and seized the freedom of African American humans. Through its symbolic power, Benito Cereno can be seen as a prophetic warning to the U.S. about the war that is to come. Poe, Edgar. ROBERT LOWELL'S Benito Cereno traces a dark path, negating an American's ideals, showing the invalidity of his perceptions and ending in a release of … Benito Cereno, Part One ANNOUNCER: Now, the V.O.A. In 1855, Herman Melville published the novella Benito Cereno about Captain Delano who boards the mysterious cargo ship San Dominick in search of answers about its slaves, crew, and Captain Benito Cereno who show suspicious behaviors that shock and confuse him. We tell the story in three parts. "What has cast such a shadow upon you? Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of “Benito Cereno” by Herman Melville. Did You Fall From Heaven, Benito Cereno? At the end of the day, Delano, planning to lend a navigator from his own crew to help the ship on its way to Conception (currently spelled "Concepcion"), descends to his boat to return to the Bachelor's Delight. He is fluent in the Spanish language, so he can communicate well with Don Benito Cereno and the other Spaniards. By re-reading the story, the reader can properly understand Cereno’s behavior in any given situation. Captain Delano boards his boat. Cereno ends by praising his servant Babo, whom he credits with keeping the slaves pacified during all the problems. flashcard set, {{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | LitCharts Teacher Editions. Of all the animal imageries in the novella, only one has positive connotations. They spot another ship coming toward the island, floating rather listlessly. If this were to not be the case, and the story was told with different points of view and characters examined in detail it may have been easier for the average reader to understand what Melville intended to be discovered at the end. How does the discovery of consummate evil aboard the San Dominick affect Amasa Delano, the innocent of the triad? Melville, Herman. Are you sure you want to remove #bookConfirmation# As we told you in earlier parts of our story, rebel slaves seized the ship San Dominick off the coast of Chile. To assist the ship in safe passage, he travels by whale-boat to the vessel, a handsome Spanish trader now fallen into serious disrepair. Away with suspicion (54, Melville).” Observations like this insert Delano’s personal narrative into the text, to make it slightly harder to read the scenario. This Article reexamines Herman Melville\u27s short story Benito Cereno, in which the true history of the story\u27s events is only revealed to the reader at the end of the story through lengthy extracts from the official deposition of Benito Cereno, captain of the slave ship San Dominick, who testifies that a slave revolt resulted in the deaths of numerous Spaniards and slaves on board. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Michael Sadlier considered it an example of Melville's "supreme 3 artistry.'' Delano realizes that Don Benito is a prisoner and that the peculiar circumstances aboard the San Dominick are an elaborate charade perpetrated by rebels to make him believe that Don Benito is still in charge. Dang: even in … Captain Benito Cereno never was well again and he soon died. Only after the reader finds out what is happening on the ship can this message be revealed to be ironic, as it is a symbol of the role reversal on the ship. Benito Cereno is a writer of and about comics, a freelance classicist, and a professional Christmas enthusiast. The captain, Benito Cereno, was ordered to sail to Senegal. Benito Cereno is the captain of the San Dominick, a Spanish galleon. found that Benito Cereno, along with "The Bell Tower" and "The Encantadas," "shows the last glow of Melville's literary career, the final momentary brightening of the 2 embers before they sank into blackness and ash." There is another, and quite different, silence that doubles Benito Cereno's at the story's end, and that deepens the link between mad. In some ways it seems explicitly racist and at other times seems the exact opposite. We tell the story in three parts. Cereno, who maintains a mysteriously evasive veneer, explains that his men and passengers have been depleted by scurvy, fever, and the buffeting of storms near Cape Horn. When I first met Benito and Babo, I honestly thought that he was just a very lenient slave owner, or my second opinion was that maybe Benito was trying to free the slaves. Contrary to what Delano thinks a captain should be like, Cereno seems to have little control over his slaves and is constantly fainting and showing signs of severe anxiety. Jean Fagan Yellin's "Black Masks: Melville's " Benito Cereno" Jean Fagan Yellin, writer of Black Masks: Melville’s “Benito Cereno” argues that Melville used his work to as an anti-slavery gesture.