Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Erika Lloyd
March 2, 2010
Didactic Intimacy: How Herman Melville¶s ³Benito Cereno´ uses Relationships to Explore
Cultural Domination
Herman Melville¶s ³Benito Cereno´, at first confuses and distracts the reader. The story
is written in Melville¶s classic style, with extensive didactic paragraphs full of imagery and
symbolism. On further readings of ³Benito Cereno,´ the reader understands the story¶s hidden
plot elements and his reasoning for the imagery. The story displays many different character and
situational archetypes. There are two common responses from critics and readers on the hidden
elements of the characters. One response is that ³Benito Cereno´ speaks of racism and supports
slavery, the other response is that the story speaks of abolitionism and is in fact, against racism.
This essay will discuss how the story of ³Benito Cereno´ is not about slavery, but uses slavery as
a moral guideline. From this point on, when the essay refers to ³moral guidelines,´ the essay is
referring to a set of normative standards of behavior, specifically the modern standards and
interpretation of the text. Instead, one should focus on the idea of slavery as a moral guideline for
Since the idea of slavery is not a sufficient issue for interpretation of the text, the reader
needs to look at ³Benito Cereno´ as a moral issue, and use slavery as a basis to establish a moral
guideline. Josephine Donovan, in her essay entitled ³Beyond the Net: Feminist Criticism as a
Moral Criticism´ explains her viewpoints on literature as a moral center for the reader. Donovan
believes that the actions of the characters are didactic in nature and that the characters serve to
develop a moral understanding which is universal in nature. Donovan claims that ³most literature
Donovan speaks from both a moral and a feminist viewpoint, the reader should note her
viewpoint on ³great´ literature because it sets up a basis for the reader to understand Melville¶s
work. ³Benito Cereno´ expresses the ³human experiences´ of the time period in a detailed and
descriptive way, which masks the characters and saves Melville from creating a moral exposition
on slavery, so that Melville can instead write on a more universal human morality. Melville
creates an intentionally ambiguous situation, in which the reader is forced to read the situation as
morally ambiguous in order to understand the issues he describes. Therefore, if the reader keeps
an objective viewpoint, leaving slavery out of the equation, the reader comes to a deeper
developing clear relationships between the reader, the protagonist, and himself. The relationships
between the author, the reader, and the protagonist, and the way in which Melville masks his
Allen Emery, in his essay ³The Topicality of Depravity in µBenito Cereno¶´ explains this
phenomenon of masking characters when he writes: ³Melville¶s masks serve, then, to make the
American slavery as a non-µpeculiar¶ illustration´ (Emery 250). While Melville certainly speaks
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symbolically of a ³worldwide oppression,´ and uses the characters in a moral sense, the reader
could argue that Melville did not directly address the issue of slavery, but that Melville used
slavery as a moral center to explore a different viewpoint. Rosalie Feltenstein, in her essay
³Melville¶s µBenito Cereno¶ agrees when she writes that ³slavery is not the issue here; the focus
is upon evil in action in a certain situation´ (254). As Feltenstein suggests, slavery is not the
issue in ³Benito Cereno,´ the issue is how the reader uses slavery as a moral guideline to judge
cultures, and in effect, the ³evil in action´ in everyday issues. Melville¶s usage of slavery serves
to develop a comprehension for the exchange of culture in the global power structure, with an
emphasis on change in the negative American attitude and humanity¶s cultural acceptance. In a
sense, Melville suggests that the reader focus more on the intimate level, such as the weighing of
evil in situations in the reader¶s mind, than on the global level of slavery, in order to solve global
issues.
So how does Melville bring the reader to the intimate level and force the reader to weigh
cultural issues? One could suggest that Melville brings the reader to the intimate level by making
his characters universally relatable, or characters that any reader can relate to; when the reader
finds a character that is similar to their own personality or culture, the reader relates to that
character and begins to make decisions in the story based on a cultural, or character¶s standpoint.
The first culture that is introduced into ³Benito Cereno´ is the American, or the New World,
archetype. Delano represents the American attitude and mentality, becoming a basic archetype
for an American sailor. Since Melville¶s audience is the American public, naturally, as the
narrator and protagonist of the story, Delano¶s character is the first character that the reader
relates to.
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Through the relationship between the reader and protagonist, the story is able to advance
and remain ambiguous until the very end when the issues with Babo become known. Melville
showcases Delano¶s naïve and forgiving character when Delano first sees the 4 ,
which the reader adopts and develops into his or her own viewpoint. Melville writes that the 4
gave off a ³purely fanciful resemblance which now, for a moment, almost led Captain
Delano to think that nothing less than a ship-load of monks was before him´ (Melville 490). This
quotation is important because it is ironic; the ship and crew Delano sees is neither saintly nor
holy, but a mutinous crew on board a covered ship. The reader naturally ³sees´ what Delano sees
because the relationship is intimate. Delano, the American, sees nothing because he is naïve and
lets his better nature fool him out of jumping to the logical conclusion that the ship is neither safe
nor harmonious. The reader is expected to fall into the same naiveté, because the reader has a
good relationship with the protagonist of the story. On several other occasions, Delano¶s naïveté
both condemns and saves him from the situation aboard the 4 . This factor seems to
suggest that the reader is just as responsible as Delano for the situation aboard the 4 ,
even more so because as a reader, the relationship between the plot and elements of the story are
closer and more easily accessible than for Delano. Furthermore, Melville suggests that the reader
is responsible for the cultural issues aboard the 4 , which the reader relates back to
life and humanity. In this case, Melville establishes an indirect relationship through Delano with
the reader and is able to attack moral issues in general, instead of just one particular issue.
Melville¶s descriptions of the interactions between Delano and Babo, the slave, show the
New World¶s mindset toward other cultures. The most interesting instance of this interaction
between the characters is when Babo finishes shaving Cereno¶s face. Delano comments that
³Don Benito bore all, much less uneasily, at least, than he had done the razoring; indeed, he sat
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so pale and rigid now, that the negro seemed a Nubian sculptor finishing off a white statue-head´
and that ³the servant for a moment surveyed his master, as, in toilet at least, the creature of his
own tasteful hands´ (Melville 512). Delano views, what the reader later discovers are threats by
Babo against Cereno, as a normal interaction between the two men. When he does seem to notice
Cereno¶s unease, sitting ³pale and rigid,´ he figures it is his own presence in the room. Just like
Delano, the reader dismisses the instance and assumes it is normal behavior. In a sense, the
reader makes excuses for the moral implications of the story, and makes excuses for his or her
own ignorance.
Melville seems to point out that the other developing cultures, such as Babo¶s culture, are in fact
superior due to the American naïveté and the unconscious way other cultures are overlooked and
excused by America. Melville implies that the New World, through Delano, has gained power
over the Old World, or Cereno, and at the same time is naïve and often blind to the developing
world, which Melville shows through his portrayal of Babo. The reader is drawn into this power
struggle, because the reader develops a clear relationship with the protagonist, Delano. On an
intimate level, the reader dismisses the instances, and refuses to take a side on the issue. On the
global level, the reader is like Delano and is symbolic of the American attitude at dismissing
Throughout the story, Melville¶s characters display jealousy and envy over one another,
indicative of their respective cultures. Jason Richards, in his essay ³Melville¶s International
Burlesque: Whiteface, Blackface, and µBenito Cereno¶,´ suggests that the inverted structure of
³Benito Cereno´ resembles minstrelsy theater, through Melville¶s use of blackface and whiteface
on the characters of Cereno, Delano, and Babo. For the scope of this essay, Richards¶ argument
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towards the similarities between ³Benito Cereno´ and minstrelsy theater will be ignored.
However, his claims towards the performance of ³whiteface´ and cultural envy are insightful.
Richards claims that ³Babo¶s use of Cereno¶s body reveals cross-racial desire, the same desire
that formed at least one piston in the motor of blackface minstrelsy´ (Richards 77). This point is
crucial to understanding how the portrayal of slavery in ³Benito Cereno´ demonstrates a cultural
power struggle. When Babo performs ³whiteface,´ according to Richards, he dominates Cereno
and in turn, shows the domination of one culture over the other. As archetypes for their
respective cultures, any power struggles among the characters can be seen as indicative of a
global power shift. Therefore, when Babo dominates Cereno, and reveals, according to Richards,
a ³cross-racial desire´ the reader sees not only the issue of slavery, but also the desire for power
and the inversion of the previously established order. The reader can see this domination of Babo
over Cereno when Cereno and Delano are talking at the end of the story. Delano asks what has
³cast such a shadow upon you´ and Cereno replies ³the negro´ (Melville 528). Delano continues
The dress, so precise and costly, worn by him on the day whose events have been
narrated, had not willingly been put on. And that silver-mounted sword, apparent symbol
of despotic command, was not, indeed a sword, but the ghost of one. The scabbard,
artificially stiffened, was empty. Melville 528
When Delano describes the garb of Captain Cereno, he shows what the domination of Babo has
done to Cereno. Cereno¶s eerie response ³the negro,´ shows that Cereno is haunted by the
memories of Babo and the domination aboard the 4 . The sword is told to the reader
despot, or one who wields command in the way of a tyrant. Therefore, the sword is symbolic of
the loss of Cereno¶s tyrannical command, either his command or Babo¶s command. The sword
also is ³artificially stiffened´ which denotes a man made stiffening, in that Babo has forced
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himself upon Cereno and asserted command. Now, however, the reader notices that the scabbard
is ³empty´ instead of being full of tyranny. Furthermore, the situation connotes a situation in
which Cereno is jealous and envious of the command Babo had, and it becomes so obvious that
it bothers Cereno, that Delano even comments on this change in power. Since the reader relates
to Delano, the reader sees the power shift and reacts according to the way Delano would react.
The reader, it appears, is supposed to neglect the issue of slavery and focus on the issue of
cultural domination, since the last instance of direction from Delano points the reader towards
cultural issues. However, the reader is still in the intimate sphere of interpretation, being guided
and directed by the protagonist, Delano. In this way, Melville effectively draws the reader¶s
attention away from slavery and creates an ambiguous situation in which he can focus on issues
of power and cultural domination. The intimate sphere has not been forgotten by the reader and
the relationships among the characters and between the reader, protagonist and author continues
to develop.
The relationships among the crew are also important in the study of cultural domination
within ³Benito Cereno.´ In the case of Babo and Cereno, Melville seems to suggest that Cereno,
as a possible archetype of Spanish culture, was not naïve, but merely overwhelmed by the
negligence in which he dealt with Babo and the crew, or the African culture. When Cereno tells
his story at the end of the story, he states that ³all the negroes slept upon deck, as is customary in
this navigation, and none wore fetters because the owner, his friend Aranda, told him that they
were all tractable´ (Melville 522). The interesting part of his story is that Aranda, an archetype of
Spanish culture, called the African culture ³tractable.´ Tractable denotes a person or thing that is
easy to control or influence. When Cereno and Aranda describe the African culture as ³tractable´
it shows their negligence, and fall from global power, as archetypes of the Old World. Melville
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points out through this description that, unlike the New World, Cereno and Aranda, as
archetypes for the Old World culture, were more negligent than naïve toward the developing
culture, which led to the Old World¶s demise. Melville suggests that the reader establish a moral
center through the comprehension of other cultures and the acceptance of new ideas. When
Melville utilizes archetypes, he shows the reader the moral implications and impending demise
of a culture which does not apprehend the value of another culture, and places the reader at an
intimate level with the characters of the story. It is this intimacy that allows the reader to judge
the actions of the characters in the play and allows the reader to relate real-life situations to the
In fact, Melville suggests that apprehension of the New World, the Old World, and the
developing world is the correct way to create a moral center when at the end he proclaims ³the
Deposition have [sic] served as the key to fit into the lock of the complications which proceeded
it, then, as a vault whose door has been flung back, the San Dominick¶s hull lies open today´
(Melville 527). A deposition denotes not only a testimony, but a removal of a person from
power. If the reader visualizes this statement as a proclamation of Cereno¶s fall from power, the
reader sees that the fall from power was due to the lack of comprehension Cereno has for another
culture. The hull would serve as a metaphor for the impacts of cultural differences and cultural
relationships on humanity, and the issues, according to Melville, are still ³open today.´ Melville
centers the reader on a moral apprehension of culture, and justifies his moral center, or the
intimacy between the reader and the situation, when he utilizes archetypes of major world
powers. In the words of Emery, Melville creates ³a worldwide oppression (indicative of a global
depravity),´ the depravity of the lack of apprehension for other cultures (Emery 250). The
oppression, or slavery, creates in the reader a level of indecisiveness that the reader has to solve
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by coming to an intimate relationship with the protagonist and the author. The issues when
processed in an intimate setting by the reader, allow the reader to see and allow changes in
humanity¶s negative behavior, such as cultural domination and slavery. Furthermore, the ³hull´
of the issue cracks wide open, allowing the reader to delve deeper into the present issue and
come to a logical, moral conclusion because of the intimacy Melville seems to create throughout
the story.
However, some would argue that Melville seems to argue other viewpoints, and that this
interpretation of the reader¶s intimacy and cultural domination may not be precise. However,
Brook Thomas offers an interesting viewpoint on Herman Melville in his essay ³The Legal
Fictions of Herman Melville and Lemuel Shaw´ that counteracts this opinion. Thomas claims
that Melville¶s and Shaw¶s works are a ³demonstration of their relationship to the dominant
ideology of their times, especially their capacity to allow us to see the contradictions in that
ideology, contradictions that they themselves cannot avoid´ (Thomas 463). The ³ideology´ of
the time of both Shaw and Melville was not only the issue of slavery, but also the worldwide acts
of imperialism, and the change in the global balance of power during the transition from the Old
World to the New World, something that Shaw and Melville could not avoid or ignore.
Therefore, even if Melville attempts to draw the reader towards the issue of slavery, he could not
have escaped the implications of the global change, or the ideology, that was happening at the
time. Thomas reminds the reader in his essay that ³political and social issues´ such as slavery in
Benito Cereno, ³are deflected by translating them into psychological ones´ and that the issues
³too often neglect questions raised by a writer¶s individual situation´ (Thomas 463). While
Thomas focused on the legal aspect of the ³writer¶s individual situation´ and the implications of
Melville¶s actions regarding slavery, he also views the political and social implications of
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³Benito Cereno.´ One could take Thomas¶s logic a step further, and say that the main issue in
Melville¶s time was not only the ³global oppression´ of slavery, but also the struggle among the
Old and New World powers. After a ³global oppression´ is established, the reader then,
according to Donovan, establishes a moral center in the story based on the oppression, which to
morally corrupt act, such as slavery, which Emery says is necessary for Melville¶s masks to point
out in order to for Melville to symbolically exploit the ³worldwide oppression.´ Donovan states
that ³the work of great artists helps us to u [sic] reality in all its conflicting diversity and
therefore to make choices that are truly responsible to the real contexts in which they are made´
(Donovan 233). In this quotation, Donovan argues that a ³great artist´ writes in a way that
makes people confront reality, or the ³individual situation,´ and make a responsible moral
choice. Donovan therefore agrees that Melville¶s usage of archetypes allows the reader to see the
³conflicting diversity,´ or the conflicts between the American, Captain Delano, and the other
cultures in ³Benito Cereno,´ and guides the reader into intimate situations in order to make
responsible moral choices on this exchange of culture, based on the conflict, slavery.
Melville does not pass judgment on the racial situations in the story; however, he does
paint a vivid reality from which the reader can draw ³responsible choices´ about cultural
differences and issues. Melville accomplishes the establishment of a moral direction through the
reader¶s intimacy and relationships with the author and protagonist. Melville¶s work¶s use of
character archetypes, symbolizes the shifting power relations of the cultures of the Old World,
the New World, and the developing world while guiding the reader into an intimate sphere of
interpretation. This intimate sphere allows the reader to establish a clear, level moral guideline
when dealing with other issues outside the text. In this way, Melville¶s work becomes didactic
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and teaches the reader to solve issues, not by ignoring them as Cereno and Delano do in ³Benito
Cereno,´ but by establishing an intimate relationship with the issues and coming to clear, logical
conclusions. The only issue with Melville¶s work is his lack of direction. Even though he appears
to instruct the reader in the right direction, the direction and intent remain unclear to the reader,
and are left to the reader¶s ³moral compass.´ If the reader views ³Benito Cereno´ as didactic in
nature the reader¶s intimacy with the issues in ³Benito Cereno´ incites change and cultural moral
purging in the reader. If other works could produce the amount of heated debate and level of
intimacy with the situation that Melville produces with ³Benito Cereno,´ the interpretation of
texts would be more useful to the modern culture, and allow readers to develop a better
understanding of humanity.
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Works Cited
Donovan, Josephine. "Beyond the Net: Feminist Criticism as a Moral Criticism." á u
á u . Comp. Donald Keesey. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003÷
228-233.
Thomas, Brook. "The Legal Fictions of Herman Melville and Lemuel Shaw." á u
á u. Comp. Donald Keesey. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 463.