Between Benito Cereno and Babo there lies some sub-textual
character connection. The story is extremely vague on the specific details of
what has happen to the Spanish ship. In doing this this the author creates a
presentation of that characters that turns out to be wrong. The slaves on the
ships were presented, for the most part, as well behaved, especially Babo. He
was a faithful servant, and very good at his duties. As a servant he was so
trusted that the Cereno never asked him for a privacy through Cereno and
Captian Delano’s encounter. This of course was not the case, the truth was that
the captian, as well as the crew had all been taken hostage by the slaves after
they murdered their master. That is were the ambiguity arises. The reader is
presented with a questionable situation, and they’re given a choice to believe
the apparent peace and civility, or be suspicions of it.
Both Cereno and Babo are at times given roles of both slave
and master. Cereno had his role at the beginning of the voyage when the slaves
we’re still imprisoned. Babo had his time when they took over the ship, and
used Cereno as a puppet to attempt to get supplies, and later, freedom.
However, we never witness Cereno as a master, it’s only assumed he was one. The
approach of Babo as a master was different than a white man would accept the
role, mainly because his mastership had to be secret. However, Babo does
present subtle threats. “And yet master knows I never yet have drawn blood”(page
43) then soon after blood was drawn. The way it’s presented, the reader would
think nothing of it, but when the truth is exposed, it is apparent that this
was a threat and Babo was asserting himself in the role of master. Once again
in the end ,“Not Captain Delano, but Don Benito, the black, in leaping into the
boat, had intended to stab.”(page 57). This was a reaction form the master to
an act of betrayal from the servant. Had Babo not does this (i.e. entirely assume
the role of the master) his fate may have be different. The same can be said
for Cereno, who could have possibly avoided a revolt through proper, humane
treatment.
The court condemned Babo for the revolt, because it was
against the law and he was the villain. In the modern era, the verdict isn’t as
cut and dry. Babo and the other slaves desired freedom, and thouh extreme
measures where taken, they may be morally justifiable in present day. What
ultimately led to the demise of Babo was his being engulfed by his role as
master. If he tried to treat Cereno as an equal, then maybe Cereno’s fear wouldn’t
have forced an escape. Maybe Cereno would have let Babo be free had he not assumed
his role as master.
I found your description about the role reversal from master to slave and vice versa between Cereno and Babo very interesting and similar to my findings. This ambiguity is played out brilliantly between Cereno and Babo. Cereno appears to be on the fence and portrays “Negro Babo” as a barbaric savage and narrates in his disposition, “Negro Babo commanded the Ashantee Martinqui and the Ashantee Lecbe to go and commit the murder; that those two went down with hatchets to the berth of Don Alexandro; that, yet half alive and mangled, they dragged him on deck; that they were going to throw him overboard in that state, but the Negro Babo stopped them,bidding the murder be completed on the deck before him, which was done, when, by his orders.” I agree with you that if Cereno had treated the slaves in a proper manner, a revolt could have been avoided. Cereno appears to be favorable towards Captain Delano and addresses him as ““generous Captain Amasa Delano,” but at the same time is also listening to Babo’s plan of taking over both the ships, “the Negro Babo proposed to him to gain from Amasa Delano full particulars about his ship, and crew, and arms.” My findings about the demise of Babo was a little different, because Babo was sentenced to death more to show the world of whites that justice has been done to villainous blacks as Cereno narrates, “As for the black- whose brain, not body, had schemed and led the revolt.”
ReplyDeleteIn your first paragraph, I like that you point out that the ambiguity allows the reader a chance to explore different ideas with regards to what the story holds. Perhaps Melville's use of stylistic ambiguity as well as the visual imagery of ambiguity invites this possibility for the reader. Melville's subtle details evoke this confused tone that leads the reader into multiple directions within the single narrative. In rereading the story, the ambiguous details appear more as careful instances of foreshadowing that appear innocent initially, yet reveal much different ideas on the second time around. For example, the quote you provide from Babo reads much differently after the true state of affairs becomes apparent, as does the San Dominick's motto "Follow your Master." In a final note of ambiguity, as you point out, historical context makes judgement of both masters and slaves very ambiguous in its nature. Though the court convicts Babo for his injustices against his masters, this judgment certainly reflects the cultural mindset of the times. A modern reader may find the situation even more morally ambiguous.
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