The ambiguity of the text becomes an annoying afterthought during the first fifty-five or so pages of "Benito Cereno" in which Delano is slowly revealed to what sort of event has taken place upon the San Dominick, but he never seems to fully put it together. From the beginning of the text, Melville tells us that it will not be a clear story through the depiction of the landscape. The day is a peculiar one, "everything was mute and calm; everything grey."(2) There are "grey fowl" and "grey vapour" amongst the "shadows present, foreshadowing deeper shadows to come."(2) The landscape is filled with ambiguity, foreshadowing the entire relationship between our two points of interest, Benito Cereno and Babo.
While the ambiguity of the text forces the reader to read between the lines a bit, the deposition at the end of the story looks to condemn Babo and his companions and exonerate Cereno. Babo and the rest of the black slaves are painted as savages, who, in the middle of the night, "successively killed eighteen men of those were sleeping upon the deck, some with handspikes and hatchets, and others by throwing them alive overboard." (63) They are framed as slaves who have revolted against there master's wishes. But the problem is not this cut and dry. The interesting part, which Delano seems to ignore and bypass very quickly after altering his worldview, is the cunning of Babo to propose and fulfill such a plan. We do not hear anything of any sort of unusually cruelty or harm, but can safely assume that it is the usual moral depravity towards slaves. After many days of the rebellion, Babo and Cereno meet Delano aboard the San Dominick. It is here that Delano is forced into "acting then the part of principal owner, and a free captain of the ship." (68) Delano is not free here, though, but it the slave to Babo and Atufal. Cereno is under the control of Babo, who shows the "point of his dagger"(69) to gain power of Cereno at every turn. Cereno goes on to paint that more clearly as savages and evil incarnate, saying that even the Negresses "sang songs and danced ... to the Negroes, and that this melancholy tone was more inflaming than a different one would have been." (71) Cereno claims that they all had parts in the rebellion and in all of the murders. Yet, in the end, they both contribute to the relationship of slavery and are victims of both sides.
Delano is unable to see past the ambiguities of the events, and quickly changes his worldview on the subject as new information arises. He always take into account what has happened and fits it into his narrow idea of what the world should be like. He searches for the simplest explanation for all of the irrational behavior that has occurred. It takes Babo trying to kill Cereno in front Delano to force a change in his ideology about what is actually happening upon the boats. Yet, he does not change his inward ideas of their necessarily existing a binary opposition. He cannot accept a world of ambiguity where both black and white can be slaves and masters and that it will not always exist upon the American optimism that he attests to.
For me, "Benito Cereno" was a particularly difficult read. I agree with you wholeheartedly that the theme of ambiguity does begin to become somewhat annoying throughout the lengthy text of Melville's work. Melville's style of writing, the use of the ambiguous, is not an element I am really familiar with when it comes to reading and analyzing American literature. However, after reading other blogs and rereading some of the text I found to be most important, I understand Melville's portrayal of the American Character through the use of ambiguity. It is important to remember that this novella comes to readers right before the Civil War. Literally, all hell breaks loose, and the worlds and views of the American people will forever change after all is said and done. I believe "Benito Cereno" is somewhat preparing the audience for that change. Using ambiguity as a device, Melville eases the idea of black equality into the minds of his audience and even his character, Delano. Delano is to represent your average American male-- completely set in his ways and perfectly comfortable with the idea of the Negro as an inferior, "savage" piece of property. He literally cannot see or understand anything else. Delano, a prime example of the American Character, does indeed possess a "narrow idea of what the world should be like." However, it takes Delano to actually see the changing world to understand it and come accept it. To me, this draws a parallel to the Civil War brewing in the states. Ambiguous ideas are one thing, and can inspire change. On the other hand, action unavoidably brings about change. In "Benito Cereno," Melville comments on the necessary changes the American Character must undergo. He is ashamed at Americans' lack of understanding ambiguous details. Therefore, action must and will be taken. The ambiguous must become unambiguous. Six years later, Melville's message becomes clear. The master and the slave are both destroyed. Thankfully, this sacrifice leads Americans away from the ultimate destruction of the entire nation. Slavery is and could be no more.
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