Ray Melville Blog

Melville’s Benito Cereno contains elements of ambiguity in the roles in a hierarchy occupied by Benity and his companion, Babo. Much like the relationship between narrator and Queequeg in “Moby Dick,” we see an unusual pairing in rank and race in “Benito Cereno.” The typical master-slave dynamic, which usually involves a dominant master and subservient slave, is superficially existent here, but with a twist. The “slave,” Babo was an undercover master all along, simply using his inferiors (i.e. Benito and the past captains) as a place-holder to protect himself while posing as a slave. Even within the first few pages, Delano notices the unusual intimacy and power exchange between Babo and Cereno, Babo being “less a servant than a devoted companion” (Benito Cereno, 8) that was evidently allowed into restricted areas, as illustrated on page eleven-“a privileged
spot, no one being near but the servant.” (Benoti Cereno, 11)

The dynamics of Benito and Babo’s relationship are fully realized at the end, once the deposition comes into the plot. What readers thought was a grateful captain thanking his faithful servant was really a frightened crew member attempting to please his captor, Babo. This fear is carefully shown on page forty-three when Benity overreacts to Babo’s cutting him while shaving:

“immediately the black barber drew

back his steel, and remaining in his professional attitude, back to

Captain Delano, and face to Don Benito, held up the trickling

razor, saying, with a sort of half humorous sorrow, “See,

master,you shook so- here’s Babo’s first blood.” No sword drawn

before James the First of England, no assassination in that timid

King’s presence, could have produced a more terrified aspect than

was now presented by Don Benito.” (Benito Cerano, 43)

The showmanship of the scene(i.e. the fact that it seems choreographed) is not lost on Delano. The interdependence of both Benito and Babo caused them to turn to each other in times of crisis, whether Babo attempted to force Benito to continue lying or whether Benito looked to Babo, anticipating punishment. As Mr. Koehler noted, while it is obvious that Benito is innocent and Babo should be condemned in this particular story, how would a contemporary court case play out with this evidence in play?
   
It is very odd that Babo orchestrated the voyage aboard to make Benito Cereno look like the cunning/deceitful character when he was one of the most innocent characters present on the ship. We can evaluate the long-term intimate relationship shared by Benito and Babo by simply looking at the length of text written about both the deceptive relationship and the opposing deposition telling the truth-sixty plus pages make up the bulk of the story, with only the remaining ten pages acting as the deposition. The deposition was the final building block of a story that was long in the making before readers happened upon the plot. This story of role ambiguity made me consider roles in a hierarchy, physiognomy and social expectations, the use of choreographed deception, and ethics of the individual.