Hutchinson Melville Blog

Taking back the ship

Herman Melville's story "Benito Cereno" is a tale of slave and master, and of victim and perpetrator.  Told through the eyes of Captain Delano, it appears pretty early in the story who is the master of the haggard stranger ship that has sailed into the coast of Chili: Captain Benito Cereno, with his faithful servant Babo who is first seen standing dutifully by his master's side "in whose rude face, as occasionally, like a shepherd's dog, he mutely turned it it up into the Spaniard's, sorrow and affection were equally blended." Delano equates Babo with a dog, a figure best known for its unwavering loyalty and devotion - aspects often used by the American captain to describe Babo. He talks of Babo's care for his master as "affectionate zeal which tansmutes into something filial or fraternal acts in themselves, but menial...less a servant than a devoted companion." Delano's narrative is thus set up: his observations of an ailing captain aboard a failing ship, but with the saving grace of loving, faithful Babo.

However, by the end of the story, it is clear that Delano's judge of character leaves a lot to be desired, and that he was fooled by the clever Negro. The deposition at the end of the story is evidence of the true malevolent, calculating nature of Babo's character.  It serves as a stark contrast to the portrait painted by Delano. In it, Babo is revealed as "being the ringleader" of the mutiny against the captain and his men.  The deposition also serves to expose the fatal flaw of the slave/master dichotomy; "none wore fetters, because the owner....told him they were all tractable." The master did not fulfill his full role as master - he gave his slaves some slack, some leeway, and did not fetter them as he should.  By his own neglect of role, he led his slaves to neglect their proper rules as subordinate, and they rose up against their oppressors. The roles of slave and master were reversed, in what seems to be a natural progression of events from the onset of the voyage. Delano paints a picture of a Benito Cereno dependent on Babo to carry out every day tasks, but in reality, he was dependent on him for so much more, for the survival of him and his men.