Irony and Racial Uniqueness in Benito Cereno

Captain Delano is shown as a bit of dense character for his inability to see the truth of what happened on the San Dominick. When he meets Babo he is amused at how well he takes care of his master, Captain Cereno, he stays along side him linked by the arm. He even thinks to himself how great it is to have such slave that appears to be more of a friend or companion than a manservant ( Nixon 369). While aboard there are many things that Captain Delano sees which rise his suspicion, however he chooses to disregard or forget them as the story progresses. He sees a young slave boy hitting another young Spanish boy, to which he tells Captain Cereño hoping to get him to do something about the situation, but Captain Cereño dismisses the incident.(9, left column) In return Captain Delano also dismisses the incident and continues on with Captain Cereño. He gives all his trust to Captain Cereno, because to his belief and understanding

In Benito Cereno, Captain Delano’s attention is brought upon by the many clues and events that take place on the San Dominick shortly after he steps aboard. The first clue he comes upon while approaching the ship is that majority of the people on the boat are black. While also boarding the ship Delano sees that there is not much order since the black slave’s kind of do as they please. The black slaves are also witnessed by Delano demanding the whites around. Cereno, who Delano thinks is the captain of the ship, is kind of demanded around by two black slaves, one named Babo and the other named Atufal. While on the ship Delano witnesses many things that just don’t seem right, including another incident where a black person is assaulting a white

Captain Delano is a benevolent racist. He does not hate blacks people or the slaves; he rather likes them. However, he likes them for absolutely degrading reasons. He thinks of Babo, for instance, to be a childish slave of limited intelligence. Melville writes that Delano takes to blacks "not philanthropically, but genially, just as other men to Newfoundland dogs.

This could also be viewed as the repetition of a common occurrence in the book: the degradation of black people. Delano calls Babo a, “poor fellow”; this is somewhat demeaning, as it is an expression of pity. Pity, although it can derive from good intentions, ultimately derives from the belief that another is in an inferior state than the person that pities them. However, this shows that Delano feels sorry for Babo, indicating that he sees that slavery as a bad institution.

In "Benito Cereno," Captain Delano's extreme naivete and desensitization towards slavery greatly affect his perceptions while aboard the San Dominick. Delano's racial stereotypes, views of master and slave relationships, and benevolent racism mask the true reality of what was occurring on board despite his constant uneasiness and skepticism. At a time when slave revolts were not

The works of Herman Melville and Frederick Douglass are both centered on the topic of slavery. Although both texts are similar in the sense that they focus directly on the theme of slavery, the functions of each work differ drastically. The differences in the works stem from both the style of the text, and the way that this style functions in accordance with the reader. Although Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno is drawn from an actual event, Melville embellishes and alters the event in the style of prose. The prose style used by Melville invites the reader to question the story while understanding that the majority of the work is fictional. The confusion of Captain Delano is brought onto the reader, and therefore engages the reader because of the limited point of view the story is told in. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass tells of actual events that occurred using twentieth and twenty-first century plain style. This style of writing does not ask the reader to question what he is saying, but feel his emotions as they read the narrative. Although readers may understand both works to be stories about slavery written differently in terms of style, I argue that the way the texts are written sets up the readers interpretation of them. Melville and Douglass differ because Melville’s work invites the reader to think, whereas Douglass’s work invites the reader to feel.

Herman Melville had an interesting life, that came with many troubles and challenges. He was born on August 1st, 1819 to Allen and Maria Melvill of New York (Maxwell, D.E.S.). His family was a well-respected one, then their import business fell through and they moved to Albany, New York. Their finances were desperate. During this time they changed the spelling of their last name and added an e, to be spelled, Melville (Maxwell, D.E.S.). In 1835 Melville was already beginning to write, and while he was discovering writing, his family went bankrupt and moved to Lansingburgh.

Benito Cereno’s ship, the San Dominick, also has an interesting reverse slavery, with the slaves becoming the masters and the Spaniards becoming the slaves. Also, Melville's use of the color of the races and their connotations is seen across the novella. Melville uses Delano’s thoughts on the slaves, the San Dominick, and the colors of white and black to show how racism can affect unsuspecting people, even if is unintentional. One of

Melville was an American writer and literary scholar who had many views and opinions on different aspects of American life and culture during the 19th century. He was a well renowned literary who didn’t hold back any thoughts he had to any issues plaguing that time period. Something Melville was truly passionate about was how corrupt American business was at the time and how it served little interest in the people. Melville wrote many short stories and passages about his beliefs on the matter and how he believed things could be changed around for the better. His slight anti-establishment views and the way he perceived the upper classes influence on business also were important things that he touched on his works. Lets take a look at Herman Melville and how he perceived 19th century American business practices.

“The Book of Negroes is a master piece, daring and impressive in its geographic, historical and human reach, convincing in its narrative art and detail, necessary for imagining the real beyond the traces left by history.” I completely agree with The Globe and Mail’s interpretation of this story. One could almost see the desolate conditions of the slave boats and feel the pain of every person brought into slavery. Lawrence Hill created a compelling story that depicts the hard ships, emotional turmoil and bravery when he wrote The Book of Negroes.

Herman Melville uses several allusions to historical figures in the first eight chapters of his book Billy Budd. He uses these historical figures for various purposes throughout the novel. The first reference Melville makes is to the revolutionary pamphleteer Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine wrote about freedom and liberty, something which Billy Budd has while working on the Rights-Of-Man. Unfortunately his liberties are taken away against his wishes when he is forced to serve on the war ship (Melville 7). Another reference Melville makes is to Horatio Nelson, a British naval hero who lead the British fleet to many victories (Lord Nelson Born). Melville uses his allusion to Nelson to show everything a good naval leader should demonstrate, particular

In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe tells a story of a man named Fortunato, a professional wine taster, who has foolishly brought death upon himself. Fortunato has managed to anger a man with the name Montresor who has hatched a plan of revenge during a great carnival. To help the reader fully understand Poe uses three different kinds of irony verbal, dramatic, and situational. The verbal being their conversation, the dramatical, when he jokes about his health, and the situational when he is dressed as a jester.

A well-known author Herman Melville grew up with a very large family in New York; he was one of eight children (Merriman). The Melville family was very famous along with being well respected (Merriman). Herman’s father enjoyed telling stories to his children, from terror to sea life, along with adventure, there was never a dull moment in story time. In Melville’s story there is definitely a sense of adventure, from temples as large as a city, to the Woedlor Mountains of New England (Merriman). After his father’s passing Herman and his family moved from New York to the banks of the Hudson River. Giving Melville the peace and quiet needed to write several chapters and essays (Merriman) He continued to write to the very end of his life not limited to the above, but included short stories (Merriman). Moving back home he later began writing poetry.

Herman Melville was born in New York City on August 1st, 1819. Herman’s family consisted of his parents, Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melville, along with three brothers and four sisters. As a young boy Herman became very ill with scarlet fever in the year 1826, which would leave him with permanently weakened eyesight. Herman would still attend school at Male High School and he would temporarily attend Albany Academy to study classic literature. The Melville’s family import business collapsed in the year 1830 and Allan Melville died in the year 1832 which left the family in a terrible financial situation. Gansevoort, the oldest son, tried to take over the import business, but it ended up falling apart. This led the Melville’s to move to Lansingburgh, New York where he studied surveying at Lansingburgh Academy. As Herman was unable to find work he signed as a crew member for a merchant ship

The two ironies I have observed from the material was when Marjorie told Jimmy has to leave her house in Davao just as he leans in to kiss her and she reciprocates the kiss. This is a type of verbal irony wherein Marjorie says something but does the exact opposite of it because she has romantic feelings for the husband of her best friend, Sylvia. A dramatic irony is also shown in the play when Jimmy and Marjorie were flirting with each other in Sylvia’s house while Sylvia and her mother were behind the couch observing everything.