Benito Cereno Criticism
Herman Melville's "Benito Cereno," first published in 1855, is a complex narrative exploring themes of slavery, human depravity, and the illusions of moral truth. Based on an incident from Amasa Delano's Narrative of Voyages and Travels in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the story presents a seemingly simple mystery that unfolds aboard the San Dominick, a Spanish merchant ship. Captain Amasa Delano, portrayed as naïve and credulous, encounters the ship in disarray, unaware that the slaves onboard have led a successful revolt. The narrative intricately critiques the moral and historical blindness of its protagonist and, by extension, the American society's complicity in colonial and imperial enterprises.
Critics have admired "Benito Cereno" for its narrative complexity and symbolic richness. The work is seen as a critique of American expansionism and slavery, as explored in ‘Benito Cereno’ and Manifest Destiny by Allan Moore Emery. Melville's manipulation of Delano's historical account questions the reliability of historical narratives. As noted by Jon Hauss, the story interrogates the ways language can serve political oppression. Gloria Horsley-Meacham argues that "Benito Cereno" contains subversively egalitarian elements beneath its surface story.
Further analysis by John Haegert highlights the story's anti-imperialist structure, while Terry J. Martin examines the allegorical role of nature within the narrative. Additionally, as Dennis Pahl suggests, the text represents "the illusion of moral truth." William Bartley explores the theme of inverted tyranny in ‘The Creature of His Own Tasteful Hands’, and Henry Sussman highlights its sublime and ironic qualities in his interpretation.
Although initially underappreciated, "Benito Cereno" is now celebrated as one of the finest examples of 19th-century American literature, praised for its technical virtuosity, narrative innovation, and deep thematic exploration of the human condition.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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‘Benito Cereno’ and Manifest Destiny
(summary)
In the following essay, Emery examines Melville's critique of American expansionism in “Benito Cereno.”
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Masquerades of Language in Melville's Benito Cereno
(summary)
In the following essay, Hauss probes the link between language and political oppression in “Benito Cereno.”
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Bull of the Nile: Symbol, History, and Racial Myth in ‘Benito Cereno’
(summary)
In the following essay, Horsley-Meacham argues that while “Benito Cereno” ostensibly upholds racial myths, it contains a subversively “egalitarian and humane” element.
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Voicing Slavery Through Silence: Narrative Mutiny in Melville's Benito Cereno
(summary)
In the following essay, Haegert studies the complex narrative structure of “Benito Cereno” and its relation to the work as anti-imperialist fiction.
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The Idea of Nature in Benito Cereno
(summary)
In the following essay, Martin discusses the allegorical qualities of nature depicted in “Benito Cereno.” Although many critics have analyzed specific natural images in Melville's “Benito Cereno,” no one has yet focused exclusively on the role of nature in the novella, nor looked fully at its problematic relation to Delano. Such an examination can both reveal much about Melville's artistry and enhance our understanding of the protagonist's special kind of self-delusion.
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The Gaze of History in “Benito Cereno,”
(summary)
In the following essay, Pahl explores the ways in which Melville's historical narrative in “Benito Cereno” represents “the illusion of moral truth.”
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‘The Creature of His Own Tasteful Hands’: Herman Melville's Benito Cereno and the ‘Empire of Might’
(summary)
In the following essay, Bartley analyzes “Benito Cereno” as a portrayal of inverted tyranny.
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At the Crossroads of the Nineteenth Century: ‘Benito Cereno’ and the Sublime
(summary)
In the following essay, Sussman interprets the sublime and ironic qualities of “Benito Cereno.”
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‘Benito Cereno’ and Manifest Destiny
(summary)
- Further Reading