payment page
What does the knot represent in Benito Cereno?
Towards the middle of the story, Delano watches as a sailor on the San Dominick ties a complex knot. When he asks the sailor what the knot is for, the man replies that it is “for someone to undo.” The knot may symbolize the story’s complex plot that must be untangled in order for events to make sense; that Delano fails to untangle it is indicative of his failure to discern the truth aboard the ship. Another possible interpretation is that the knot symbolizes slavery in America. Because the very institution of slavery is woven into the fabric of American society, Melville seems to suggest the act of “undoing it” could be difficult and complicated. Melville wrote the story in 1855, shortly before the onset of the Civil War, at a time when conversations on this very subject would have been prevalent throughout the country. That another man simply throws the knot overboard seems to suggest the entire institution must be destroyed rather than simply “undone.”
Where does Benito Cereno take place?
The novella takes place in the year 1799 off the coast of Chile, in the harbor at the island of Santa Maria. Captain Amasa Delano’s ship, the Bachelor’s Delight, has just arrived in the harbor when they spy another ship, the San Dominick, nearby, apparently in distress.
Is Benito Cereno based on a true story?
The novella is likely inspired by two sources, and draws details from each. The first is a slave revolt that occurred on the Spanish vessel, La Amistad, in 1839. The second is a revolt detailed in the real Captain Amasa Delano’s 1817 memoir called A Narrative of Voyages and Travels, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In it, he relays an incident in which his ship encountered a Spanish slave ship in 1805 that had become overtaken by slaves.
Why does Cereno pretend to be ill?
Cereno pretended to be ill and mentally unstable so that he could distract Delano from growing too suspicious and keep up the ruse that Babo forced him to maintain. If Cereno had not done so, and Delano had figured out that the slaves were really in charge, Babo would have likely had them both killed. Though it appears to be true that Cereno has indeed become unwell as a result of the revolt and seeing his longtime friend killed, he exaggerates what Delano comes to believe is a form of madness in order to keep Delano in the dark.
Why does Delano board the San Dominick in the first place?
Delano is aboard his own ship, the Bachelor’s Delight, when he sees a floating listlessly with torn sails and no flag. Such a sight is atypical and Delano worries that it is a ship in distress, so he decides to go aboard and offer assistance.
