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“Battered and mouldy, the castellated forecastle seemed some ancient turret, long ago taken by assault, and then left to decay. Toward the stern, two high-raised quarter galleries—the balustrades here and there covered with dry, tindery sea-moss—opening out from the unoccupied state-cabin, whose dead-lights, for all the mild weather, were hermetically closed and calked—these tenantless balconies hung over the sea as if it were the grand Venetian canal.”
Delano compares the damaged San Dominick to a castle that was conquered and destroyed in an ancient battle. This metaphor is appropriate because, as the story progresses, readers learn that the ship actually was conquered and damaged in an attack—and not from life at sea as Cereno tells Delano. Melville’s use of the word “battered” is also noteworthy because it can either refer to something that has been injured by repeated blows, or something that has been damaged by age. The ambiguity of the word “battered” matches the ambiguity of the story because Delano does not learn how the ship was really damaged until the end of the narrative.
“The ship seems unreal; these strange costumes, gestures, and faces, but a shadowy tableau just emerged from the deep, which directly must receive back what it gave.”
Here, Delano reflects on the strange mood aboard the San Dominick. As is often the case with Melville, his diction is crucial. Delano compares the San Dominick to a tableau, which is a group of models or motionless figures that are costumed and posed to represent a scene from a story. This is the perfect way to capture the mood aboard the San Dominick because every single person on that ship is playing a part and not being their authentic selves.
“The floor of the cuddy was matted. Overhead, four or five old muskets were stuck into horizontal holes along the beams…A torn hammock of stained grass swung near; the sheets tossed, and the pillow wrinkled up like a brow, as if who ever slept here slept but illy, with alternate visitations of sad thoughts and bad dreams.”
This passage describes the cuddy where Delano watches Babo shave Cereno. Melville’s attention to detail when describing the cuddy generates an unnerving tone which informs the reader that something is wrong—even if our narrator does not notice. For example, he mentions that there are four or five muskets literally and metaphorically hanging overhead for the entire scene, thus implying a threat of violence. He also emphasizes the cuddy’s dismal conditions shortly before the reader learns that this is where Cereno sleeps—something that should strike the reader as odd given that he is the ship’s captain.
