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Alexandro Aranda's Skeleton
When Delano boards the San Dominick he notices that there is a large piece of canvas over where the ship’s figurehead should be. Delano is struck by the sight and he wonders if the canvas is either being used to protect the figurehead while it is undergoing a refurbishment or to cover up its decay. He also notices that the phrase “follow your leader” has been chalked onto the pedestal beneath the canvas. Delano decides to think nothing of it, and the figurehead is not focused on again until the end of the text when it is revealed that the canvas actually covers the skeleton of Alexandro Aranda, the owner of the slaves, which had been hung from the ship's bow by Babo when he and his fellow slaves took control of the San Dominick and killed their former master.
On a surface level, the skeleton is used as an intimidation tactic by Babo and his followers because Aranda’s fate literally hangs over the heads of the white sailors for the entirety of the narrative. This effectively discourages them from fighting back against the slaves and regaining control of the San Dominick. However, on a more figurative level, Aranda’s skeleton symbolizes the eternal damnation of anyone who participates in the slave trade. A ship’s figurehead was most commonly related to the name or role of a ship. By attaching the skeleton of a slaver to the ship’s figurehead, Babo transforms the San Dominick into a ship of death that condemns the brutality of slavery.
The Spanish Flag
One of the most famous scenes in Benito Cereno is the one in which Delano watches Babo shave Cereno. Babo is actually using the shaving implements to threaten Cereno, but Delano has not figured out that their dynamic is a ruse just yet. During this scene, which occurs about halfway through the novella, Delano is amused that Babo has laid the Spanish flag around Cereno’s body as he shaves him instead of using a regular piece of fabric. Delano, demonstrating his own racism, playfully suggests to Babo that he used the Spanish flag because Black people have a childish appreciation for bright colors. Unsurprisingly, Babo is not amused by Delano’s comment and does not laugh.
Babo’s use of the Spanish flag to shave Cereno seems like an insignificant detail, but the moment becomes retroactively symbolic once Delano, and subsequently the reader, learns that Babo is only pretending to serve Cereno so that he can monitor his every move and ensure that he does not tell Delano the slaves have taken control of the ship. Once the reader learns the full story, they can conclude that Babo’s use of the Spanish flag symbolizes that he, not the Spanish, is in charge of the San Dominick. Additionally, Babo’s symbolic repurposing of the Spanish flag also recalls the moment at the start of the text when Delano assumes that something is wrong with the San Dominick because they are not sailing with any colors.
