Sympathies Unheard: The Narrative of “Benito Cereno”

By: Patrick Murphy

In the 1850s, Herman Melville published his most famous and most recognized. One of these, “Benito Cereno,” is the story of a captain who boards a Spanish Slave ship that is stranded on a lonely coast. Published in 1856, “Benito Cereno” is still regarded as an important piece of literature in which the horrors of the slave trade are explored. Melville’s stirring and sometimes disturbing descriptions of the treatment of slaves show the reader the realism of the trade in a very visceral sense. These descriptions make an attempt to evoke a sense of pathos over the reader, but in this it does not succeed. Although Melville tries to show sympathy towards the slaves, his efforts are overshadowed by his latent superiority.

The story revolves around two European captains, so the portrayal of slaves will not be a positive one. An unnamed narrator describes what the main character, Captain Amasa Delano, sees. He is accompanied throughout his stay on the ship by the captain of said ship and the title character, Benito Cereno. Melville describes the slaves as these men would see them, but one could say that this viewpoint wasn’t necessarily difficult for Melville. When Delano first boards the San Dominick, he observes the mix of black and white faces he sees. Later, as he is guided about by Cereno, he sees two blacks making oakum, a tarred fiber, and the narrator notes that “All six, unlike the generality, had the raw aspect of unsophisticated Africans.” This statement already marks the view that Melville holds for the slaves, although it is suppressed quite well. When Delano is in Cereno’s room, Babo (who appears to be Cereno’s personal servant) is looked upon like an obedient dog. Delano watches Babo, and the narrator notes, “Here Babo, changing his previous grin of mere animal humour into an intelligent smile, not ungratefully eyed his master.” The way the narrator shows Babo is very demeaning, and this effect last through his descriptions of the conditions that the slaves are forced to live in while being shipped across the planet. His affect is somewhat diminished by this portrayal.

The plight of the slaves is described, but even then Melville’s superior tone provokes the reader to feel little or no pity for the victims of the injustice he tries to exploit. While Captain Delano is exploring the San Dominick, he sees the slave’s living quarters, and the narrator describes them in what is one of the more saddening passages of the story. “His attention had been drawn to a slumbering Negress, partly disclosed through the lace-work of some rigging, lying, with youthful limbs carelessly disposed, under the lee of the bulwarks, like a doe in the shade of a woodland rock. Sprawling at her lapped breasts was her wide-awake fawn, stark naked, its black little body half lifted from the deck, crosswise with its dam's; its hands, like two paws, clambering upon her; its mouth and nose ineffectually rooting to get at the mark; and meantime giving a vexatious half-grunt, blending with the composed snore of the Negress.” Melville writes this, but no emotion or opinion is evident, like it was in his descriptions of the oakum cutters and Babo. Here he is merely stating what is there, but not expressing any wrongdoing. The narrator appears to believe that the blacks are no better than the conditions they live in. The narrator can describe the stupidity of the slaves, but he cannot express the pain that the slaves may be feeling? That part does not even cross the mind of the storyteller. Babo is a prominent slave in the story, and the way he is treated is another nail in the coffin of Melville’s attempted sympathies. He is like Cereno’s lapdog, and he is treated no better than one. Babo’s portrayal (as well as name) makes the sympathies of Melville seem forced and unnecessary. It’s as if Melville threw them in to avoid looking heartless in the eyes of his readers.

Although a well-written book, the emotion Melville tries to evoke in “Benito Cereno” is a farce. A writer cannot expect to both sympathize and mock a character in his story, especially when trying to get across a serious point. In this case, the moral issue of slavery is brought up, and with it, a broad look at what other industries are doing. The story provokes the reader to think, but at the same time, it cannot be taken seriously. Herman Melville’s attempt at compassion is broken by his arrogant approach.