Shadows Present, Fore-shadowing Deeper Shadows to Come: Prophecy, Power, and Progress in Herman Melvilles Benito Cereno

Abstract

Herman Melville's "Benito Cereno" subverts nineteenth-century racist ideology by attributing a capacity for agency and intellect to Babo and the slaves that the prevalent white-supremacist doctrine denies them. In the narrative, Captain Delano fails to recognize that the slaves have taken over the <italic>San Dominick</italic> because his fundamentally racist world-view leads him to assume that slaves are incapable of overthrowing their masters. However, Delano's willful ignorance, born out of greed and ambition, serves as justification for entering into a subtle and complex power struggle with Babo and Cereno for control of the <italic>San Dominick</italic>. Considered through a Kantian lens, Delano's rise to power demonstrates a dialectic pattern in the narrative, establishing "Benito Cereno" as a brief chapter in the never-ending progression of history, allowing the reader a moment to consider where society has been, where it is, and where it might be headed.