I really enjoyed today’s discussion on Benito Cereno; in particular the discussion on Delano’s character. In class I felt that Delano was too trusting and only wanted to see the best in the situation. Because of this I was thinking to myself “wow Delano isn’t too bright” because he witnessed several disturbing situations and really didn’t react to them other than telling Cereno to do something in response. But after reading further I began to think about things differently. Is Delano pretending to not comprehend the situation or does his background prevent him from being able to understand? I think if Delano expressed his curiosity more outright or if he continued in his attempts to question the sailors or if he wasn’t as trusting I believe he would have figured out what was going on sooner. I also believe that his Massachusetts upbringing had something to do with this inability to comprehend what was going on. The way he constantly compared the slaves to animal-like behaviors and characteristics made it seem like he also thought that the slaves weren’t very intelligent. This explains why the idea of the slaves taking over the ship and creating this elaborate hoax of Cereno still being in charge is difficult for him to understand.
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well, I have been trying to figure this blog out for so long...I don't know how to start my own so I am going to reply to this one since I was going to write something very similar. I wanted to focus on Cereno and Delano's characters at the beginning of the book just like we did in class. I think that Delano's character really transformed in my perspective as I read the book because, initially, I suspected Delano to be a very experienced, put together sailor, and as the story progressed, I realized (as well as my classmates) that he was naive and confused. He stuck around during the skeptical times (Cereno's very unfamiliar, confusing situation) and continued to hang around the ship and it's men, though the Captains and sailors didn't seem quite right. Overall, I just found it interesting that he would be so accepting in an unfamiliar situation, especially a "shady" or "sketchy" one where no one know what the actual deal is.
ReplyDeleteI think you are totally correct when you say that Captain Delano was unable to comprehend all the forewarning signs because of his upbringing. I feel at this time and era, blacks were believed to be inferior as well as ignorant. To believe that blacks could actually hold the intellect to overcome a ship was unheard of, allowing Delano's ignorance to thrive. Throughout the novella we are shown the blacks worth to be mentioned through descriptions of their work ethic, and physical appearance. We never see the blacks regarded to because of their intellectual abilities. Though Delano may not be seen disrespecting and insulting the blacks, his ignorance can be taken with just as much malice.
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