Herman Melville Benito Cerano

Question 1

Who wrote Benito Cereno

Answer 1

Herman Melville

Question 2

time period and relevant historical context: Benito Cereno

Answer 2

Published 1855, after ‘failure’ of Moby Dick and success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
Written 5 years before the Civil War

Question 3

plot summary: Benito Cereno

Answer 3

American Captain Delano spots an eerie ship, and his good nature tells him to investigate the ship where he meets Spanish captain Don Benito Cereno, who is acting odd and secretive and is attended to by an enslaved servant called Babo. Captain Delano grows suspicious of the story Don Benito tells him of getting trapped in heavy winds and plagued with scurvy, and witnesses strange behavior from the crew. Upon Delano’s departure, he discovers that the slave ship has been mutinied by the slaves, and the whites are being held captive. Delano secures the ship and the slaves are sent to trial. Babo is executed and Don Benito retires to a monestary.

Question 4

key characters: Benito Cereno

Answer 4

Captain Amasa Delano, the ‘good-natured’ American captain
Don Benito Cereno, the suspicious Spanish captain
Babo, the leader of the mutiny posing as Don Benito’s servant
Atufal, second in command of the mutiny, a former King/Prince, pretends to be chained
Aranda

Question 5

notable formal or stylistic elements: Benito Cerano

Answer 5

Third person limited narrator
Free indirect discourse
Double negation

Question 6

important themes and recurring motifs: Benito Cerano

Answer 6

Pure conscious, guilt, innocence, racial hierarchy, white paternalism, sentimentalism, fog

Question 7

literary ‘schools’ or genres; analytical concepts; relevance to history: Benito Cerano

Answer 7

Gothic fiction, likely inspired in part by real slave revolts of the time such as La Amistad

Question 8

2-3 quotation samples: Benito Cerano

Question 9

other useful hints ID: Benito Cerano

Answer 9

Sea, fog, distrust,