Analysis of Critical Essays on Benito Cereno - 1280 Words

Analysis of Critical Essays on Benito Cereno nbsp; It is possible to divide the critics into two camps regarding Herman Melvilles purpose in writing Benito Cereno. Joseph Schiffman, Joyce Adler, and Sidney Kaplan all argue that Melville wrote the story to make a comment on slavery. On the other hand, Sandra Zagarell and Allan Emery contend that Melville goes beyond slavery and is pointing out other flaws in mid Nineteenth century American notion. nbsp; Benito Cereno tells the story of a slave revolt on a ship at sea. Schiffman, Adler, and Kaplan argue that Melville wrote the story as a comment on slavery. Schiffman and Adler contend that Melvilles novella is a clear indictment of slavery. Kaplan takes the†¦show more content†¦He argues that Melville wrote a moral tale, not an abolitionist story. At the end of the essay, Schiffman contradicts himself by proclaiming that Babos head being unabashed as Benito Cereno, the slave trader, follow[s] his leader is an indictment of slavery. nbsp; nbsp; Benito Cereno: Slavery and Violence in the Americas is Joyce Adlers analysis of Melvilles story. While agreeing with Schiffman that Melville wrote an anti-slavery book, she goes beyond her predecessor by claiming that Melville intended to show intricacies of the master/slave relationship and the violence that slavery breeds. Adler argues that the master and slave are inseparable, irreconcilable, and interchangeable (82). She points out that Babo frees himself and subsequently enslaves his former master, Don Benito. She says that Delanos statement, Ah, this slavery breeds ugly passions in man, is Melvilles indictment of the practice (86). Adler does not accept Schiffmans color analysis. She contends that black and white are merely opposites and have no significance other than their relative positions in the master/slave relationship. She also places the story in a much broader historical context. She concludes that Benito Cereno is Melvilles attempt to warn the United States of its critical flaw: slavery. To this end, Adler includes exhaustive evidence that Melville linked Spain and the United States in the characters ofShow MoreRelatedSlave revolt comparrison of La Amistad and Benito Cereno1564 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Nicole C. Benito Cereno In Benito Cereno, Herman Melville wrote about how a group of Africans revolted on the ship that was taking them to South America to become slaves. The slaves revolted and killed many sailors and were trying to guide the ship back to their home country, but how often did that happen in real life? Herman Melville must have gotten his inspiration from somewhere. Around the time that Benito Cereno was written, the slave trade ship La Amistad was sailingRead MoreWhy I Am My Writing957 Words   |  4 Pageswas not the case. When entering EN3414, I had no knowledge of critical theories or how to use secondary sources to enhance my argument instead of carry it. I believed my heavy sentence phrasing to be an asset instead of a way to bury my argument beneath long thoughts. In EN3414, I was able to focus on taking my papers straight to my argument, to avoid useless sources or let them lead the paper instead of letting my argument carry the essay. And because I have learned to revise and rewrite my papers