Analysis of Herman Melvilles Work Beneto Cereno - Essay Example

?Although there are a number of themes, plots, subplots, and motifs that are represented and Herman Melville’s work Benito Cereno, none is more convincingly related than the thinly veiled and ever present and illusions that are continually made with regards to slavery. As a function of understanding these historical, mythical, and literary allusions that are continually made with regards to the practice of slavery, the following brief analysis will engage the reader with a discussion of how Melville seeks to describe and relate issues regarding slavery to the reader. Ultimately, seeking to understand each and every way in which slavery is out limited to within Melville piece might require a dissertation length response. As a function of succinctly discussing the subject matter at hand, this particular analysis will focus its attention directly upon the discovery of the skeleton, made soon after Babo’s attack on Cereno, and seek to relate this specific incidents and allusion to the greater themes that are presented throughout the entire work. Furthermore, it is the hope of this author that by understanding and engaging with the subject matter that Melville presents within the novella, the reader will be able to come to a more full and complete realization of how and why Melville sought to engage with such a topic, in such a way, at such a time. Critics have long argued over whether or not Melville’s piece represents a pro-slavery or an abolitionist’s point of view. However, an aspect that is not up for discussion is whether or not they’ll bills piece integrates deeply, profoundly, and continually with the topic and discussion of slavery. This can of course be understood not only within the context of story but within the context of the time which it was panned. Written in the 1850s, the issue of slavery within the United States and how subsequent territories that were being included in the West would be defined with regards to whether they were slave holding or free doubtless captured the attention of not only Melville but of all individuals within the society of the time. In such a manner, one of the most powerful allusions with regards to slavery that is integrated within the particular piece in question is what occurs right after Babo attempts to take the Captain’s life (Melville 14). In this moment, as there is outright rebellion and mutiny upon the ship, the protagonist is made aware of a dangling skeleton that exists high up upon the mast. Although there are a number of ways in which this particular image might be understood, it is the understanding of this author that the skeleton, previously hidden from view, represents eight ghastly allusion to the fact that the rising courts of slavery underlies the reality of the situation in which Melville writes as well as the reality of the times in which it is written. This allusion is somewhat the biblical as well. As one can recall, upon Christ’s death and the conclusion of atonement for sin affected by such a sacrifice, the curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place within the ancient Hebrew Temple was rented into by an unseen hand. An almost identical fashion, once the true nature of the issue that drove the crewmembers apart was about to be revealed, the canvas falls off the ships figurehead and reveals the dangling corpse that had for so long been hidden. Through analyzing the action that takes place within the story via the vehicle of the dangling corpse, Melville is able to provide a powerful illusion with regards to the means by which slavery, and attention and strike that it represents, ultimately serve to divide and define society based upon color and class consciousness. The dynamic of distrust, as well as the dynamics of the slave/master relationship are represented throughout Melville’s work. The reader is made instantly aware of the fact that the relationship that defines the one which Cereno and Babo share is peculiar at best and worrisome at worst. Moreover, an additional level of the fact is able to be given to disillusion with regards to the fact that the only individual onboard the ship who is unaware of the struggle but it taken place was the American. The international crew, composed of both black Africans and white Spanish, new full and well the sickness and depravity that they were playing along with. However, the American remained unaware of the charade until the figurative scales fell from his eyes. In such a way, it can and should be understood by the reader that Melville is referencing the understanding that current society, although perennially presented with the inequality and unfairness of the practice of slavery, was still clueless with regards to the damaging and dire effects that it had upon society, morality, and ethics in general. In such a way, the reader should understand that Melville’s allusion to the skeleton forms the figurative bone of this particular piece. Without the denouement that the representation of the skeleton provides, the reader would not be able to collapse the relationship that the race struggle, captivity, and murder dynamics represented within the story ultimately mean. In such a way, it is without question to this author that Melville intended his piece to be a social commentary with regards to the very clear and pertinent issue that pervaded his own society; slavery. Furthermore, it can and should be understood that Melville realized that slavery was a net ill. However, rather than laying the entire burden of slavery upon a race, or defining black Africans in a Generally Favorable Way, Melville presents the reader with the story that Slates a great deal of nuance. Such a level of nuances likely engaged so that the allegorical nature of the story would not instantly spring out of the page to the reader. Rather, it was necessary within the time in which the novella was and in order to integrate with such a topic in a thoughtful manner. Work Cited Melville, Herman, and Wyn Kelley. Benito Cereno. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. Print. Read More