Atufal's Offense, Don Benito Analysis

Melville gives insight on how the slaves are treated throughout his book. They are treated with little respect and care for their well beings. Since the whites believe they are the most inferior and they are always right, whatever is said by the blacks is not acknowledged or thought about. "It means that that negro alone, of all the band, has given me peculiar cause of offense. I have put him in chains; I—" (Melville p148). What Atufal said was not acknowledged and made him seem disrespectful. Delano felt as if what Atufal said was so disrespectful that he tired him up in chains. This shows that the knowledge black people have does not matter when white people are the ones that are inferior. "What, pray, was Atufal's offense, Don Benito?" asked
Captain Delano; "if it was not something very serious, take a fool's advice, and, in view of his general docility, as well as in some natural respect for his spirit, remit him his penalty" (Melville p149). Black people are not allowed to have opinions and must agree to their superiors. If they do not agree they will be punished and their superiors will feel like they have been disrespected. White people do not think that black people are knowledgeable therefore they do not have a say in anything whether it is about them or not.