How Does Shakespeare Present Conflict In Benito Cerreno

Benito Cereno, written by Herman Melville, is a novella that centers on Captain Delano, an American who stumbles upon a Spanish slave ship in distress. Before the arrival of the captain, a clever and desperate slave named Babo plotted and carried out a successful mutiny. The roles of master and servant switch, but unfortunately, Captain Delano is oblivious to the shift in power throughout the entire work. If the reader were to take the story literally, he or she would inevitably profile the slaves as an obvious evil and the sailors as mere victims of a malicious situation; however, there is never a clear, definitive line to categorize either group or to rationalize the actions all of the characters make. Shakespeare once wrote that “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” While readers may have a predisposition to believe otherwise, Shakespeare’s words are certainly something to keep in mind. Melville’s writing is a great example of how perception or the lack thereof creates conflict and begs us to question how reliable
A mantle is a type of shawl wrapped around a deceased individual, which implies that everything under the sky is in one way or another associated with death. If that was the case, then the grayness mentioned previously would more than likely indicate death to fall upon someone in the narrative. Melville added the word ‘seemed’ to employ an element of doubt. This keeps the reader on their toes and has them wondering whether or not the omen would come true. As seen throughout the story, when Melville says something ‘seems’ to be one thing, it very well could turn out to be something entirely different. This is due to varying perceptions and differences created through bias. This choice of words also hints at the role reversal between slave and master that is revealed on the ship as the narrative draws to a