Villainy as a Compliment?
Babo, in my opinion, is the most interesting character in all of Benito Cereno. Despite being a slave, he finds a way to take control of the ship with his intellect alone (he is described as having a weak physique) and then convinces everyone on ship to put on the charade that fools Delano completely. Like in Typee, Melville’s texts create many ambiguities about how he feels about race and the “other”. On the one hand, Babo and the other slaves kill Aranda, take over the ship, trick Delano, and generally act in a villainistic manner. And in the context of the story, technically Babo is a villain. However, Melville portraying a black slave as the mastermind behind a rebellion is fairly revolutionary for the time. Although the portrayal of these characters, especially during the depositions, is not favorable, Melville still manages to compliment Babo. Melville is able to capitalize on the fact that humans are both good and evil. At least, that’s my interpretation of it. Babo is able to control Cereno and dupe Delano with only his intellect. Even though he is the villain he is the smartest character in that story which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
After reading Benito Cereno for a second time, I completely agree that Babo is by far the most interesting character in this short story. As many people have pointed out, Delano’s inability to realize the truth of the San Dominick stems directly from his ignorance of the intelligence of the slaves on board. The possibility of a slave revolt doesn’t even seem to cross his mind as he maneuvers his way through his own doubts and suspicions. In a way, Melville also plays on the reader’s ignorance toward the slaves as well. I wish we had asked each class member where they thought this story would go after the first part of our reading. I can guarantee many, if not all, of us wouldn’t have been able to foresee the truth. In this way, Babo stands out as the most intelligent character of all. His ability to, within hours, create and employ this intricate facade to deceive Delano is ingenious. Melville utilizes the unexpected to create mystery in this story while also, indirectly, criticizing both Delano and the reader for not realizing it sooner.
This is an interesting viewpoint to comment on. At first the slaves and the takeover in themselves come off as absurd and evil based on plot, but then you wonder what Melville was trying to get across by having a black slave revolt to begin with? Was this a backwards compliment of Babo and the other slaves as opposed to a criticism of Delano?
Villains are often expected to play a part where they outwit the heroes and manipulate others to suit their goals, which is what makes them the villains compared to the usually more simple and common heroes, who often are supposed to be related to instead of seen as conniving. It is in this manner that we receive effective villains in both literature and other forms of media today such as Loki from Thor, Scar from The Lion King, and just about every mad scientist or political manipulator to be seen. A villain whose merit is in their mind and not their bodily strength or ability often serves as a better ultimate antagonist to a hero as overcoming something or someone in a bout of strength proves and shows less than outperforming a more cerebral foe. In this manner Babo fits perfectly with what is an effective, interesting villain, and it is much better that he is the way he is than some musclebound brute who would not realistically be able to maintain perfect control of a situation even through fear.
Hi Christopher, I do think that villains are expected to play a role in which they outwit the heroes and manipulate others to suit their own goals; however, in Benito Cereno, readers cannot even fathom that Babo is the villainous mastermind driving the ship. I think it makes readers hate Babo even more once they learn of his evil deeds. When it is apparent in a story’s plot that a character is evil, readers can dislike him/her immediately, but when a character is first rendered as a faithful servant and then painted as an antagonist, readers become frustrated for having been left in the dark, which in turn leads to even greater animosity towards the character. However, I do agree that Babo is the smartest character on the ship; he is able to use his intellect, despite his physical weaknesses, to control Cereno and the other crew members and ultimately take over the whole ship.