Importance of Setting in Benito Cereno

Importance of Setting in Benito Cereno

Many authors of fiction works have a good reason behind setting their story in a specific place and time. In many cases, the setting is blatantly significant, giving the reader added meaning, and a greater understanding of the story in the realm of its context. I definitely found this to be true in Benito Cereno by Herman Melville, who sets his story in South America. The only representative of America is Captain Delano, a naive man that views the world as kind and benevolent, and where things cannot go too far beyond what they seem like on the surface. Here the inquisitive reader would ask himself: "If the story is written by an American author, who is writing about a controversial American issue of its time, would it not seem most logical to place the story on American soil?" The possible explanations as to why Melville chose South America to be the scene of the revolt rather than, say, somewhere off the coast of the United States, will be explored in this paper.

For one, South America is a far off and removed place from the hot bed of political issues regarding the slaves in the United States. Keeping in mind that Melville was writing a short story and selling it to an audience that was both pro- and anti- slavery, by placing the ship in South America, he was able to escape from taking a strong political stance. His choice of setting limits the numerous outcomes of the revolt on San Dominick. In other words, had he placed the ship on an island off the United States, the trial would be influenced by that state's laws. In this way, the story is less biased to any laws governing the states. The trial takes place in Lima, Peru. Because Babo keeps silent, the depositions of ...

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...riguing one, which I see as having many underlying aspects to consider. The isolation of South America gave the American readers of the time a feeling of comfort, in terms of the revolt taking place in a scene far removed from where they are. Furthermore, they had the chance to consider the terms under which the case was tried in a less bias way than they would have if the story took place on United States soil.

Melville set up his story in a way which lets his readers make their own decisions about who really is the "bad guy." In a world where slaves can become captains, one thing is clear: color is only skin deep, and humans should begin to accept and respect one another.

Works Cited

Chavez, T.E. "Spain's Support Vital to U.S. Independence." Hispanic America USA.

<http://www.neta.com/~1stbooks/vital2.htm> (September 17, 1997)