Racial Profiling In Herman Melville's Benito Cereno

Equiano wrote to help show society the evils that lie in slavery. He used writing, to tell the truth of conditions of life for slaves, making readers feel every word he used through their senses: “The stench of the hold, while we were on the coast, was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for anytime” (Equiano 364). While they both wrote with different purposes in mind, Rowlandson and Equiano managed to paint a picture so vivid that it invoked emotions that edified society.

Although Olaudah Equiano was not directly involved in American slavery, several aspects of The Life of Olaudah Equiano can be used to understand why the institution lasted so long. A major part of the novel was dedicated to counter one of the major propagating ideas of slavery: the widespread myth that Africans were either not fully human or were of a less developed branch of humanity so enslaving them was moral. Equiano spends the first section of the book

“The Autobiography of a Runaway Slave” revolves around the life of Esteban Montejo: who once set his life is the Caribbean island of Cuba; in which this story provides readers with another distinctive approach to teaching the lives of slavery. As the narration progresses through this writing, readers consequently have many opportunities to annotate how the abolition of slavery played a great role in his personal life. Evidently, whether it is intentional or unintentional, the narrator frequently mentions the ending of slavery, as he substantially detailed “…till slavery left Cuba,” (Barnet 38); “… I got to know all these people better after slavery was abolished,” (Barnet 58); and “It was after Abolition that the term ‘effeminate’ came into

Douglass feels blacks should be left alone -- feels that they need to stopped being labeled as weak -- feels that without their right to vote they are not truly free. Melville argues that the homeless should be equal to everyone -- argues that society should take a step back to see what is going on -- argues that society needs to acknowledge everyone in the nation. Stanton suggest that men and women should be equal -- suggest that the fight for equality will not be easy but women are willing to do it -- suggest society is looking for knowledge in the wrong place. Social Liberty has shone through in Melville's story about society's reaction to the homeless, Stanton's speech for women's rights and equality of men and women, and Douglass' speech on the black's right to vote. As stated in the introduction, the people who refuse freedom to others "deserve it not for

The background of both narrators of “Mericans” and “In response to Executive Order 9066” comes from a Japanese or a Mexican-decent who are realizing cultural differences from their American life. However, the mistreating of a girl by her best friend compared to a girl who finds significant change between her two worlds that is tested by every cultures costumes of being victims of racial discrimination. The short story “Mericans” and the poem “In response to Executive Order 9066” can be a universal conflict between diverse heritage and cultural backgrounds that are determined by how America sees society.

While Delany was walking back to his seat after winning an award for “Aye, and Gomorrrah” fellow writer Isaac Asimov pulled him aside and jokingly said,”You know, Chip, we only voted you those awards because you're negro”(18). Delany, although realizing that Asimov was using satire to say that the color of his skin had no part in the voting decision. Realized that unintentionally or not, Asimov was saying that no matter Delany's achievements he will always be “Negro”. This fits in to Delany’s explanation of what systematic racism does, it acclimates people of color to be comfortable with the isolation of races. Because Delany is a black writer he will foremost be know as a black writer before anything else, and will always be grouped in that category. This well intentioned joke fuels the system that is racism.

Moreover, while he was on the ship he describes having witnessed many cruelties of all sorts when it came to other slaves and how he wasn’t able to help them. This, in turn, led to an encounter between Equiano and a man named Mr. D----. Mr. D is presumably white as most were aboard the ships besides the slaves and he is a Christian. To Equiano’s surprise, he learns that Christianity is being practiced in a way that was perverted. This is due to, “One Mr. D---- told me that he had sold 41,000 negroes and that he once cut off a negro man’s leg for running away. I asked him if the man had died in the operation, how

Just when the reader had thought it couldn’t get worse for the troubled boy, he aches, “we were soon deprived of even the small comfort of weeping together.” Even after he shares with us that he has been thrown in a sack and basically deprived of his basic human rights, this was a new rock bottom for Equiano. No love, no shelter, no family. It’s the horrible details Equiano writes about that gives the reader mental images of him being torn from his family and village and sold into slavery with his sister in North America and West Indies.

Although there were many hints that Melville was spinning a web of deceit in the novella, the quote that best captures the most crucial clue in the text is Captain Delano witnessing Babo attempting to stab Benito Cereno: “Glancing down at his feet, Captain Delano saw the freed hand of the servant aiming with a second dagger—a small one, before concealed in his wool—with this he

Equiano’s luck soon shifted when he was once again kidnapped and sold as a slave, this time he would have to endure the notoriously dreadful journey across the sea to America. Knowing that this was a pivotal point in his life and that he would become a gudgeon to the harshness of slavery, Equiano attempted to prepare himself for what lay ahead. However, the sight of the inhumane acts he witnessed on the African coast, while being transported, were new to Equiano and instilled fear into his consciousness.

Douglass illustrates throughout his novel the dehumanizing effects that slavery has on its primary victims through the restriction of their human expression, bestowing upon them animal-like qualities, and creating an aversion to freedom. Additionally, not only were slaves transformed into brutes, their owners were transformed into cruel beasts through the application of double standards and the corruption of their innocence. However, Douglass’s work humanizes the enslaved population by demonstrating his ability to utilize meaningful and artistic prose through his usage of constructive parallel structure, tangible personification, expressive symbolism, and tactful diction.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Olaudah Equiano’s Narrative of his Life both endeavor to stir antislavery sentiment in predominantly white, proslavery readers. Each author uses a variety of literary tactics to persuade audiences that slavery is inhumane. Equiano uses vivid imagery and inserts personal experience to appeal to audiences, believing that a first-hand account of the varying traumas slaves encounter would affect change. Stowe relies on emotional connection between the readers and characters in her novel. By forcing her audience to have empathy for characters, thus forcing readers to confront the harsh realities of slavery, Stowe has the more effective approach to encouraging abolitionist sentiment in white readers.

The works of Herman Melville and Frederick Douglass are both centered on the topic of slavery. Although both texts are similar in the sense that they focus directly on the theme of slavery, the functions of each work differ drastically. The differences in the works stem from both the style of the text, and the way that this style functions in accordance with the reader. Although Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno is drawn from an actual event, Melville embellishes and alters the event in the style of prose. The prose style used by Melville invites the reader to question the story while understanding that the majority of the work is fictional. The confusion of Captain Delano is brought onto the reader, and therefore engages the reader because of the limited point of view the story is told in. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass tells of actual events that occurred using twentieth and twenty-first century plain style. This style of writing does not ask the reader to question what he is saying, but feel his emotions as they read the narrative. Although readers may understand both works to be stories about slavery written differently in terms of style, I argue that the way the texts are written sets up the readers interpretation of them. Melville and Douglass differ because Melville’s work invites the reader to think, whereas Douglass’s work invites the reader to feel.

The racist connotation that Miss Jimenez associates with who she thinks would “fit in” society’s box is a definite reflection of the hardships Valdez witnessed in his community. For example, the Zoot Suit Riots that occurred in 1944 was rooted by a reaction by young Mexican-American males against a culture that did not want them to be a part of it. Stuart Cosgrove examines this issue when he states, "In the most obvious ways they had been stripped of their customs, beliefs and language.” (*Vargas 317) These youths were going through an identity crisis because they did not know which culture they could identify with. Miss Jimenez is a character that embodies that repression Valdez explains in “Los Vendidos.”

First when looking at the characters as representations of people. As expressed in class, Delano represents the new world mainly the Americans. Benito Cereno represents the old world or monarchical European powers, in his case Spain. Babo and the slaves represent Africa and the captive African men as a whole. Delano seems very innocent not knowing what is going on throughout the story.