Apart from Delano, Babo and Cereno whisper together and appear to refer to their American guest. Delano grows peevish with their inhospitable treatment and turns his attention toward a Spanish sailor, who appears to look at him with a covert intentness. Delano considers the possibility that Cereno is an imposter, […]
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As the ship approaches a sunken reef, Delano, alarmed for the craft’s safety, orders his whale-boat dropped and prepares to board the vessel to help pilot it into the bay. On closer examination, he identifies the ship as a “Spanish merchantman of the first class” and a slaver. At one […]
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Captain Amasa Delano The commander of a large sealer and general merchant ship, Delano, a native of Duxbury, Massachusetts, is “incapable of satire or irony” and demonstrates a trusting, altruistic nature. Fluent in Spanish, he voices racist attitudes, but displays a hearty benevolence toward a fellow captain in need. Don […]
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The metaphysical elements of Melville’s work, particularly his emphasis on rhetorical questions and inversion, is often detrimental to clarity of diction and flow of language. For example: The whites, too, by nature, were the shrewder race. A man with some evil design, would he not be likely to speak well […]
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At the end of the day, Delano, planning to lend a navigator from his own crew to help the ship on its way to Conception (currently spelled “Concepcion”), descends to his boat to return to the Bachelor’s Delight. Don Benito, who has rejected Delano’s offer of coffee aboard Delano’s ship, […]
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