Melville's Message

Melville uses Captain Amasa Delano to portray antebellum societies’ underestimation of African-American slaves. In "Benito Cereno," Captain Delano believes that Captain Don Benito has conspired to murder him, when in actuality; the slaves have overthrown Spanish control of the boat. The evidence for this overthrow is overwhelming. For example, Delano notices as he doles out water that there is no distinction between the amount and elderly white man receives and the amount a young black boy receives. This equality should spark some kind of curiosity about why there is a lack of propriety between the whites and the slaves. Another peculiarity which should spark Delano’s curiosity is the slaves who sharpen axes continuously without restraint. This extensive trust that Captain Benito has put in the slaves should suggest that Captain Benito may not be in control. In the midst of this evidence, Delano fails to realize what is really happening on the ship, because he wouldn’t ever expect the Negroes to be able to accomplish such a feat. Thus, Melville uses Delano to express the possible problems associated with the antebellum societies’ nonchalant attitude towards Negroes. Nevertheless, Melville does not point his finger at Delano for failing to recognize the situation, but he uses this to exalt the chief antagonist of the story, Babo. Babo essentially holds the façade together by acting as a dedicated servant in order to monitor Don Benito’s interaction with Delano. Babo gives such as stellar performance as a dedicated slave, that Delano even jokingly suggests that he would like to buy Babo from Benito. The court hearing elaborates further on Babo and his intelligent action as the chief mutineer. For example, when the ship approaches the harbor which they expected to be empty but holds Delano’s boat as well, Babo is quick to cover the skeleton on deck with a sheet and disguise it as a repair and fabricate the story about how they have reached their current situation. Babo is also responsible for keeping their façade under cover for so long. For example, Babo coincidently cuts Don Benito right when Captain Delano is inquiring about the amount of time it took for them to get to the harbor; which would have revealed the mutiny. Essentially, Melville uses Babo as a symbol for potential African-American leadership and intelligence, because in the story, Babo outsmarts two white captains who are both unable to do anything about the situation due to Babo’s intervention. Through Babo, Melville suggests that the antebellum society would do well not to underestimate African-Americans.

The Raven

In the Raven, Poe conveys the darker themes of life such as unremitting pain and despair, through the narrator’s inquiry with the Raven. In lines 80 through 84, the narrator asks the raven if it’s been sent to relieve his soul from the loss of his Lenore. The narrator says, “Swung by Seraphim,” which suggests that he is hoping that God is divinely relieving him of his grief and agony. When the narrator calls the bird nepenthe which is defined as “a legendary drink supposed to soothe the bereaved,” in the footnote, he is again hoping for divine intervention. In lines 85 through 92, the narrator’s desperation increases. He no longer cares whether the bird is a gift from God or only a devil, but only that the bird is a prophet and can give him the answers which he needs in regard to his agony for his lost Lenore: “‘Prophet!’ said I, ‘thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil!” The narrator asks the bird if there is a future for him, anything beyond his current state of sorrow, “Is there-is there balm in Gilead?” This inquiry suggests that the narrator is beyond the point of simply turning to God; he is turning to anything in order to find solace from his suffering. Finally, the narrator requests the bird to “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,/ It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-/ Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.” The Raven replies, “‘Nevermore.’” This is the final interrogative exchange between the narrator and the bird, and Poe uses the word “Nevermore,” to suggest that the narrator’s agony will never be lifted by God or any mortal thing. Poe also purports his theme of unremitting sorrow through the action of Raven throughout the Poem. When the narrator demands the Raven to leave, “‘Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore,’” the raven is “never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting/On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door.” In this case, the Raven could be a symbol for the narrator’s pain and the raven’s unwillingness to leave the narrator’s house could suggest that the pain will never go away.

Rousing the Colonial People

The Heath Anthology of American Literature states that Mercy Otis Warren wrote The Group as “a brilliant defense of the patriot cause.” It is also revealed in the biographical note that some Tory supporters brutally beat her brother James in a Boston tavern, and afterwards, John Adams suggested that Mercy Otis Warren take the initiative to take his place amongst the patriots. From this information, Mercy Otis Warren must have held some serious anger and resentment towards the Tories and from the basic message of the play, it seems that she did. The a line in the poem which Warren used as a prologue for The Group demonstates this bitterness and determination which Warren contains: “Unplaced unpensioned, no man’s her or slave?/I will or perish in this generous cause.”
Warren attempts to rile the colonists through the connection she makes between the British and evil by means of the character Hateall. In the play, Warren names one of the Tory leaders Hateall and uses him to convey Britain’s malevolence. Warren shows Hateall’s wickedness by comparing him to Nero on page four, “I, Nero like, the capital in flames.” Through this figurative language, Warren demonstrates the evil/underhandedness of the Tories on American soil. By comparing himself to Nero, Hateall shows that he would use destruction in order to gain a profit off his own land. Warren would use the comparison in order to show the colonists exactly how corrupt the Tories are, which in turn would most likely stir the audience. Hateall also describes these people which sign this pact as his minions, which is a term that is sometimes associated with demons. Warren further elaborates on the loyalist evil when Hateall takes joy in gluttony and vengeance , two sins of the flesh. A statement which Hateall makes regarding the Patriots also shows a similarity to Satan, “had I power, as I have will/I’d send them murmuring to the shades of hell.” This line is relevant to Satan, because Satan also has the will to send people to Hell, but it is ultimately up to God to decide the fate of mankind. Obviously, the relationship of Hateall, who represents the Tories, and Satan, the evil villain of the Bible, would stir the colonists into taking action against the Tories. Ultimately, Warren uses the character Hateall and his terrible attitude to convey the ruthless, corrupt spirits of the Tories and stir the colonists to battle.