An Analytical Essay: The Narrative Style Of Delano's

The failure of Delano’s narrative style is two-fold; he cannot convey simple messages, nor can he pick up on subtle ones. In describing Benito Cereno’s perceived hesitancy, Delano engages in a plethora of utterly useless descriptors: “therefore”, “to tell the truth”, “it may be”, and “not without”—the last of which contains is a double negative, meaning its exclusion from the sentence still grants the exact same meaning. Delano appears to operate with the mentality that the more words one uses (and the more “clarifications” one inputs upon such words), the more intelligent and explanatory their message will be—Melville, through this narrative technique, allows him to miserably fail in this illogical endeavor. To the ignorant mind, however, such a narrative approach may seem wise—especially to a racist man in a racist context. …show more content…
Melville’s use of “cymballing” corresponds similarly to “symbolling”, an intentional play on words that subtly calls attention to the symbolism of such an uncharacteristic act of giving power to the enslaved, and, more importantly, underlining Delano’s failure to interpret such symbolism in any way shape or form. Melville further exemplifies this syntactic irony when Delano ponders “why such an interruption should be allowed”, when the commas and fragments of his cogitation should not be allowed in any coherent