Benito Cereno is a novella by the highly regarded writer Herman Melville. Upon reading his story it becomes obvious that the two main characters, Don Benito Cereno and Captain Delano, were somewhat similar in character. Their most obvious similarity was the bias they both had towards the intelligence level of the slaves. However, the slaves prove to outsmart the two men and therefore are superior in intelligence.
             Delano's naiveté is common of the time period. That period of history was a time when whites truly thought of themselves to be the dominant race. Even though this stupidity still exists in the prejudice minds of some today, in the past whites thought that people of color were incapable of being intelligent. But none the less, being an intelligent person and simply having the sense to try and save your own life are two different things entirely, which is why the view of whites at this time seems so ignorant. The downfall of Captain Delano occurs because he seems to be totally blind as to the signs of mutiny that appear so clear to the reader. In fact, his seeming goodness and benevolence is actually a mask to cover racism, stupidity, and his own superiority complex.
             As the story begins Captain Delano sees a ship that looks like it is in a dilemma. The ship seems to be shrouded in "vapors," and makes strange "manoeuvres." In this context, the "vapors" clearly refer to the fog-like moisture which partly obscures the ship, but it also could convey a type of hypochondria and hysteria which the Captain will discover in Don Benito. Although he is uncertain at first he goes to check it out anyway. This is the first example of the naiveté of the captain. When he first arrives on board of the San Dominick, (Benito's ship) he notices that the ship is full of negros and a Spanish Captain named Don Benito. Believing the fairytale story that Benito tells him is ano...