Taber Badlwin
6 November 2014
POLS 263
Dr. Richardson
Benito Cereno Benito Cereno is centered on Amasa Delano, a sea captain. During a voyage when he is near Chile he and his crew come into contact with the San Dominick. The San Dominick is a slave ship that has been taken over by the slaves. Delano and his crew find out that the slaves over took the boat further into the story. When Delano and his crew board the San Dominick they’re led to believe that Benito Cereno is the captain of the ship, and Babo is his personal slave. We later find out that Babo is the leader of the revolt on the ship in which they have killed the slave master, Alexandro Aranda. This tells us that Cereno has become Babo’s slave. Babo tried to sail the ship back
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In John Locke’s Second Treatise, in the fifth chapter he discusses ownership of others. “The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of nature for his rule” (Locke, IV). In Benito Cereno the readers witness a rebellion of the slaves to take control of the ship. It makes the reader question if the slaves were in the right when taking control. Locke says that man is free from any superior power on earth, this makes all of us equal, and we’re only judged by a greater power. Cereno saw the other edge of the blade when he was in charge of a slaves, but having already been a slave broke the law of nature. Power struggle is a reoccurring theme throughout Benito Cereno and numerous other readings. In Antigone we see Antigone and Creon in a gridlock for power. Antigone is not interested in the same power as Babo, but she stills wishes for the freedom to live her life the way she wants to. Antigone is trying to change precedent that had been in existence for burials, which was not right in her eyes. Cereno and Babo fight with their respective crews and we see another classic example of a struggle for power whether it be for the ship or freedom in …show more content…
ISIS is now selling the Yazidi people into slavery. Slavery may be outlawed nearly everywhere, but it still finds a way to flourish around the world. There are nearly 30 million people around the world enslaved today. “10 countries accounted for 76 percent of the 29.8 million people living in slavery - India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh” (reuters.com). Slavery is alive and well throughout the world. It is what some consider a crime, but others would consider it to be the nature of the world and its people. It is a problem predating Herman Melville by thousands of years. 1. Was Cereno’s death related to Babo’s?
2. Being that the novel was published in 1856, was Melville trying to hit on some major social issues without blatantly saying so?
3. Did Babo and the other slaves ever find the means to return to Africa?
4. Given what is known of human nature and how it varies around the world in different cultures, will there ever be a true end to
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dead falls Romaldo Cortez, Brother of Gregorio Cortez, thanks to Sheriff Morris. The day is June 12th of 1901 and Sheriff Morris shows up to Gregorio Cortez’s home. Sheriff Morris along side with Boone Choate (who was supposed to be an expert in the Mexican language) were both in search of a horse thief, start asking questions immediately when they see Gregorio Cortez and Romaldo Cortez. Choate asked Cortez “, did you trade a house with Andres Villarreal?” Cortez answered solidly “No”. Cortez had traded a mare not a horse. As soon as Sheriff Morris heard his response, he told Choate to tell Cortez and his brother that they were going to be arrested. Gregorio asked why but Sheriff Morris misunderstood and shot Romaldo to death. In defense, Cortez shot Sherriff Morris for his brother. Cortez knew that he was going to get into trouble so he decided to flee. (Garcia) Many question if he’s a hero for defending his brother the way he defended him. Many think he is just a rebel for killing a sheriff for no good reason, but Cortez had a reason. Cortez is a hero for the reason that he was brave enough to confront injustices from defending his brother, never giving up, and persisted as long as he could, demonstrating that he had the courage most individuals do not.
In Second Treatise of Government John Locke characterizes the state of nature as one’s ability to live freely and abide solely to the laws of nature. Therefore, there is no such thing as private property, manmade laws, or a monarch. Locke continues to say that property is a communal commodity; where all humans have the right to own and work considering they consume in moderation without being wasteful. Civil and Political Societies are non-existent until one consents to the notion that they will adhere to the laws made by man, abide by the rules within the community, allow the ability to appoint men of power, and interact in the commerce circle for the sake of the populace. Locke goes further to state that this could be null in void if the governing body over extends their power for the gain of absolute rule. Here, Locke opens the conversation to one’s natural right to rebel against the governing body. I personally and whole heartily agree with Locke’s principles, his notion that all human beings have the natural right to freedoms and the authority to question their government on the basis that there civil liberties are being jeopardized.
There are other contrasting aspects of the stories that call for attention. Most significantly Benito Cereno – ultimately – portrays slaves as evil and Babo as the mind behind the cunning plan that deceives Captain Delano. The reason for this one-sided representation is naturally the fact that we experience the story from Delano’s point of view. In the beginning, we perceive Babo as the typical docile, helpful, and faithful servant so often portrayed in other slave characters such as Stowe’s Uncle Tom and Jim in Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Babo is more than just a slave; he is a “faithful fellow”, “a friend that cannot be called slave” . And despite all the underlying hints of a slave insurrection, Delano does not grasp their meaning. Examples are the slaves’ treatment of the Spanish sailors and the hatchet polishers , but in Delano’s narrow-minded world, only the white man is capable of conceiving plans of ‘evil’. And when he – and the reader too – finally sees “the mask torn away, flourishing hatchets and knives, in ferocious piratical revolt”, he is embarrassed and “with infinite pity he [withdraws] his hold from Don Benito” . From this moment on, Babo is a malign devil and Melville removes speech from Babo’s mouth. This strengthen our opinion of Babo as ‘evil’ even more, for how can we sympathise with him without hearing his version of the story? Apparently, Melville proposes no other alternative for the reader than to sympathise with the white slave owner Don Benito, whom Babo so ingeniously deceives.
According to John Locke, men were "promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature and the use of the same faculties; they should also be equal one amongst another without subordination or subjection." (Second Treatise of Government, p8). The basic principle teaching is that God has given the earth to humankind in common, to the posterity of men so that they will have enough to subsist and flourish. Everything in its natural state is provided to commonwealth for "the support and comfort of their being." (John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, p 18). So no one originally can have the right to posses that public property. However, history has proven that every man still has the right to own, to enrich and protect his property; how can that "private dominion" come into being?
1. First of all, John Locke reminds the reader from where the right of political power comes from. He expands the idea by saying, “we must consider what estate all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.” Locke believes in equality among all people. Since every creature on earth was created by God, no one has advantages over another. He makes a strong suggestion by saying, “that creatures of the same species and rank, should also be equal one amongst another, without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.” For people to confirm the state of Nature, a law is set that obliges people to follow and consult it. The Law of Nature brings many things that need to be followed by each person. Locke describes the law’s consequences if not obeyed by saying, “the execution of the law of Nature is in that state put into every man’s hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree as may hinder its violation.” Every law is fair and equal to every person. As you have equal rights, you may also be punished equally if you don’t obey it.
‘Benito Cereno’ is a fascinating story that defies simplistic attempts at interpretation. This story of cruelty and oppression perpetrated by the characters that would usually draw our sympathy is hard for modern readers to interpret. Critics have disagreed on whether this story is about racism, Old Europe succumbing to the New World, or the weaknesses of perception and understanding. Here, Melville seems to be at his most opaque. In order to guess at his central message, one must examine his strong characterization as well as some of the symbols that he uses throughout the story. There is no simple explanation, but that complexity may be part of the answer.
Locke believes that humans inherently possess complete and inalienable equality in the state of nature. “A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another; there being nothing more evident, than that creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature, and the use of the same faculties, should also be equal one amongst another. ”2 Locke suggests that a civil government has an obligation to treat its citizens equally because humans are equal in the state of nature, and it would be both morally wrong and difficult to find willing subjects if they are denied equality under the government’s rules. authority.
For individual property to exist, there must be a means for individuals to appropriate the things around them. Locke starts out with the idea of the property of person; each person owns his or her own body, and all the labor that they perform with the body. When an individual adds their own labor, their own property, to a foreign object or good, that object becomes their own because they have added their labor. This appropriation of goods does not demand the consent of humankind in general, each person has license to appropriate things in this way by individual initiative.
Every day women, children, and even men are kidnapped, taken from their families, and forced into free labor and sexual exploitation. According to a new report from the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, as many as 9,298 cases of human trafficking have been reported in the past five years, but these are only the instances in which it has been reported. Furthermore, the report also shows that from December 7th, 2007 to December 31st, 2012, cases of human trafficking were reported in all 50 states. Just how many more are under the radar? One of the definitions given for slavery is the state or condition of being a slave; a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune.
Mclaurin conveys the “rights” of slaves and slave holders when he says, “Thus Newsom brushed aside her request, and as if to emphasize his right to sex with her, informed Celia that he was ‘coming to her cabin that night’” (Mcalurin 32). Slave masters assumed it to be their right to have their way with female slaves. They had purchased them, and no one was going to tell them what to do with their “property”. In this type of relationship, the only right possessed by the slaves was the right to obey their master. The rights of both slave holders and slaves were poorly stated and greatly
John Locke is a seventeenth century philosopher who believed that government should be based around the people rather than the power of one person. Equality and property were two factors that Locke considered to be the key to a great society. Locke begins his writings with a discussion on individual property and how each man body is his own property. This leads Locke into the argument that man can obtain property only by using his own labor. an example Locke gives is the picking of an apple. The apple is the property of the man who used his labor to pick it. He goes on to say “A person may only acquire as many things in this way as he or she can reasonably use to their advantage”. With the discussion of property Locke leads into the discussion of trade and monetary value stating that it is natural of man to w...
In "Benito Cereno," Captain Delano's extreme naivete and desensitization towards slavery greatly affect his perceptions while aboard the San Dominick. Delano's racial stereotypes, views of master and slave relationships, and benevolent racism mask the true reality of what was occurring on board despite his constant uneasiness and skepticism. At a time when slave revolts were not unusual, the slave conditions aboard the San Dominick should have made more of an impact on Delano.
In order to examine how each thinker views man and the freedom he should have in a political society, it is necessary to define freedom or liberty from each philosopher’s perspective. John Locke states his belief that all men exist in "a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and person as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man." (Ebenstein 373) Locke believes that man exists in a state of nature and thus exists in a state of uncontrollable liberty, which has only the law of nature, or reason, to restrict it. (Ebenstein 374) However, Locke does state that man does not have the license to destroy himself or any other creature in his possession unless a legitimate purpose requires it. Locke emphasizes the ability and opportunity to own and profit from property as necessary for being free.
In Locke’s Treatise, the social contract binds citizens to a government which is responsible to its citizenry. If the government fails to represent the interest of its citizens, its citizens have the right and obligation to overthrow it. By contrast, Hobbes’ Leviathan refers to people as subject rather than as citizens, indicating an absence of a reciprocal relationship between the ruler and the ruled. Absolute arbitrary government invests all rights in the sovereign.
In The Social Contract, John Locke explains his social contract theory. Rousseau explains Locke’s philosophy as, “Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains” (R169). Both philosophers agree that no individual should ever be forced to give up his or her natural rights to a king or any other successor