Benito Cereno Lesson Plan

Why do you think the title of the story is Benito Cereno? Why not Amasa Delano, since the reader sees everything through the American’s eyes?

The Spanish captain represents the “puzzle” that is the San Dominick. Is Don Benito a lunatic, a murderer, an invalid, a tyrant, a pirate, a hypochondriac, or a victim? He is the “knot” that Captain Delano can’t untie. Captain Delano is merely a witness, the (distorted) lens through which we view the action, but Benito Cereno is the focal point, or subject, of the mystery.

When Captain Delano asks if the slave called Francesco is a “good, worthy fellow,” what does he mean by that? What requirements does a slave have to fulfill...