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 …showed first 75 words of 1135 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1135 total…was really happening, and he wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. The ruse could not have worked if it hadn’t been for the slaves. They continued to hide the truth longer than they could have if they really were simply mindless savages. In fact, throughout the story the slaves are constantly in control, and show an apparent superior intelligence over the two white men, manipulating their thoughts and actions.