âBenito Cereno,â a story of atmospheric Gothic horror and striking political resonance, represents Herman Melvilleâs most profound and unsettling engagement with the horrors of New World slavery. Narrating the story of a slave revolt using materials drawn from Amasa Delanoâs non-fictional account of the Tryal Rebellion from earlier in the nineteenth century, Melvilleâs story probes the moral complexities of the antebellum United States and its position within the Americas. Melville explores the psychology of slavery and racism and the role of violence in both the resistance to, and the perpetuation of, slavery in the Americas.\n\nThe appendices to this volume illustrate how Melvilleâs satirical treatment of racism and his ambivalent response to violent resistance to slavery connect with antislavery literature (poetry, fiction, and non-fiction alike) in the middle of the nineteenth century, and they also consider how âBenito Cerenoâ functions as a central piece in Melvilleâs contribution to the literature of the Americas.
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