An Analysis Of Ambiguity In Benito Cereno

In the 19 th century,the United States experienced complex social changes such as the massive abolition movement,westward movement and overseas expansion.Influenced by the social environment of the time,Herman Melville was both proud of the prosperity of the United States and keenly aware of the underlying problems behind the apparent prosperity.At the same time,with the progress of the American Renaissance,the rise of transcendentalism had a certain impact on people’s Christian beliefs.As a result,people were often morally ambiguous in their attempt to balance the two pursuits of Christian belief and humanism.Melville’s contradictory beliefs and the characteristics of his era were vividly expressed in Benito Cereno.In addition,the fundamental reason for ambiguity in Benito Cereno is Melville’s ethical thoughts wandering between religious beliefs and disbeliefs arising from social reality.Therefore,the thesis takes ambiguity as the starting point,and introduces the concept of ambiguity in Empson’s Seven Types of Ambiguity.The manifestations and reasons of ambiguity in Melville’s Benito Cereno are explored through the methods of close reading and historical research,drawing on the related theories of Narratology,Rhetoric and Post-colonialism.Ambiguity embodied in the novel is mainly manifested as: ambiguity in rhetorical devices,ambiguity in diction and syntax,and ambiguity in characterization.Among them,metaphors,puns and allegories in the rhetorical devices of the novel are consistent with the first and third type of ambiguity proposed by Empson.The application of negative words,vague narrative expressions,and complex sentences is mainly in line with the second type of ambiguity.And ambiguity of characterization is related to the fourth type of ambiguity.Melville’s ambiguous attitude of being both pro-and anti-slavery just reflects the times people in the Melville’s era have to make a compromise between the religious ethics rigidified into moral codes and the romantic pursuit of individual values and ideals.