The appendices to this volume illustrate how Melville’s 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 “Benito Cereno” functions as a central piece in Melville’s contribution to the literature of the Americas.
Brian Yothers is Frances Spatz Leighton Endowed Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Texas at El Paso.