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Knot of Benito Cereno: A Study Guide |
For intricacy such a knot he had never seen in an American ship, or indeed any other. The old man looked like an Egyptian priest, making Gordian knots for the temple of Ammon. The knot seemed a combination of double-bowline-knot, treble-crown-knot, back-handed-well-knot, knot-in-and-out-knot, and jamming-knot. At last, puzzled to comprehend the meaning of such a knot, Captain Delano, addressed the knotter:- |
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"What are you knotting there, my man?" "The knot," was the brief reply, without looking up. "So it seems; but what is it for?" "For some one else to undo," muttered back the old man, plying his fingers harder than ever, the knot being now nearly completed. (pp. 2395-4) |
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provides the reader many pieces of a puzzle. As you read, see how many of the pieces you can put together... |
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How does the narrator present him? And by the end of the fourth paragraph, what might we wonder about him? |
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appear -- what is it like? What is the ship's name? (some context) Compare the name of this ship with the name of Capt. Delano's ship (p. 2382). |
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the nature of the ship's business?  Describe the ship's figurehead. What is unusual about it? |
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What scene greets Capt. Delano when he boards the stranger ship?  ��������������  What is the story he istold by Don Benito? |
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at least a dozen more pieces of the puzzle present themselves.  Are you keeping track? |
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