For abolitionists and intellectuals opposed to slavery in the 19th century, the sterile sympathy on the part of "enlightened" liberals of the Northern states just wasn't enough. In the literary works "Benito Cereno" and Our Nig, authors Herman Meville and Harriet E. Wilson argue that sentimental sympathy toward racial injustices does not necessarily translate into social improvement. In both stories, Melville and Wilson employ stereotypical characters to demonstrate how such preconceptions can deter liberals from realizing the complexities of life. Naive benevolence distorted reality, they argue, and therefore harmed the cause. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Both Melville and Wilson approach the issue of slavery as fundamentally flawed - that's a given - however, they are slow to credit liberals solely for "having their hearts in the right place. Unlike Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose sentimental novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a deliberate attempt to make readers "feel" the right way to view slavery, Melville and Wilson argue that the liberal sentimental response to slavery was as flawed as the system itself. “Benito Cereno” and Our Nig are works that attack liberal condescension and pity in order to declare that such an approach to the question of slavery – or any other social cause d 'elsewhere—was inherently futile. In "Benito Cereno," the liberal hero, Captain Delano, is moved by the plight of the slave ship San Dominick and so leaves his own ship to rescue the severely undernourished crew. Although Melville repeatedly describes the man as good-natured and just, his morally righteous intentions never translate into appropriate actions. Aboard the San Dominick, Delano observes a number of events that should lead him to believe that a slave revolt has occurred on the ship. His condescending and naive stereotypes of the blacks on the ship prevent him from being critical, because he cannot understand that the slaves are the source of the problem. Describing the relationship between Benito Cereno and Babo, Delano says: Sometimes the negro gave his master his arm, or took his handkerchief out of his pocket for him; performing these and similar functions with that affectionate zeal which is transformed into something filial or fraternal acts in themselves but subordinate; and which has earned the Negro the reputation of being the most agreeable servant of the body in the world; a man also with whom a master need not be in terms of rigid superiority, but can deal with familiar confidence; less a servant than a devoted companion. (169) Delano's belief that slaves like Babo were content, even happy, with their predicament seriously distorted the reality of the situation. He would later discover that Babo was controlling the weakened Cereno, not to mention threatening his life. But Delano’s naivety? never allows him to adequately consider any of his suspicions. Throughout “Benito Cereno,” he deviates from such theories before looking far enough into the situation to realize its reality. If I could only be certain that, in my anxiety, my senses had not deceived me, then—Here, passing from one suspicious thing to another, his mind whirled about the strange questions asked of him concerning his ship. (190) The paradox of Delano and other enlightened liberals of the time was that.