Benton Character Analysis in The Word for World is Forest

Benton is an officer on World 41 and was one of three officers who previously enslaved Selver. Benton is hot-headed and hates the native Athsheans—when he and Selver reencounter each other after the massacre at Centralville, Selver notes that the Athsheans are frightened to be around Benton because he used to publicly castrate them as punishment. Benton is one of the humans involved in the final peace talk with Selver, but Colonel Dongh refuses to let Benton speak on his behalf due to his coarseness. Benton is angry that the Athsheans are asking the humans to surrender their helicopters and weapons, and he accuses Raj Lyubov (who is already dead) of betraying the humans. However, Benton eventually goes along with Colonel Dongh’s decision to surrender the weapons to the Athsheans, unlike Don Davidson, who hates the Athsheans just as much as Benton but chooses to go rogue and fight them rather than surrender.

Benton Character Timeline in The Word for World is Forest

The timeline below shows where the character Benton appears in The Word for World is Forest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Violence, War, and Colonization Theme Icon

...the same way it’s easy for the “little green men,” the Athsheans. An officer named Benton asks Lepennon if he and Or have authority here, and Lepennon says that no, the... (full context)

Communication and Translation Theme Icon

...important to Lyubov. Before they met, he was “Sam,” a slave for three officers, including Benton. Many Athsheans were groggy while working in the camp, because they had to adjust their... (full context)

...are afraid to be in the open now. One of the yumens with Dongh is Benton, which makes Selver’s people nervous—Benton used to castrate creechies as punishment. (full context)

Colonel Dongh suddenly feels weak and asks for a chair, which Selver gets for him. Benton offers to speak on Dongh’s behalf, but Dongh says that Gosse should do it instead.... (full context)

Dongh tells an angry Benton that it doesn’t matter if they destroy the guns, since they can’t use them anyway;... (full context)

...heard of the ansible, as he previously believed that communication between planets took 27 years. Benton coldly accuses Selver of learning how to sabotage the camp from Lyubov, and Dongh is... (full context)

...anyway. It’s safe to assume that anyone still alive is a traitor, including Gosse and Benton. (full context)