... main characters 7) The concept of innocence and how it does or does not apply to the main characters 8) Conclusion a) Contrast and comparisons reintroduced for: i) Moby Dick ii) Billy Budd Monomania The novels Moby- Dick and Billy Budd, both by Herman Melville, are classic novels featuring adventure on the high seas. The two novels share some similarities but are also different in many ways. The ... appears in both novels but the novels differ in that one portrays the preservation of innocence while another shows the loss of this quality. In the novels Moby-Dick and Billy Budd the idea ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the crew. There is also a conflict involving Captain Vere when he is forced to decide on the fate of Billy Budd after he kills Claggart. The experiences that Billy Budd undergoes throughout the movie, is parallel to what Jesus Christ endured in his life. Billy Budd was an innocent man physically and mentally. The first things the sailors noticed about him were his schoolboy features, with ... of moral courage. He knew he was going to execute a righteous man, although technically a guilty one. Claggart, symbolized as Lucifer, is the antagonist in the movie, Billy Budd, and he draws on ev...

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... and act for the greater good of society (the British navy) (Bloom, Critical Views 209). Most critics agree that Vere had to punish Billy, whether he was innocent or not, to assure the obedient well-being of society ("Billy Budd"). Vere believes that life would fall to pieces if the necessities in life were not carried out. The occasional sacrifice of an expendable ... individual, no matter how brutal it may seem, is necessary for maintaining peace and order in society (Foster 115). Although many themes can be interpreted from the novella Billy Budd, it is obvious to most that the preval...

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... and much harder to be defined or stereotyped. In other words, the interpretation of him may vary from reader to reader. In the story, Billy Budd is such an embodiment of beauty and purity as to be compared to Christ or sinless Adam. When he works in a merchant's ship, he ... Adam presumably might have been ere the urbane Serpent wriggled himself into his company."(Melville, P2307) Moreover, just as innocent as Adam, Billy Budd is thoroughly lacking in the knowledge of good and evil. His ignorance of human sophistication is the core of his innocence. When he is ... and sound" (ibid.). In...

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• Grade Level: High School

... using symbolism, Melville also uses characterization to contrast good and evil. Characterization is used to contrast the concepts of good and evil. Billy Budd is "like a young horse fresh from the pasture suddenly inhaling a vile whiff from some chemical factory." Billy's innocence and purity is exterminated at the hands of his main enemy, John Claggort, " much such as Adam presumably might have been ... pallor tinged with a faint shade of amber skin" even denote evil. Dark traits are often used to express evil, as light and beauty to express good. In contrast to Claggort, Billy Budd's ...

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... his presence because of their innocence and purity. Once man partook of the forbidden fruit, evil, they were exiled from paradise. In the novel Billy Budd, often paralleled to Adam, the protagonist's primary quality is his extraordinary and even disturbing innocence, and naveté. In the novel and the story ... of Adam and Eve, its clear how evil will destroy innocence. At twenty-one years of age, Billy has never directly confronted evil. Due to his striking good looks and affable nature, he has always been well liked and admired by everyone. As ... evil nature...but born with him and in...

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... This accusation also causes Billy to commit the evil deed of striking and murdering Claggart. As the plot progressed, Melville constantly gave insights and emphasis on representing Claggart as evil. Billy's death further illustrates the theme of good versus evil. Melville portrays Billy Budd almost as a satisfied, Claggart is jealous. Lastly, where Billy is good, John is bad. When Billy first sees Claggart, ... it is Christ-like figure. Billy was not scared of his death and obediently went through with his execution ... . Melville vividly describes Billy's death with so many details that...

• Word Count: 407
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• Grade Level: High School