What do duty and principle demand and what is the price of that demand? This question is one of the many forced upon Captain Vere when he is approached with the situation of a possible mutinous villain aboard the Bellipotent. Vere is forced to make a decision: should he let the possible villain go free, or accept Claggart's rumor as truth and condemn the man to death? Consequences would come with both actions, but perhaps Vere does not realize what the true cost of his decision will be. He doesn't know if Billy Budd is capable of treason; with his cheerful, innocent, friendly spirit, how could he be? Every man on the ship seems to be infatuated with Billy. Any imperfections seem to be hidden, and in that assumption, Billy is perfection. However, the bible proves that the only perfect human being who ever lived on this earth was Jesus Christ; drawing conclusion from each man's feelings for him, Billy becomes analogous to Christ and Adam before the Fall. But even with this parallel to holiness, could Vere risk the lives of every other man on that ship, including his own? The Captain is put in a very difficult position, yet must make the decision to put Billy to death or set him free. .
With just a mere accusation, Captain Vere doesn't necessarily believe that Billy Budd is guilty of planning a mutiny aboard the Bellipotent. He even confronts Claggart with his doubt when he says, "Do you come to me, Master-at-arms, with so foggy a tale (67)?" But Vere feels that it is his duty as Captain to maintain an atmosphere of unity, not dissention, and therefore doesn't look at the true principality of this action. When actually taking principle into account on a moral level, Vere discovers things he's never before known about himself, and this perhaps haunts him the rest of his days. .
The poem is ironic because Billy Budd did not drown, he was hung. ... This quote is ironic because the "criminal" was not a criminal, Billy Budd was a hero in the story. Melville again tries to accuse Billy Budd of being an evil character. ... The context, however, does show a hint of accusation towards Billy Budd. ... The tendency of Melville presenting Billy Budd as evil, strikes an outrageous idea. ...
Therefore, Claggort was Billy's antagonist throughout Billy Budd. Also symbolic to the novel is the actual demise of both Claggort and Billy Budd. ... Claggort's death completely contrasts with the pure death of Billy Budd. ... In contrast to Claggort, Billy Budd's "welkin-eyes", blonde hair, and tan complexion ultimately portray good. ... Through out the novel Billy Budd is never aware of Claggort's ill will towards him. ...
There are three main characters in Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor: Billy Budd, John Claggart, and Captain Vere. ... Different from Billy Budd, John Claggart is characterized as intelligent and sophisticated. ... He appreciates Billy Budd's innocent charm, but he despairs of sharing it. ... His high-sounding reasons for hanging Billy Budd is just the disguise of his fear. ... Billy Budd, Sailor has a simple plot, but meanwhile contains a variety of meanings. ...
Billy Budd - Individualism There is much to be said about individualism. ... Billy Budd and Ignatius Reilly were both prime examples of individuals. ... Billy Budd has remarkable looks. ... Billy Budd shows the positive side of individualism. ... Billy Budd brought out all the high aspects of it by being a leader and peacemaker to all of his shipmates. ...
In Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Melville uses the literary device of foreshadowing to allow the audience to be aware of Billy's inevitable fate before the characters in the novel, thus creating a feeling of suspense within the novel. Melville begins using foreshadowing early in the novel when he describes Billy Budd as a tall handsome sailor that was well adored by mostly all who knew him. ... At this point all the elements of foreshadowing within the novel have finally come together resulting in the climax and resolution within Billy Budd. Without the element of foreshad...
In the novel, Billy Budd by Herman Melville, emotions, and the actions based on them, play a considerable role in the fate of Billy Budd, Claggart and Captain Vere. ... One may wonder if Vere's destiny would go about differently if Billy Budd was still alive. Seconds before Billy is hung he says "'God bless Captain Vere!'" ... This demonstrates the emotional impact Billy had on Vere with his last words. Later when Vere is dieing from being wounded by the French, " he was heard to murmur words inexplicable to his attendant-'Billy Budd, Billy Budd," (92 Melville)and although...
Billy Budd and Jesus Christ After reading the story Billy Budd, I could see how the story of Billy Budd is very similar to the story of crucifixion of Christ. ... Billy Budd was an almost perfect guy with looks and charm and that everyone liked. ... He was really jealous of Billy and secretly thought that 2 Billy was plotting against him and tried to belittle Billy whenever he could yet hid it well from Billy even though everyone had warned Billy that the master of arms really didn't like him. ... Billy didn't know what to think of this. .....
Billy Budd, by Herman Melville is an allegory; because the characters represent abstract qualities. Billy Budd represents Jesus Christ, Captain Vere represents God, and John Claggart represents Lucifer. ... Billy Budd was an innocent man physically and mentally. ... Billy Budd suffers a similar demise. ... The classic battle between innocence and evil comes alive with symbolism in Herman Melville's allegory, Billy Budd, with Billy Budd, Captain Vere, and Claggart being portrayed as Jesus Christ, God, and Lucifer. ...
Herman Melville's novel, Billy Budd, tells the story of a young man who is recruited by the British Navy to the H.M.S. ... He is received well by most of his fellow sailors who like Billy Budd are often alluded to people and stories from the Bible. ... These biblical allusions in Billy Budd provide the reader with a better understanding of many of the main characters and events including Billy Budd's comparison with Jesus Christ. ... Claggart lies to Captain Vere that Billy Budd is conspiring to commit mutiny on board the H.M.S. ... The allusions to the adult Jesus concerning B...
Many themes relating to the conflict between Good and Evil can be found in Herman Melville's novella Billy Budd, Foretopman. ... Perhaps one of the most widely recognized themes in Billy Budd is the corruption of innocence by society (Gilmore 18). Society in Billy Budd is represented by an eighteenth century English man-of-war, the H.M.S. ... 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"). ... When broken down into its simplest parts, Billy Budd deals with Billy, the representative...
