Billy Budd By: Herman Mellville Herman Melville’s Billy Budd is a classic tale of innocence and evil. The main force of innocence is constantly attacked by the force of evil until the innocence falters. Through the use of many literary devices, Melville shows how sometimes the obvious results do not always occur when they are being expected. However, he also shows that the force of all that is good and righteous will triumph over evil at the end, even over death. The protagonist, Billy Budd, is the major force of innocence in the book. Billy is a young man who seems to have everything going for him. He is big, strong, handsome, and he has a personality that draws everyone to him. Everywhere he went he charmed people, gaining the respect of those around him. A great deal of imagery is used describing how aesthetically perfect Billy is.
Besides Billy’s stutter, he seems absolutely perfect. Billy is a sailor. His original ship was the Rights-Of-Man but he later was impressed by the Bellipotent. Here he becomes a foretopman. As usual he charms everyone. They even call him ‘The Handsome Sailor’;.
On the ship, Billy is respected by everyone except the protagonist, John Claggart. Claggart is extremely jealous and holds considerable amounts of contempt for him. At first he tries to be nice to Billy but soon his true jealousies surface. He begins to scold Billy for insignificant lapses and tries to degrade him. In one instance when Billy spills a bowl of soup, Claggart sardonically says to Billy, ‘Handsome is as handsome did it.’; Deep inside Claggart also thinks that Billy is secretly plotting against him. When his madness really begins to take over, Claggart starts thinking of ways to prove Billy to be a traitor.
The Essay on Billy Budds Innocence
Billy Budd~ There is a lot to be said about innocence. If one is with innocence, than one can so no wrong but that isnt all. Innocence is not always a good thing. It can make a person nave or blind to certain or all evils, which would seem as if they were blind from the world. This is the prime example of our friend Billy Budd. He was innocent and unaware and heedless of the evil that was Claggart ...
Finally his chance came when a guardsman approached Billy in the middle of the night. He asked Billy if he wanted to join a mutiny effort with all the others that were impressed. He was also offered a bribe. Billy became so angry that he almost threw the guardsman overboard. However, when Claggart heard of this, he immediately ran straight to Captain Vere. Captain Vere was a well-educated, level-headed man. He was stern but he was just.
He offered Billy a chance to see his accuser and Billy accepted. When he heard the lies that were being told of him, he went crazy. People had warned him to be careful about Claggart but he did not listen. He became so enraged that all he could do was stutter. Since he was not able to speak, his only defense was to strike Claggart as hard as he could. The blow to his head killed him as he hit the ground.
Captain Vere knew that Billy did not mean for him to die but he still calls a trial for murder. Captain Vere knew that Billy was not going to revolt as well but because of the mutinies that had been taking place at that time, Vere did not want to show any weakness. Billy could have probably gotten off had he turned in the other men who were actually planning to revolt but he didn’t because of his loyalty to his crew. He lost the trial and was hanged, his last words being, ‘God Bless Captain Vere!’; The use of symbols heavily influences the book. Most of the symbols are religious ones because of Melville’s belief at the time. The most compelling symbol is that of Billy being compared to Jesus. Like Jesus he is viewed as pure and innocent and having no real character flaws.
He always tries to do the right thing and stay out of everyone’s way. Claggart would be compared to the Pharisees that Jesus had to deal with. His whole purpose is to cause the downfall of Billy and he succeeds. Billy also is a symbol of Jesus while he is at trial. While Jesus is on trial he says nothing in his defense that could facilitate his release. Neither does Billy. Also when Billy dies his last words are ‘God Bless Captain Vere!’;. By this he was asking God to save Captain Vere’s soul because he didn’t know what he was doing.
Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Book Review
Case for the Resurrection of Jesus By Gary R. Habermas, Michael R. Licona Zerrrouk (pen name) The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, was written by Gary R. Habermas, and co-authored by Michael R. Licona. Haberma is a distinguished professor, and the chairman of Philosophy and Theology at Liberty University, in Virginia. Habermas, using a minimal amount of facts, gives a provoking argument for the ...
That is the same as when Jesus said, ‘Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do’;. Also, the monument raised in his honor symbolizes Jesus’ resurrection. Captain Vere symbolized Pontius Pilate because he had Billy sentenced to death because he worried about what others would think of him just as Pilate was afraid to upset Caesar with the release of Jesus. The major conflict in the book is an internal struggle with Captain Vere. He knows that Billy didn’t deserve to die and that he was not a traitor but the common law at the time stated that he would have to be hanged. He is really distraught about what he should do. His duty is telling him that he should hang Billy just like any other murderer would be hanged but his morality is telling him that Billy doesn’t deserve to die and that he should be released because everyone knows what kind of guy Billy really is. In the end, though, Captain Vere’s duty wins as it probably should, which is the climax of the book. Because of the point-of-view, limited omniscient, it is hard to fully understand Vere’s thought process during the whole trial.
The irony in the book is kind of subtle but able, nevertheless, to be found. When one is analyzing each character it is shown that the fate of each character is the exact opposite of what is led to be expected by looking at his nature. One would originally think that Claggart would end up being the one that might kill Billy because of the obsession he had with him. It is strange to think of Claggart as the victim but that was the case. Throughout the book, these instances of literary devices help shape the book into the classic that it is. With all that had happened to Billy, he was a hero even in his death.
That helps define the theme of the book. No matter how much the forces of evil tried to bring him down, goodness triumphed over all..
