Billy Budd
Conflict is a truly prominent feature existing throughout Herman Melville's novella, "Billy Budd." Although the major conflict exists between Billy Budd and John Claggart, there are several internal conflicts found within certain characters. One of the most prominent internal conflicts is John Claggart's.One of Claggart's main internal conflicts is his jealous envy of Billy Budd. Billy's overall makeup as a character is everything that Claggart wants to be. Billy is a healthy sailor, large in size, and not afraid of hard work. On the other hand, Claggart is small, with a dark pallid face and a weak chin, and not built for hard work, of which he constantly avoids. The young sailor's personal beauty deeply offends Claggart. Billy Budd is always popular with the crew, whereas Claggart is disliked by the crew members. Billy's goodness and innocence irritates Claggart. When the crew shows great interest in the Handsome Sailor, it reminds Claggart of how muc
A final internal conflict that Claggart faces is his deep passion for Billy Budd. At one point in the novella, it seems as if there exists a homosexual passion, of Claggart's desire to have a relationship with Billy and his frustration at not being able to do so. Claggart "eyed the good looks, cheery health, and frank enjoyment of young life in Billy Budd." Melville also mentions that Claggart is one of two men aboard the Indomitable intellectually capable of appreciating the moral phenomenon presented in Billy. Claggart saw everything in Billy, and he noticed that it was mainly the complete contrary characteristics found in him. Since Claggart can't "have" Billy, he had to get rid of him. Conflict plays a major role in the novella, "Billy Budd," and helps establish the plot of the short story. Internal conflict is clearly seen in the story in its three main characters, Billy, Claggart, and Vere. Claggart's internal conflict leads to Billy's death, a
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Approximate Word count = 652
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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