Billy Budd's Innocence
In many ways, Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd” is a tragic story. The main character, William Budd has a sort of innocence about him that will prove to assist with his demise. From the beginning it is fate that Billy should die, subtly mentioned in the in the inner workings of the text. This story can also be compared to Jesus’ story, by way of the character’s innocence and punishment. Captain Vere has no choice but to execute Billy for many reasons. The main character is accused of a crime that was not his, and then put to death for it, thereby making this a tragic story. First, it is important to mention the character of Captain Vere. He follows the law to the very letter, setting a good example for his crew. Vere was “always acquitting himself as an officer mindful of the welfare of his men, but never tolerating an infraction of discipline“ (1262). While Vere likes Billy and generally thinks of him as a good person, there is no way he can let Billy’s crime go unpunished. Billy does not mean to kill Claggart and is not w
An example of this is when Claggart mentions to Vere that Melville, Herman. “Billy Budd.” Anthology of American Literature Volume 1: This statement readies the Captain’s mind for the future allegations directly against Billy. Finally, the text states that Billy, “like the animals, though no philosopher, he was, without knowing it, practically a fatalist” (1255). This prepares the reader’s mind for the obvious tragic outcome that would befall Billy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ rong for striking him, but cannot change this afterwards. Knowing that Vere will let no crime go unpunished makes it obvious that he will punish Billy as soon as he sees what he has done. In the end of the story, we learn that Vere has some sort of second thoughts about executing Billy because his last words before his death are “Billy Budd, Billy Budd” (1306). Billy Budd is definitely a tragic tale as most of the important occurrences in the story were beyond the characters’ controls. Billy, because of his nature,
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Approximate Word count = 744
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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