One may perceive the book's structure to be loose and quite flexible; one finds that the fits and starts, and the shifting of lengths between chapters are the best way to convey the feelings/ meanings of Billy's story. Maybe the narrator believes that Billy is true on a deeper sense; in other words, it corresponds to real experience. Don't you, yourself find that when you are trying to make a major decision, or living through some crucial event your mind keeps shifting from one thing to another, sometimes quickly and dramatically, sometimes inventing hypothetical situations to use as comparisons or differences? This is similar to the case as seen in Billy Budd. The Book doesn't work in a strict and orderly fashion but s

To stretch further into the ideas of Billy and his relation to each description, one must view them in context. Baby; who bestowed Billy with such a title? Though Billy has many friends among the crew of the Indomitable, the Dansker is the only one whose character Melville fills out completely. Wrinkled, cynical, tight-lipped, and wise in the crooked ways of the world, the Dansker offers quite a contrast to the handsome young sailor whom he dubs "Baby Budd." Moreover, Melville compares the old Dansker to the oracle at Delphi, a kind of religious fortune-teller whom the ancient Greeks would consult for advise about the future. Like this oracle, the Dansker likes making short, cryptic pronouncements, and once he speaks, he refuses to explain what he's said. Billy, for one, can't understand half of his utterances, and what he understands he refuses to believe. You might get frustrated with him because, while he cares for Billy, he refuses to take a stand and speak up for him. In addition, after this short account of who the Dansker is, one can see vividly why he was named "Baby Budd." On a physical level Billy contrasted the Dansker quite vividly. On a deeper level, thought still easy to grasp, one sees that the Dansker is "wise in the crooked ways," however; Billy is yet a "baby."

What is Claggart's problem? This is a question you can think about endlessly and still not answer to your satisfaction. Claggart is basically the force of evil in Billy Budd. He is Billy's opposite in just about every way. This will give you a good handle on how to talk about Claggart but it doesn't get to the bottom of him. As Melville makes so clear in this book, evil is a mystery that can never be adequately explained. Being Claggart is the embodiment of evil, contains this mystery at the very center of his character.

Yet another way to look at Captain Vere is too simply soggiest that Vere is a well-rounded man in a tough spot. He's a leader and a thinker, a man of deep feelings but also a stickler for details, a man with strong personal opinions but an even stronger sense of duty. There is no simple answer to this case. Furthermore, if you look at Billy; Billy didn't report the mutiny, and followed his heart doing what he felt was moral. If you observe Captain Vere; The Captain decides to hang Billy, he did what the law directed him to do. If you look at the outcome of each person then you will notice something in congruence, they both died. Perhaps this is to tell us that in a world of such complexity, peoples will suffer the same fate regardless of the direction of society (law), or personal conclusion (that is moral). In this one can interpret the phrase, "God bless Captain Vere" to mean, God bless this man for he was left with a fork in the road in which both outcomes were similar.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2777
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)