Billy Budd

In Herman Melville’s, Billy Budd, Sailor, the protagonist is an innocent, naïve sailor with spiritual resemblances to Jesus Christ. Randa Dubnik says, “There are several references to Christianity and to Billy as a Christ-like figure…” (78) Throughout the story, Billy Bud faces many of the same trials throughout his life that Jesus once faced and consequently dies in a similar manner. Billy Budd has similar characteristics and a similar birth, life, and death, as Jesus Christ. ADD TO INTRODUCTION Billy Bud shares many similarities with Jesus Christ throughout the story including his natural purity and peacefulness. Both Christ and Billy have a pure and peaceful persona that others can easily distinguish as an important and respectable quality…

Herman Melville presents the question of moral and political justice in his story, Billy Budd. Billy Budd is an innocent, handsome, and popular young sailor whom almost everyone loves. In recent history, “the Great Mutiny” occurred before Billy is impressed upon the ship Bellipotent. The only person who despises Billy on the ship is the master-at-arms named John Claggart. In a confrontation with Claggart, Billy stands up for himself by punching Claggart. The punch that Billy threw immediately…

Themes: Literary Theme as it Relates to Setting and Conflict A compelling story captures the audience quickly and keeps them enthralled throughout the duration of the read. Authors, understanding this concept, incorporate immense detail into their work in order to keep the reader absorbed. This detail launches with setting, and culminates into conflict. Artfully, master writers use these details to establish a strong central and over-arching theme for their writings. Authors such as Herman…

I think the innocence of both Billy and Amasa is genuine. I also think that for both of them their innocence is bred from ignorance, but for different reasons. Billy is a foundling so most likely, as was the tradition of the time he was raised in a church sponsored orphanage. Due to upbringing he probably was quite naïve when it came to human behaviors. While the text made it clears that Billy was “angelic”, “innocent” and not too bright. I got the impression in a couple lines that Billy’s lack…

human behavior on the psychological level. In terms of literary criticism, psychoanalysis provides a way to analyze where a character’s actions stem from and thus allowing readers to gain a profounder understanding of their psychological state. Applying Freud’s psychoanalytic to an analysis of Herman Melville’s novella, Billy Budd, will shed light on certain aspects of the story. In particular, looking closely at…

their actions stem from. Applying Freud’s psychoanalytic to an analysis of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, will shed light on certain aspects of the story. In particular, looking closely at the three main characters in the novella, John Claggart, Billy Budd, and Captain Vere provides a deeper understanding of the overall story, and provide insight to why they act the way they do. I argue that Claggart is representative of Freud’s id, Billy is representative…

Steinbeck conflict, whether internal or external, helps to establish a central theme for the text. Throughout the texts Billy Budd, “A Country Doctor”, and Of Mice and Men the respective authors use the elements of fiction to develop conflicts that demonstrate a central theme. In Billy…

rather moot. In fact, this is exemplified well in a nineteenth century novel, Billy Budd, by Herman Melville, where the personification of innocence,…

Billy Budd written by Herman Melville is a great illustration of how many ecosystems can mimic a much larger one. In the novel, Melville writes about a group of sailors on a ship and their encounters. The protagonist, Billy Budd works duteously as a foretopman on the H.M.S. Indomitable. Most of the other sailors found Billy amiable and hardworking. Another main character, the antagonist, John Claggart is a dark, moonstricken master-at-arms on the ship. Claggart develops a strong abhorrence…

Billy Budd by Herman Melville is a nautical gospel written in a voice of omniscience and skepticism. The book takes place on the high seas following the Nore mutiny and chronicles the rise and eventual fall of Billy Budd. Billy is always noted by the narrator as someone far more attractive than his peers but never pretentious or condescending, he is a Christ figure in the novel. In the beginning of the story Billy transfers to a military ship where he is quickly loved by everyone, except (with…