Billy Budd Essay Themes of Good and Evil - 1882 Words

Themes of Good and Evil in Billy Budd Many themes relating to the conflict between Good and Evil can be found in Herman Melvilles novella Billy Budd. Perhaps one of the most widely recognized themes in Billy Budd is the corruption of innocence by society (Gilmore 18). Society in Billy Budd is represented by an eighteenth century English man-of-war, the H.M.S. Bellipotent. Billy, who represents innocence, is a young seaman of twenty-one who is endowed with physical strength, beauty, and good nature (Voss 44). A crew member aboard the merchant ship Rights of Man, Billy is impressed by the English navy and is taken aboard the H.M.S. Bellipotent. As he boards the H.M.S. Bellipotent, he calmly utters, Goodbye,†¦show more content†¦He lacks the sophistication and experience to roll with the punches, forcing him to succumb to this hostile society. Unlike the shifting keel of the ship, he cannot lean both ways, one way toward his natural innocence and trustfulness and the other toward the evil and conspiracy in society, causing him to break apart and sink (Gilmore 18). It can also be interpreted that Billy is the true civilizer, for while the war in which the H.M.S. Bellipotent fights is a product of what passes for civilization, Billy is the maker of peace (Gilmore 65). Another theme that critics feel is present in Billy Budd is that of the impersonality and brutality of the modern state. Billy was taken from a safe and protected environment on the Rights of Man and placed in a new, hostile setting, one which he was not prepared for and could not conform to. Once one of the strongest and most respected crew members on the Rights of Man, he was no longer regarded as such on the H.M.S. Bellipotent (Bloom, Critical Views 211). However, his innocence and trustfulness remained with him, causing the crew to regard him as being more of a noble man, rather than the powerful man that he was on the Rights of Man. While most of the crew admired Billy for these qualities, John Claggart, Master-at-Arms for the H.M.S. Bellipotent,Show MoreRelatedEssay about Comparing Billy Budd and the Life of Melville1505 Words   |  7 PagesParallels Between Billy Budd and the Life of Melville   As with many great works of literature, it is important to become familiar with the authors life and time period in which he or she lived. This understanding helps to clarify the significance and meaning of his or her work. In many ways, Billy Budd depicts issues of importance to Herman Melville with both direct and indirect parallels to the time of the Civil War and to particular individuals of Melvilles life. Important to the creationRead More Billy Budd Essay2778 Words   |  12 Pagesstick to one deli mea, moral questioning, or out-look on a book that jumps from such cases like frogs on lily pads? Just as Melville has done, I shall attempt to arrange my perception of Billy Budd, in a similar fashion. That is, through an unorthodox practice (that is; jumping from pt. to point), of writing an essay I shall constantly change and directions and goals of what it is I wish to state. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;One may perceive the book’s structure to be loose and quite flexible; oneRead More Comparing Evil in Emerson, Hawthorne, and Melville Essay2723 Words   |  11 Pagesproper sense of evil is surely an attribute of a great writer. (98-99) Although he made the remark in a different context, one would naturally associate Hawthorne and Melville with the comment, while Emersons might be one of the last names to mind. For the modern reader, who is often in the habit of assuming that the most profound and incisive apprehension of reality is a sense of tragedy, Emerson seems to have lost his grip. He has often been charged with a lack of vision of evil and tragedy. YeatsRead MoreEssay Prompts4057 Words   |  17 PagesAP ENGLISH LIT AND COMP FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS 2004 (Form A): Critic Roland Barthes has said, â€Å"Literature is the question minus the answer.† Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes’ Observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. You may select a work from the list below or another