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Allusions In Willy Buddd

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In Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd,” Captain the Honorable Edward Fairfax Vere is torn between the desires of personal, moral convictions and the letter of the law. Vere’s difficulties are represented by the decision to hang Billy or forgive him. Furthermore, Melville utilizes various biblical allusions and examples from history to promote his ideology through the character of Captain Vere. Melville introduces the historical background of the story before proceeding to describe life on the Bellipotent. His primary reason for doing so is to offer information that will in the near future affect Vere’s decision of condemning Billy to death by hanging. Rebellion is certainly not an act that is favored by the Captain of a particular unit, but such …show more content…

It was Pilate’s duty to maintain law and order, similar to Vere’s responsibility as captain aboard the warship. Pilate, before Christ’s sentence, stated that “ I am innocent of this man’s blood; see it to it yourselves.” This implies that Pilate did not morally agree with the death of Christ, but he had to perform his duty as judge. Similarly, Captain Vere mentions to the counsel at the trial to ignore their personal convictions. Vere asserts the “divine judgement of Ananias” upon Claggart’s death. Ananias was a disciple of Jesus Christ, but was struck dead for taking unlawful credit, Claggart of course lied about Billy’s involvement in an uprising against the captain. Before Claggart’s death, Billy was a representation of prelapsarian Adam, where as Claggart was symbolic of the serpent. The narrator digresses in extreme lengths to describe their individual traits and biblical similarities. Claggart was inherently evil and Billy was the epitome of a man. However, after Billy killed Claggart, he became a representation of Jesus Christ. This follows Vere’s portrayal of Pontius Pilate and eventually Abraham. Equivalent to God testing Abraham’s faith, Captain Vere is inspected by the laws of the military society. Vere continues to distress his resolution to whether follow his personal convictions or the maritime

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