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Billy Budd Good Vs Evil

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Billy Budd by Herman Melville In Billy Budd, Herman Melville discusses the timeless allegories of good vs. evil and conscience vs. law. Some motifs that he uses to inform the reader of these themes are Christian allusions, suggestive names, and the various ships that are brought up in the story. The story is narrated in the third person, and before reaching the second half of this novel, I was certain that the narrator had Attention Deficit Disorder. The narrator constantly switches from topic to topic and idea to idea, making the book very hard to read and follow. However, the story picks up and keeps the reader on the edge of his seat until the bitter end. The protagonist of this novel is Billy Budd, an innocent, young sailor who has just …show more content…

evil. The main evil character, the master-at-arms, is envious of the main good character, Billy Budd. Life on the warship is governed by a strict list of rules, so many sailors tend to distrust other individuals. Evil men seem to be plentiful on the ship, and they constantly disguise their intentions. This makes it hard to know whether or not a sailor on Billy's ship is good or evil. The veteran sailor that Billy seeks advice from has had so many experiences with these dishonest people, and as a result, he has acquired a suspicion in his dealings with others. In Billy Budd, men who confront the law and evil suffer dreadful, sometimes fatal consequences, signifying that evil and the law are closely related. The second conflict in this novel is the allegory of conscience vs. the law. This conflict is manifested in the captain of the ship. His extremely difficult decision on whether or not to hang Billy pits his conscience and the law against each other. The captain loves Billy and views him as his own son, but he ultimately hangs Billy due to his fear that there will be a mutiny on the ship if he doesn't. Laws, not the commands of the individual conscience, seem to rule the warship community, and this forces the captain to act against his own

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I believe that Billy was the most heroic character in “Billy Budd” than Captain Vere. He was a man that did not argue or be mad even though he was forced on a naval ship. He was generally kind and was liked by other sailors. Even when Captain Vere made him be hang, he accepted the situation, and sacrifice himself for other problems that could happen if he was not punished. While in the other hand.

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Captain Vere liked Billy Budd and he did not want him to have to go through the imbaressment of being put in a public court and get the same sentence that he could have gotten on the his ship. Captain Vere was doing Billy a favor to punish him alown on the ship. Some people might argue that Captain Vere did not know if a mutiny would break out if Billy lived. However, I would have to say that nothing is certain and the disission was the most logical and sensable descion he could have made.

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Billy can’t control his temper, he is a barbaric monster, and he committed a damaging crime. It matters to the crew because they will be judged and taken as murders them

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Billy's father disappeared early in his life, so his brother, mother, and he moved to Indiana and later to Kansas. When Billy was 15, his mother died and Billy began to get into trouble. He could be charming and polite one moment, then outraged and violent the next. This vioence was key during his heists and robberies. He looked like a nice, respectable "kid", which he used to his advantage.

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Ultimately, he decided on obeying the law, doing what he decided was the right thing to do. Although he followed his conscience, sentencing Billy to death caused him extreme guilt. He expresses this in his quote, “I am just a man, not fit to do the work of God... or the Devil.” This shows that although he followed what is right, it was detrimental to Captain Vere in the long run, because it caused him anguish and guilt. Although doing the right thing can temporarily benefit both the person doing the act, and who it affects, in the long run it doesn't matter.

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In the novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville, Captain Vere portrays a morally ambiguous character, and plays a very pivotal role. Vere isn't necessarily the villain throughout the novel, but isn't the good guy either. He kills Billy to prevent a mutiny and also persuades the court he calls into agreeing with the death sentence, but also is the captain of a ship and helps the ship run smoothly. When in a tough situation, Vere tends to fumble which shows common human nature.

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