Billy Budd Journey

Billy Budd: The Final Voyage Billy Budd is a story about a well-rounded and loved sailor recruited onto another ship; little did he know what was destined for him. But what is the in depth message behind it? Upon further reading, the novel is written in a third person point of view, and the reader gets little to no information about the narrator, other than the fact that the narrator likes Billy Budd quite a lot. The narrator continuously refers to Billy Budd as a “Christ like” religious figure in a society where simple innocence is corrupted by evil, but Billy still stands for what he believes in just like Jesus did.

There is no shortage of biblical allusions, religious diction, and dialogue that Melville writes to prove that Billy Budd acts

Billy Budd is the model of innocence physically and emotionally when recruited into the H.M.S Bellipotent, just like Adam before the temptation for the apple and before the fall of mankind. At this instant Billy Budd is being described as Adam, but the character will evolve into something greater. Billy Budd’s apple is hitting Claggart. Once he does that his time is nearing the end just like when Adam took the apple. Next, right after Billy punched Claggart, Captain Vere says, “Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!” (BB 59) This excerpt shows Captain Vere’s reaction towards Billy Budd’s action. Captain Vere had so much respect for Billy Budd, which is evident because Captain Vere calls him an angel of God. An angel of God is some person or some thing working for God, just like Jesus. Jesus was born to help God by helping others on Earth. So Captain Vere saying, “…by an angel of

This is a biblical reference; the story of Ananias is basically the ending of someone who lies. Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit about money and died suddenly as a consequence by God. Here Claggart lies about Billy Budd and is killed consequently as punishment for deceiving God. During his trial, Billy Budd says, “Captain Vere tells the truth. It is just as Captain Vere says, but it is not as the Master-at-arms said. I have eaten the King’s bread and I am true to the King.” (BB 63) In this excerpt Billy Budd is accepting everything that Captain Vere has said but rejecting all the accusations that Claggart made. However, Billy Budd mentions the King. He is referencing to God. He is true to God, which also goes with the Ananias story, because he doesn’t want to die in vain like Claggart. He also says, “"Could I have used my tongue I would not have struck him. But he foully lied to my face and in presence of my captain, and I had to say something, and I could only say it with a blow, God help me!" (BB 63) Billy Budd is explaining his actions to the court, and he is genuinely sorry that Claggart is dead and looking back he realizes he could have used words instead of fists. Then