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HM 01 Billy J Billingsley
Billy Budd is one of three forces of good and evil in this book, probably more good than evil. Billy is a young man who seems to have everything going for him. "Giving no cause of offense to anybody, he was always alert at a call"(168). He is big, strong, handsome, and he has a personality and charisma that draws everyone to him. Everywhere he went he charmed people, gaining the respect of those around him, especially Captain Vere. When Captain Vere made reference to Billy it was always good and positive. "Ay Lieutenant you are going to take away the jewel of em; you are going to take away my peacemaker"(15). Not only is Billy a well-liked person, he is also a very accomplished sailor. After short arrival to his ship, he is placed in the position of foretop man. This is a crewman assigned to the top of the foremast. This position was given to the best of the best and Billy definitely fit the bill.
The crew liked Billy so much that they even did his laundry, sewing and the ships carpenter was making a chester drawer for him. "Though our handsome sailor has as much of masculine beauty as one can expect anywhere to see; nevertheless, like the beautiful woman in one of Hawthornes minor tales, there was just one thing amiss in him. No visible blemish indeed, as with the lady; no, but an occasional liability to vocal defect"(157). Billy stuttered when he was frightened or nervous. Now being compared to a woman leaves me to think that Billy might have been playing another roll on this ship as well. You would think Billy a very passive man up to now but when approached by the ships bully, Billy did not hesitate to defend himself by taking down the bully with one blow to the ribs. By defending himself Billy gained, even more so, the respect and admiration of the ships crew. Not only did Billy take down the ships bully with one blow, he also took another mans life with the same blow but to the forehead. This man was Claggart, an officer on the ship and who disliked Billy. During a hearing with Captain Vere and Claggart, Billy is accused of conspiring to mutiny. When Billy cannot speak because of his stuttering, he becomes so frustrated that he struck Claggart on the forehead and killed him with one blow. By committing this crime Billy was tried by a Military Court Marshall, found guilty and hung. In the comparison as Billy as a Christ figure in this book, I have to disagree. Lets look at the facts. Here you have a very handsome young man who is liked and respected by almost everyone. He works hard at his job at being a sailor, a friend and a leader among his peers. Billy believes in peace when it is practical but does not hesitate to fight when it is called for. He even threatens to throw a shipmate overboard which would mean his certain death. He also kills a man with his bare hands. From what I know about our Lord, Jesus Christ, he would not of had lifted a finger to harm a soul. He would of turned the and gave his adversaries the other cheek to strike.
Not every one on the ship liked Billy. There were a few that despised his good looks, charisma and leadership qualities. One of them was the Master at Arms John Claggart. He was an Officer on the ship. He is portrayed in this book as the villain and even compared with the Devil himself, which is a fair assumption given his deeds throughout the book. Claggart is jealous of Billys good looks. Even though Billy makes every effort to gain Claggarts favor, other crewmembersewed up rumors that Billy dislikes Claggart and vise versa.
Claggart started his Naval career late in life. As a matter of fact, he had to join the Navy or go to jail. Which tells you that Claggart did not have the moral or gentleman like qualities of a real Naval Officer. It is evident in the beginning that Claggart hides his contempt for Billy well by smiling and saying kind words to him as they pass on ship. The ill feelings that Claggart has for Billy is compounded when other crew members tell him that Billy is talking behind his back. This is confirmed in Claggarts mind when Billy accidentally spills a bowl of soup as Claggarts passes by him. Claggarts hides his contempt well by saying, "handsomely done my lad! And handsome is as handsome did it, too! (170)."
After this, Claggart set off to make Billys life on board very harsh. One evening, one of Claggarts henchmen called Billy out to the deck to talk to him. Billy could not make out the face of his caller but when he pulled out two gold coins and spoke of helping out in a pinch, Billy got nervous. He started to stutter and demand what he was talking about. Well, as I said earlier, Billy threatened to throw this individual overboard. With this evidence of a possible mutiny, Claggart went to Captain Vere and presented him this evidence that Billy is a dangerous person and wants to organize a mutiny. By doing this, Claggart would put a damper on Billys naval career and his standing with the crew of the ship and especially Captain Vere. This would make Claggart very happy.
As with the comparison as Claggart as the Devil, I would disagree as well. I do agree that he was a very bad individual but Satan he is not. I do think that when Billy struck down Claggart with one blow it did remind me of the biblical story David and Goliath.
Melville portraits Captain Vere as a dedicated Naval Officer who only permits obedience to duty and is very strict with discipline. When Billy smites Claggart down with one blow, Captain Vere is heartoken on the duties that he has to perform. "Struck down by an Angel of God! Yet the Angel must hang!"(188). After the incident happen right in front of his eyes. Captain Vere convenes a military court marshal, finds Billy guilty and sentences him to death.
As comparing Captain Vere to God is also receiving my disapproval. Being a commissioned officer in the Navy as well and the commander of his ship, Captain Vere had certain responsibilities to uphold and enforce regulations. Even though Claggart was trying to frame Billy, Captain Vere had no evidence of this; however, he did have solid evidence that Billy was a murderer. After all, Captain Vere witnessed the whole thing. He could do nothing but hold a military court marshal, find Billy guilty and punish him to full extent of the law and in those days it was at the end of a rope.
Work Cited
George McMichael, J.C. Levenson, Leo Marx, David E. Smith Mae Miller Claxton, and David Bunn Anthology of American Literature 7th Edition
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