Billy Budd Outsider

Billy’s retaliation leads to another conflict between good and evil where Captain Vere must decide Billy’s fate after he commits a crime punishable by death after killing Claggart. Vere likes Billy’s character and would not like to see Billy put to death. Vere accepts that Claggart provoked Billy’s retaliation by lying and can see the evil in Claggart but also recognizes the call of duty which at war-time was non-tolerable for such an offence. Vere is troubled with the conflict of conscience and duty and under the circumstances of war he does what is right and has Billy hung. Captain Vere loves Billy and has no problem with him in any way but finds where authority has evil it will command.

      In his decision making, Vere reminded himself he was under the oath of the King, not human inclinations. If Vere had not done this Billy might have lived. This was not, however, the real reason for changing his mind. The real reason was because others would have followed in Billy’s alleged footsteps if he were not punished. Billy Budd’s life was sacrificed for an unjust reason, and the circumstances surrounding his death were definitely questionable. However, Vere made the decision that he had to although it wasn't morally right for Captain Vere it was the only fair decision he could have made to hang him. The consequences of what might have happened if his life had been spared were far greater that those of grief for Billy's death. Billy’s death was truly necessary for things to remain in order on the ship, especially without crew members entertaining the idea of killing another or starting a mutiny. The hanging of Billy Budd shows the need for punishment to occur for justice to

Some people say that Billy should have hit Claggart. They argue that because Billy couldn't speak at moment and he had to take up for himself by some other means. However, the Bible says differently to that logic for it says in Proverbs 29:11”A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back.”

Similarly to Ethan, Captain Vere expresses concern for the foundation of the ship due to chances of social criticism. The effects of social expectations can be seen through Captain Vere. Captain Vere has to address the turmoil between Billy and Calggart. When he realizes that the

With this description, Vonnegut vastly distances Billy from the ideal, strong and mighty image of a soldier, yet Billy is a soldier nonetheless. Not only is this weak and ungracious character fighting and representing the honour of his country but also he is one of the few soldiers who survive the war; he outlives many of the other soldiers that could be considered better suited for war. Furthermore, Vonnegut compares Billy to a filthy flamingo, highlighting the distance that exists between society's soldier ideal, graceful and admirable, and the soldiers' reality, harsh and rampageous. In short, Billy is so far from what is expected that he “shouldn't even be in the Army” (51). However, Billy is not the only soldier in this ludicrous predicament. Vonnegut describes the entire Army as chaotic, confused and ludicrous:

Throughout the end of Billy Bud, Sailor, Herman Melville uses facts, reasoning, word choice, and emotion to have the drumhead court give in to Captain Vere. Vere only lives by the rules of war and the rules would tell him that Billy was not right and he deserves to be sentenced to death. In order for Vere to get the court on his side, Vere sympathizes with the court about how he knows that this case is very tough and he understands what they are going through. He then discusses how the court's duty is more important than their conscience, and lastly he shows that the action of Billy is what matters, not the intention. Vere states how Billy has a generous nature and that he would feel for the court too, that he would understand that they needed

Who is responsible for killing Billy Budd? Is it Claggart, Captain Vere, or Billy Bubb himself? There are many people who will argue all three men are responsible for killing Billy Budd. Their argument is Claggart, also known as Jemmy Leggs, provoked Billy in to striking him, attacking an officer is a serious offense. Captain Vere witnessed Claggart pushing Billy’s buttons by yelling at him, accusing him of mutiny, and saw the frustration in Billy’s face, but did not pull rank and order both men to stand down. However Billy is responsible for his own actions and should never had let anyone control his emotions.

One man in his crew, Billy Budd, punches an officer named John Claggart, killing him. After pondering all the details of the case, Vere sentences Billy to death. Everyone can agree Claggart died after Billy punched him. Some believe Captain Vere is justified in sentencing Billy to death.

Billy Budd deals with a sailor who is the titular character of the novella. Billy was impressed on the Bellipotent but he was accepted by the crew of the ship for being kind-hearted and a handsome man many people adored. One day, Billy accidentally spilled his soup and Claggart, who has a hatred towards Billy, decides to plot against him. Late at night, Billy overheard two men talking about a mutiny and was wrongly accused for the rumor (talking about mutiny against the captain is a crime) by Claggart, the ship’s master-at-arms. Billy, filled with animosity, retaliates by striking Claggart and accidentally murders the man. The ship’s captain, Vere, summons a drumhead court-martial in fear of a mutiny bursting in any second. Vere follows the rule and have Billy hanged. In the essays of Charles Reich and Robert Martin, they claim that the decisions of the captain was wrongful. They are in the right mindset to believe that Billy shouldn't had been killed.

As First Lieutenant, I regretfully recommend that Billy Budd have to deal with the consequences of death. Although he is a valuable asset to the crew, at the end of the day, he struck a commanding officer. Other officers believed that he should be let go due to his moral character, work ethic and disability that made him strike Claggart. That being said, rules are rules and they were created for a reason. It is my duty to honor this uniform

Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor consistently plays with the tenets of literary romanticism. The titular character, Billy Budd, is in fact romanticized, but only to an extent. Though presented as exuding senses of virtue and perfection, Billy’s otherwise beautiful character is marred by actions of violence and blatant passivity. However, at the end of the novel during his execution, Billy is ultimately portrayed in an almost divine light, presented as a romantic martyr akin to Jesus Christ. From this, Billy effectively leaves his corporeal form, transcending into a sort of legend for sailors, peculiarly free of his previous vice. After looking at this strange resolution, I believe that the first few paragraphs of this play present a

In the story of Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville the main themes are justice and loyalty. Is Billy being sentences to death with just cause? While Billy did commit “mutiny” was that his intention? Should Captain Vere serve his king or his conscious? These questions are tested but ultimately Captain Vere must side with the law and make an example to the other crew members what mutinous acts are met with.

In result he didn’t much about the routines of what to do on the ship unlike the other men. If something went wrong with the ship and he didn’t know how to fix the issue then he could put the whole crew including himself in danger. In times when a dangerous situation could possibly happen you should remain extra careful and cautious. A specific example is in to Build a Fire, the man got stuck in a life or death situation because he made mistakes which lead to the tragic end of the story. One mistake he made was in the very beginning.

Claggart has always had it out for Billy and at the ultimate point of him trying to persecute and thus killing Billy, it had resulted in Claggart’s own death at the hands of Billy himself. Another major instance of paradox is the status that Billy received after he was executed. The entire crew of the ship was able to witness not only the execution of Billy but most importantly the incredible forgiveness that he was able to show. The reason for his execution was that he was considered a leader of a revolution against the shipmaster and guilty of murder but his legacy reigned on in an extremely positive light. They were clearly scared of the influence and power that Billy held even though he made no attempts at obtaining control of the ship “The potential threat of mutiny makes Vere less ‘starry’ and more fearful, less intuitive and more rigidly rationalistic” (Crane 12).

William ‘Billy’ Budd has been described as a ‘Christ’ like character. His physical appearance remains to be a focus throughout, and his perfection is, ultimately, what attracts all the sailors to him. Billy has an innocence to him that many on the ship have lost. However, nothing is perfect as it seems, as Billy’s flaws lead to his demise. Billy’s stutter, as well as his childlike mentality when it comes to aggravated situations show that while God can create seemingly ‘perfect’ beings, Satan and evil also have their say and play a crucial part. Billy’s death in the novella can be considered a mirrored image of Christ’s death in the bible. Even their last words bear a sense of forgiveness. Billy’s final “God Bless Captain Vere!”, (page 86), is very similar to Christ’s, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Billy’s final exclamation results in a lack of wavering faith and, almost, forgiveness for Captain Vere’s condemning William to death. Additionally, as written in chapter 27, Melville compares Billy to