Billy Budd Essay

     Herman Melville’s Billy Budd is a classic tale of innocence and evil. The main force of innocence is constantly attacked by the force of evil until the innocence falters. Through the use of many literary devices, Melville shows how sometimes the obvious results do not always occur when they are being expected. However, he also shows that the force of all that is good and righteous will triumph over evil at the end, even over death.

Billy is innocent in a sense that he has done no wrong which leads to his blind and naïve view of evil. The Dankster tries to warn Billy that ‘nobody’s friend is Jimmy-Legs’ and by saying ‘he is down on you’ but he does not see Claggart to be a threat of any sort. Billy’s innocence and devotion to good do not let him see the evil in Claggart whom is trying to destroy him but eventually conflict resulting in the murder of Claggart from a blow by Billy.

The author uses imagery to develop the characters Montag and Beatty. At first Montag was able to do his job (burning books) without giving a second thought. Throughout the story Montag grows an appreciation for books. This dramatic change is shown in the first paragraph of the passage as Montag’s burning of books is described. The

It was very unlike Billy to ever do something so rash; he brought out the best in everyone. Captain Vere felt in his heart that Billy’s actions were a mistake, but he could not be sure. The accusation Claggart made was mutiny, and mutiny was a serious crime. Vere had no proof that Billy was not guilty, so for the safety of himself and his crew, he sacrificed Billy’s life.

     Jackie Robinson and integration are two phrases that cannot be segregated. Whether he liked it or not, he played the star role in the integration of society during the time that he played Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His heroic journey that landed him in the Majors shows, “how integration has come to baseball and how it can be achieved in every corner of the land'; (Robinson 16). But this amazing triumph over the Jim Crow laws could only have been possible in New York as Robinson says, “Cooperstown, New York, and Birmingham, Alabama, are both in the Unites States. In Cooperstown I had been the guest of honor in the company of three other new Hall of

     “ He struck a mighty blow for equality, freedom and the American way of life. Jackie Robinson was a good citizen, a great man, and the true American champion.'; Ronald Reagon. I don’t know if anyone could have summarized his life better. Jackie was a great influence to the American public. To over came diversity and succeed is a great accomplishment.

Herrick shows that a relationship has ‘centred’ Billy. His life has direction, routine and meaning. Billy’s identity at first was seen as a loner, he was isolated and a rebel. His mother was absent and his relationship with his father was intimidating. The lack of connection to family extends to Old Bill, whose daughter and wife died, and to Freya and Danny, who do not have the guidance of responsible adults. Herrick symbolises his disconnection and loneliness in ‘I didn’t go inside for hours./I looked through the back window/watching him/reading the paper/in front of the television/as if nothing happened’. Billy’s sense of belonging allows him to reforms his identity. Herrick shows this by juxtaposing Billy eating like a hobo in the first person narration in ‘And wait for the family of five to leave. / I can see dessert/ waiting for me’ and later eating like a refined mature adult via the descriptive language in ‘with a white tablecloth/and napkins/ and proper cutlery and plates.’ Comparatively, Freya grows up after Danny helps her deal with her miscarriage. This highlights that a person’s identity is defined by their connection to others. Both composers show an understanding of each other, allow them to nourish one another.

Stanley Tookie Williams III was born on December 29, 1953 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the age of six he moved to South Central's West Side neighborhood in Los Angeles. He was known as a fighter and running the streets of South Central's Westside. He attended John C. Freemont High School but was expelled and never graduated.

In Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor, readers are introduced to the conflict of good and evil between Billy Budd and Claggart. However, there is another conflict, which, in ways is more significant than the epic clash of good and evil. Vere’s struggle between duty and conscience is more significant because it occurs in the mind. Whereas Billy Budd was clearly the noble sacrificed hero and Claggart was the vindictive villain, duty is just as noble as conscience and conscience is just as noble as duty. Melville sets up this conflict by placing a man with the intuition and innocence of a child, in the hands of a captain amidst war. In a description of Captain Vere it can be anticipated that Vere, who values peace and common good, would be

Another Country and Go Tell it on the Mountain are two of James Baldwin's most analyzed novels. Some see both novels as great additions to American literature, while others criticize Baldwin's unique writing style used in both works.

In James Baldwin’s essay “Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation” in The Fire Next Time, Baldwin advises his black, adolescent nephew living in the 1960’s during the African-American Civil Rights Movement on what living a free life means based on Baldwin’s own experience as an adult. As an existential thinker, Baldwin attributes a person’s identity to the collection of accomplishments and failures in his or her entire lifetime, as opposed to accepting a person as determinately good or bad. In order to be truly free of oppression, according to Baldwin, African Americans must seek to be authentic by not conceding to the expectations and restrictions of racist white Americans. A person’s authenticity lies in

Billie Holiday, whose real name is Eleanora Gough, was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1915. She grew up mostly in Baltimore and always loved jazz. Billie was born to very young parents. Her mother was thirteen when she was born and her father just fifteen. (www.numberonestars.com, 2010)

Sadly enough Rich "suffered from a heart condition, and following surgery for a malignant brain tumor, died from heart failure in Los Angeles

Billy Weaver’s tea “[tastes] faintly of bitter almonds”, which hints to the readers that the tea contains arsenic poison, but he “[does not] care much for it].” Even though Roald Dahl does not explicitly show Billy’s death in the story, the readers can see his death. Billy Weaver is not only a fictional character, but a representation of naïve people including young children, teenagers and inexperienced members in society. Appearance is easy to see, but someone’s real-self is not easy to see, so naïve people can be fooled easily like Billy Weaver. They can be easily deceived by good appearances and end up with unwanted consequences such as kidnap, sexual harassment, fraud and death. If Billy Weaver had not trusted the landlady so easily, he would not have lost his precious life. The landlady and Billy Weaver teach the readers how deceiving appearance is, and fatal consequences that follow after misjudgement of a

As a direct foil for Budd, the narrator’s perception of Claggart is confined to his negative attributes. Claggart’s title, master-at-arms, implies a connection to the shore and civilization opposed to nature, like Budd. In fact, Claggart’s entire visage suggests his representation of society with his noble face, prominent chin, highly intelligent brow, and marble skin associated with withdrawal from sunlight, a force of nature. Even Claggart’s demeanor indicated his suspicious nature as the narrator describes that he “looked like a man of high quality, social and moral, who for reasons of his own was keeping incognito.” Likewise, the narrator compares Claggart to a scorpion, rat, and Pharisee to emphasize his untrustworthiness. Claggart’s animosity towards Budd