Billy Budd Essay: Themes of Good and Evil -- Billy Budd Essays

Themes of Good and Evilin baton Budd Many themes relating to the conflict between Good and Evil can be found in Herman Melvilles novella billystick Budd. Perhaps one of the nearly widely recognized themes in Billy Budd is the corruption of innocence by society (Gilmore 18). Society in Billy Budd is represented by an ordinal century incline man-of- fight, the H.M.S. Bellipotent. Billy, who represents innocence, is a young seaman of twenty-one who is enable with physical strength, beauty, and good nature (Voss 44). A crew member alongside the merchant ship Rights of Man, Billy is impressed by the English navy and is taken aboard the H.M.S. Bellipotent. As he boards the H.M.S. Bellipotent, he calmly utters, Goodbye, Rights of Man, a farewell to his ship and crewmates. However, this farewell is non only meant for his ship, but for his factual rights as well, the rights that would have kept him innocent until proven guilty below a normal society (Gilmore 18). The society repr esented by the H.M.S. Bellipotent is often different from that of the outside world, as the various laws and regulations in effect during war turn a civilized society into more of a unmannerly state. The rights that are fought for during war were no longer possessed by the workforce on board the Bellipotent in an attempt to keep order as best as possible (Gilmore 18). Billy was impressed by the English navy because of a need for good sailors. The Rights of Man cannot survive in the war-torn waters of the ocean without the protection of the Bellipotent, and the Bellipotent cannot protect the Rights of Man if it does not impress sailors (Tucker 248). On the H.M.S. Bellipotent, Billy faces destruction from a force which he does not ... ...ic Encyclopedia. 1994 ed. Bloom, Harold. The Chelsea House Library of Literary critique. Philadelphia Chelsea House Publishers, 1989. Bloom, Harold. Modern vital Views of Herman Melville. Philadelphia Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Foster, Edw ard, ed. Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century. Minneapolis University of Minneapolis Press, 1968. Gilmore, Michael T., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Billy Budd. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Prentice Hall Inc., 1971. Tucker, Martin, ed. Moultons Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. 4 vols. New York Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1966. Van Doren, Carl. The American Novel. New York The Macmillian Company, 1968. Voss, Authur. The American Short Story. Norman, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Press, 1973.