Papers ordered on SP

1. Running head: AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY
BUDD, SAILOR.
AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR.
Student`s Name:
Institution`s Name:
Date of Submission:

2. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 2
Introduction
Billy is portrayed as an innocent character, as this indication validates his nature as well as his
supposedly egregious actions. In the story, Billy is a sailor who incurs the wrath of a fellow
sailor, John Claggart, the ship’s master of arms. As the story reveals, Claggart is suspicious of
Billy’s innocence and envious of his charisma and popularity among the crew. As a result of his
contempt for Billy, Claggart falsely accuses Billy of treason. From the start of the story, Billy is
presented as an innocent individual who remained quite in all that he did. He is also an individual
who was always committed to his work and never did wrong to anyone. However, in the story,
there is Claggart who hated Billy from the start and his only objective was to make sure that the
life of Billy was destroyed. He looks for all means t make sure that the life of Billy is a living
hell, but the entire tine Billy was keen enough to avoid mistakes. However, things become worse
when he gets a chance to put Billy in trouble and he immediately accuses him falsely (Selsor,
1973). The rest of the story is a tale and it has a sad end because Billy ends up hanged for
something he never committed.
The story completed about Budd Billy Sailor is one of the popular stories that generate
the hostile interpretation. It was hard to comprehend how Billy who is an innocent person ends
up being convicted as for the crime he did not committed and sentenced to treason. Billy Budd
is an innocent, friendly and a humble individual. He is however pitted against the ship of the
Master Claggart who was cruel and always determined to make sure the life of Billy is
destroyed. He takes the advantage to accuse Bill falsely; he is convicted and hanged for death
(Parker, 1990). The battles surrounding the moral and political vision are the main question.
Billy faces the jury for the crimes that he didn’t commit, but due to his silence and the unfairness

3. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 3
in the law the Jury sentences Bill to death. The main aim of the paper is to critically evaluate the
moral issues that arise as a consequence of Claggart’s claim. This tale explores both religious
and moral themes, and the story considers Billy Budd’s helplessness and the desirability of
innocence as it pertains to the eternal struggle of good and evil as manifested in mortal affairs
indicative of civil law and hence order. This will consider the implications of Billy’s actions,
trial, and the concept of justice as evident in Billy Bud’s punishment. It can be contented that
the judgment and the death of Billy was not based on right analysis of the jury, but it was
based on the injustices in the legal system, and the struggle between good and bad as well
as Vera`s conscience and the law
“With no power to annul the elemental evil in him, though readily enough he could hide
it; apprehending the good, but powerless to be it; a nature like Claggart’s, surcharged with
energy as such natures almost invariably are, what recourse is left to it but to recoil upon itself
and, like the scorpion for which the Creator alone is responsible, act out to the end the part
allotted “According to this quote, the accusations that Claggart directed to Billy were
questionable, The fact that it is Claggart who accused Billy is questionable, due to the fact that
the two had a strange relationship. Since the beginning, Claggart seems to focus on punishing
Billy for any little mistake that he does. The best part is that despite the hatred, Billy works hard
in his work to make sure he has little or no collision with Claggart. However, all this time, he has
a grudge and swears to destroy Billy any day he will get him in any mistake“ Billy is the
handsom Sailor who respectes and even adored by his shipmates , is unjustly accused of
plotting mutiny by the ships master at arms, John Claggart whose actions seems motivated only
by an inexplicable inborn malice”. In the novel, Billy and Claggart are represented as the two

4. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 4
individuals with the controlling forces that are beyond control. Claggart cannot fathom the
hatred that drives him to act that way towards Billy (Selsor, 1973). This is the reason he accuses
Billy wrongly to make sure his life is destroyed. It is just a case of anger and revenge. If the Jury
was keen enough, they could have analyzed the behavior of Billy and check if he had any
criminal records. However, this is not the case because the Jury quickly judges Billy as guilty
without considering any evidence.
Though Vere is very strict about his duties as Captain, "he was no lover of authority for
authority's sake" (21.8). The quote highlights the character of an individual who was given the
role to make the ruling in the court. The fact that Vere is an individual with his own interests
and he is left to make the verdict is questionable. Vere takes control of the court and denies
people who were in the court the chance to express their ideas about the ruling. There were
members if the ship`s crew insisted to Captain Vere to pass a fair and just judgment to Billy
since they knew he was innocent. However, Vere takes the dubious dual responsibility as the
witness (Parker, 1990) “The court then asks if there was previous malice between he and
Claggart, and he says that there was not. He says that after Claggart lied to his face, "I had to
say something, and I could only say it with a blow, God help me!" (21.14).” However, it is
disappointing to realize at the end of the court session, an individual that everyone knows he is
innocent is judged guilty for the crime he did not commit. The people start to murmur and
complain about the verdict but the superiors on the ship use the whistles to direct people to the
chores. This is a clear indication that people were not satisfied with the ruling and somehow
they were all aware that the verdict was based on false evidence and the desire to make sure that
Billy is convicted falsely.

5. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 5
“The court then asks if there was previous malice between he and Claggart, and he says that
there was not. He says that after Claggart lied to his face.” The reply of Vere is hurting and it
due to the lack on morals that an individual can accept to so what Vere did. The immoral
practices of the court also come clear when the people in the court react angrily towards the
verdict. To some degree, Vere was taken as an exchangeable part in military. Vere acts out of
his responsibilities as the military officer when he puts the life morals aside. During this time,
the other members realize what is happening and they protect against the unjust act. It is
questionable how good is Vere in philosophy ? it is the knowledge that he has regarding moral
that torments his internal conscience, but still Vere cannot make a just decision on his own and
decides to act in an ignorant manner. Initially, Vere seems to believe that Billy is a victim of
false accusations. However, everything changes when Claggart confronts him with the evidence
and at this point Vere immediately changes his perception about Billy “The members of the court
don't agree with him in all particulars, but none of them feel adequate to argue with him.”. The
role of the court is to make sure justice is served. However, it is surprising that in this case, Vere
decision is unquestionable despite knowing that there was something happening. It is sad that
the wrong conviction of Billy haunts Vere all along. After Captain Vere "sacrifices" Billy, he is
wholly and absolutely affected by culpability. His final words, as he was dying from a musket
ball injury a few days afterward, are "Billy Budd, Billy Budd" (28.4). Through these words, it
can be concluded that Billy was innocent and the fact that he had convicted him wrongly could
not give him the peace of mind.

6. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 6
"It is a 'mystery of iniquity,' a matter for psychologic theologians to discuss" (21.22 , this
is clear that Vere was only concerned about his conscience and never the law. Despite the fact
that he knew Claggart accused Billy focused, he states the conviction of Billy to be hanged also
creates many questions on the moral practices of the jury. This is the point when the dilemma
between the spirit and the law letter places Vera between his conscience and the law. Since the
law is there to enhance integrity and the moral practices of the society, it is the point that Vere
was expected to make the right decision. Traditionally, people in the society believe that justice
blind, but this is for an incredible purpose. Once the adjudicator starts basing the judgments on
eliminating meticulous or individual circumstances along with the considerations, he threatens
the structure of the law and, by additional room, as well as the fabric of society. However, the
firm application of the law by the firm implies nothing considering the law itself is unjust.
Regardless of the judgment of Captain Vere’s wiles, especially as they are used during the period
of war, the chances that we can be left with the feeling that Billy is sacrificed without cause to
the superior splendor of a theoretical, dehumanized cause (Melville, 2004).
In many courts of the law, aim and motivation determines the action that should be taken.
Something that is considered as wrong when done in the service of noble effect is not justified
clearly. The steady understanding eventually motivates both the revision, redesigning and
improvement of laws. As a result, it represents how the law prevails in the upheaval against the
wicked hand of those who oppress them. In the trial of Billy, first the jury questions and later the
jury conforms to the harsh, reliance of Vere towards the military justice. This is a system that
rejects both the motive and the intentions of the law. Undoubtedly, the query of whether Billy is
truthfully guilty of treachery as a result of his silence about a possible scheme complicates

7. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 7
matters. Yet, the judgment that was based upon what they understand, the jury continues to make
the unjust verdict to denounce a man without considering his circumstances. Further, the
question on who should be held responsible for the death of Billy is one of the challenging
questions that Melville’s book raises. Sturdy disagreement could be prepared against the
confrontational Claggart, who gaggled Billy to the take part in an action of bald disapproval. In
this case, one can easily state that Claggart acquired what he really deserved for he intentionally
dragged Billy down together with him in the progression of his muckraking. On the other hand,
it was Billy himself who decided to make the major the transgression, by committing homicide
before an effortless, dishonest, indictment. In this case, the only thing he had to do was to stand
in his position and defend himself knowing that he was innocent. The fact that Vere was till
doubting the allegations that were made by Claggart, it could have been easy for Billy to
convince the jury increasing the chances of dismissing the allegations.
Lastly, there are possibilities for an individual to pin the decisive culpability on Captain
Vere, the unbendable nit-picker who insists on haulage out the law to the accurate letter, despite
the fact that this was against his own enhanced judgment. In inserting the principles on top of
people, there are chances that one can contend that Vere has devoted the gravest mistake above
all, and at the same time he was trying to clean the responsibility of his hands in the very
process. Despite the circumstances Melville continuously manages to prove that that Vere is
operating under the unenthusiastic manipulations of superior forces, communal situations, and
the laws that were inspired by a desire for power and a compel to war. In this sense, Melville
manages to draws the concentration to the thought that, in the contemporary world, individuals
nurture up in an intrinsically defective and malevolence culture that causes them to be hard to

8. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 8
the desires of their beneficiary human beings. As a result, the laundry catalog of culpable parties
could go on and on, counting people like the Dansker (Selsor, 1973). However, despite the
argument on whom to believe, it is still evident that Billy was convicted innocently.
In conclusion, Billy is presented as an innocent individual who remained quite in all that he
did. He is also an individual who was always committed to his work and never did wrong to
anyone. However, in the story, there is Claggart who hated Billy from the start and his only
objective was to make sure that the life of Billy was destroyed. He looks for all means t make
sure that the life of Billy is a living hell, but all the tine Billy was keen enough to avoid mistakes.
However, things become worse when he gets a chance to put Billy in trouble and he
immediately accuses him falsely. The rest of the story is a tale and it has a sad end because Billy
ends up hanged for something he never committed. Billy is an innocent man who is just got
between power and conscience (Parker, 1990). He is convicted by Claggart for the crime he
never committed, but he has no way to defend himself. The Jury is the one that is irresponsible
especially when they chose to believe the accusations without considering the character of Billy
who has been a humble and truthful individual. Vera is in charge of the case, and he is
incompetent when he gives a wrongful verdict sending an innocent man to treason. Additionally,
the jury is also irresponsible and does not analyze the situations surrounding the judgment of
Billy. This fulfills the argument that the judgment and the death of Billy was not based on
right analysis of the jury, but it was based on the injustices in the legal system, and the
struggle between good and bad as well as Vera`s conscience and the law

9. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 9
References
Melville, H. (2004). Billy Budd, Sailor. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Parker, H. (1990). Reading Billy Budd. New York: Northwestern University Press.
Selsor, T. A. (1973). A Thematic and Structural Analysis of Billy Budd, Sailor. New York:
University of Wisconsin--Madison.

10. AN ARGUMENT WHERE YOU EVALUATE HERMAN MELVILLE’S BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR. 9
References
Melville, H. (2004). Billy Budd, Sailor. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Parker, H. (1990). Reading Billy Budd. New York: Northwestern University Press.
Selsor, T. A. (1973). A Thematic and Structural Analysis of Billy Budd, Sailor. New York:
University of Wisconsin--Madison.