Billy Budd

Billy Budd, a novel by Herman Melville, is an allegory of good versus evil. Billy, a young man forced into service in the British Navy during the late 18th century is the embodiment of innocence. John Claggart, whom is the master at arms aboard Billy’s second ship, is evil personified. Their impending confrontation is the basis for the main prevailing theme of good versus evil. When the two collide and Billy kills Claggart in a fit of rage, Captain Vere, Captain of the Bellipotent and advocate of Billy, is forced to decide how important duty and principal are to him and essentially provides the basis for another important theme in the story: when does one’s conscience supersede the law?
Billy Budd is a physically beautiful human being, whom Melville claims could pose as the likeness of Adam before the fall, one of many biblical references in the novel. He is the only sailor selected to move from the ship Rights of Man to the Bellipotent and quickly is accepted on his new shi...