Free Billy Budd Essays: Triumph of Good over Evil :: Billy Budd Essays

Triumph of Good over Evil in Billy Budd   Herman Melvilles Billy Budd is a classic tale of good and evil.  Good is unendingly attacked by evil - until good falters.  Through the use of many literary devices, Melville makes a compelling story and develops his theme.  He shows that the good and righteous will delight over evil at the end, even when the evil is death.               The protagonist, Billy Budd, is the major force of good in the book.  Billy is a young man who seems to bring everything going for him.  He is big, strong, handsome, and he has a personality that draws everyone to him.  Everywhere he goes, he charms people, gaining the respect of those around him. A great deal of imagery is apply in describing how aesthetically perfect Billy is.  ***Give an example of this from the text*** Besides Billys stutter, he seems absolutely perfect. Billy is a sailor.  His original ship was the R ights-Of-Man, hardly he is later impressed by the Bellipotent and he becomes a foretop man.  As usual, he charms everyone.  They even call him The Handsome Sailor.  On the ship, Billy is regard by everyone except the protagonist, John Claggart.    Claggart is extremely jealous and holds a considerable amount of contempt for him.  ***What is the relationship between Billy and Claggart?*** At first he tries to be nice to Billy, but soon his true jealousies surface.  He begins to scold Billy for insignificant lapses and tries to degrade him.  In one instance when Billy spills a bowl of soup, Claggart sardonically says to Billy, Handsome is as handsome did it Deep inside, Claggart besides thinks that Billy is secretly plotting against him.  When his madness really begins to take over, Claggart starts thinking of ways to picture Billy to be a traitor.  Finally, his chance comes when a guardsman approaches Billy in the middle of the night and a sks him to join a mutiny effort with all the others that were impressed.  The guardsman also offers Billy a bribe.  Billy becomes so angry that he almost throws the guardsman overboard.  When Claggart hears of this, he immediately runs straight to Captain Vere.  Captain Vere is a well-educated, level-headed man.  He is staring(a) but just.  He offers Billy a chance to see his accuser and Billy accepts.  When Billy hears the lies that were being told of him, he goes crazy.