The Fall of Billy Budd
Set in the 1790s during the Napoleonic Wars, Herman Melville's short story, Billy Budd, Sailor, is an exposé of the classic debate over the nature of man. Melville's story is filled with long and often pointless sentences, and the story lacks a clear sense of organization. Despite the difficulty of the read, Billy Budd is still a worthwhile piece of fiction due to Melville's marvelous ability to present the themes of the subjectivity of justice and the fragility of innocence.
Billy Budd is a young, handsome, naïve sailor aboard the English ship the HMS "Bellipotent". He has been forced into service but works hard and follows orders anyways. One day, he is accused by the ship's master-at-arms, John Claggart, of attempted mutiny. Claggart lies to the captain out of his own envy of the young sailor even though the penalty for mutiny is death by hanging. The situation is especially serious due to several recent mutinies aboard other ships in the navy. Captain Vere is then presented with a difficult situation. Billy Budd had always been a hard worker and favorite of those on board the ship, but naval laws were inflexible. The main focus of the book revolves around Vere's choice of conscience or the letter of the law.
The story is short, but it is by no means a quick read. Billy Budd was published after Herman Melville had died. Sadly, the book was unfinished. Although the themes are present, the structure of the book is in total disarray. The dialogue is fragmented in places, and there appears to be lack of true development for any of the characters. However, Billy Budd's situation still allows Melville to expound his themes. Billy represents innocence and Claggart represents evil. Melville pits these age old opponents against each other in a decidedly new way which makes this book a good read for any mature reader. Like the Biblical story of The Fall, Billy Budd has his innocence corrupted by a man who hates Billy for his favored status aboard the ship. Naval Law would see Billy hanged, but Captain Vere has a hard time consenting to this. Vere, along with the reader begin to question the true nature of justice. Who says what is right and what is wrong, and how are we to really know? Billy's tragedy will ultimately leave any reader with more questions than answers.
I had to read this book twice, but after the second time, I was able to fully appreciate Melville's brilliance. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classical literature. However, I would not recommend this book for anyone who just wants an entertaining story. Try something in the James Clavell or Ken Follett catalogue if entertainment is what you seek.
Bill Budd : Ishmael's Idiot Cousin
I went into Billy Budd expecting fully unique characters, dynamic adventure scenes, amusing-to-analyze homoeroticism, and original themes. What I got was a flat, uninspired narrative that would have been furiously marked in red by any high school English teacher for its excessive description and dull prose. Melville, what the heck!?? I go from a breathtaking adventure novel to this yawn-inspiring allegorical novella?
When Moby Dick indulges in diversions, it's like humoring a genius uncle who interrupts a riveting tale of his past for an educational discourse on different types of whales. When Billy Budd breaks up its narratives it's like suffering through a boring lecture from a professor who assumes his idiotic students haven't done the assigned reading.
Talk about a disappointment! I suspect that many people who claim to like Billy Budd do so because it's short and easy to analyze, and you can say things like "Oh, Moby Dick is next on my list. I loved Billy Budd." Did you really? I'll admit that the issues are compelling- innocence corrupted by evil, religion's role in perpetuating war, the condemnation of modern warfare which honors efficiency over valor... and so on... but they are not explored in an interesting or particularly thought-provoking way.
I agree with some other reviewers that this story reads like a draft rather than a finished work. Perhaps if Melville had further developed this it would have evolved into something brilliant, but he died before that could happen. I find the notion of Starry Vere arguing strongly for a decision which he finds unconscionable compelling, and I like Claggart's sociopathic obsession with handsome Billy. These could have been fleshed out- perhaps at the expense of the over-long professions of Billy's ethereal beauty- but they were left awash in a sea of messy, weak plot.
I doubt I will bother reading most of the stories. Herman Melville remains one of my favorite authors because of the intense enjoyment I derived from Moby Dick, but my opinion of him has been tarnished after reading this.
Sailors' Favorite Framed, Takes Rap
*BILLY BUDD, a classic tale by America's Herman Melville, was written 40 years after his burst of creative energy. Melville still possessed the feeling for a good story, but he wrote it in a language so ornate and (to our modern eyes) stilted, that one can hardly absorb it. Nevertheless, BILLY BUDD deals with a timeless human issue---the nature of justice. Billy, a handsome young sailor, has been impressed into the British Navy where he incurs the jealousy or instinctive dislike of an officer. Billy has done nothing to warrant his wrath and is highly popular among everyone. This officer, rather more intellectual than most, proves tenaciously vindictive. He endeavors to trap Billy in a mutinous plot, but Billy rejects the idea. At last the officer goes to the captain and accuses Billy of mutiny directly. The captain too likes Billy and cannot believe the accuser. He calls Billy, who in tense circumstances is apt to stutter or be tongue-tied. When presented with the officer's accusations, Billy cannot speak. He strikes the officer. The conclusion is swift and sad. I should not reveal the ending, but the question of "what is justice ?" lies at the center of it.
*Other Tales---these are neither very enjoyable nor easy to read except for BARTLEBY THE SCRIVENER, an amusing story that might remind readers of one episode from "Sinbad the Sailor". Bartleby, a copyist or scrivener arrives at a lawyer's office and is hired. He seems to have no past, no present. We discover that he even lives at the office, never goes out. He gradually refuses to do all work, but will not leave the premises. How to get rid of him ? I could tell you the end, but in the immortal words of Bartleby himself, "I would prefer not to." This is a minor classic.
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