Billy Budd and Other Stories
by
Herman Melville
Table of Contents
- ISBN:
-
0140390537
- Format:
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Paperback, 416 pages
- Publish Date:
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April, 1986
- Publisher:
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30
- Other Format(s):
-
Various other editions from other publishers exist.
Billy Budd and Other Stories, by Herman Melville Based partly on the author's own experiences and partly on the famous U.S.S. Somers incident (involving the controversial trial and execution of two midshipmen in 1842), Billy Budd is probably Herman Melville?s best-known work after his epic masterpice Moby-Dick. Interestingly, though, Billy Budd never saw the light of print during its author?s lifetime. When he died in 1891, Melville had only recently completed the manuscript, and it wasn?t until Melville?s work was enjoying a critical resurgence in the the 20th century that Billy Budd was finally published. In its intriguing ambiguities, its thought-provoking allegory, and its seafaring setting, it is pure Melville. The story of a young, popular sailor?s fall from grace at the hands of a scheming, jealous master-at-arms is filled with various conflicts: the rights of the individual vs. society, innocence vs. evil, and the letter of the law vs. one?s own instincts of right and wrong. Falsely accused of conspiring to mutiny, Billy Budd throws a punch at his spiteful accuser and accidentally kills him. He faces the drumhead court and subsequent death sentence with beatific calm, later becoming a legend among his fellow sailors. It?s one of literature?s great sea stories, but Billy Budd happens to be very interesting from a leadership angle as well. The often grueling dilemmas that come with having to be the leader, the decision-maker, are at the heart of the story. While Billy Budd is the obvious martyr of the tale, one can?t help but feel a more nuanced degree of sympathy for Captain Vere, who must pass sentence on Budd. He believes in Budd?s essential innocence, but he feels duty-bound to adhere to the rules, for the sake of maintaining proper order, for the sake of the ship. Budd?s unexpected last words before he is hanged are ?God bless Captain Vere!? As one literary critic aptly described Vere?s tough position, ?Being a good captain requires him to be a bad friend to Billy, just as being a good friend to Billy would require him to be a bad captain.? Difficult as it was on a personal level, Vere opted to be a good captain.