Gavin Siegel
Teacher Brandon
English 11
12/16/15
The hanging of Billy, in Melville's Billy Budd, was a faulty and complex choice made by Captain Vere, or "starry Vere," who valued justice rather than sparing Billy. The hanging of Billy was vital for equity to prevail. Billy Budd, also known as the "great looking mariner," was on trial for executing the expert at-arms, Claggart. The crew longed for Billy's life to be saved; however, Captain Vere’s vow to the Ruler cause him to hang Billy. Billy Budd's demise was the result of extremely faulty circumstances. In spite of the fact that he was loved by everybody, he was accused of causing an uprising aboard the Bellipotent, and for the murder of the expert at arms Claggart. Claggart’s passing
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He is portrayed to be a "sweet, pleasant fellow" (295). Captain Vere preferred Billy more than the others, "… they all cherished him!" (296) As a result of this, he pondered what the best decision was: spare Billy, or hang him? The choice to hang Billy was, by and large, the right one. In the event that Captain Vere chose not to hang Billy, nobody would have gained from his missteps, including Billy himself. The absence of discipline can prompt serious issues; Billy was so loved by everybody, Captain Vere was in an extremely troublesome circumstance. It was extremely unlike Billy to ever accomplish something so ill-advised; he drew out the best in everybody. Captain Vere felt in his heart that Billy's activities were a misstep, yet he couldn't make certain. The allegation Claggart made was a rebellion, an uprising was a genuine wrongdoing. Vere had no verification that Billy was not liable, so for the security of himself and his team, he relinquished Billy's …show more content…
On the off chance that Captain Vere had cherished human values, Billy may have lived. This was not the genuine explanation behind altering his opinion. The genuine reason was on the grounds that others would have followed in Billy's affirmed strides in the event that he was not rebuffed. Billy Budd's life was yielded for an unjust reason, and the circumstances encompassing his demise were certainly faulty. In any case, Vere settled on the choice that he needed to condemn billy, by coming to the decision that, “the essential right and wrong involved in the matter, the clearer that might be, so much the worse for the responsibility of a loyal sea commander, inasmuch as he was not authorized to determine the matter on that primitive basis” (354). Vere was torn in this decision because he had a moral dilemma with his relationship with billy and his upholding of the law. despite the fact that it wasn't ethically a good fit for Captain Vere. It was not the decision that he wanted to make.The results of what may have happened if his life had been saved were far more prominent than those of pain for Billy's passing. Billy's demise was really important for things to stay together on the boat because it is important for the crew members not to fight with one another or begin a revolt. The narrator at the end of the book quotes a “writer whom few know,” saying that “"Forty years
When Captain Vere says “Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!” his attitude towards Billy Budd changes from one of paternal concern and personal respect to one in which he has set aside his personal thoughts and feelings for the sake of his nation. Each sentence represents this dichotomy by indicating his sentiment towards Billy. In the first, Billy is “an angel of God” who has “struck” Claggart dead, in a righteous manner. In the second sentence, “the angel must hang,” indicates that no matter Billy’s intentions or nature, his act is a crime against his country.
In George Orwell’s essay, “A Hanging,” and Michael Lake’s article, “Michael Lake Describes What The Executioner Actually Faces,” a hardened truth about capital punishment is exposed through influence drawn from both authors’ firsthand encounters with government- supported execution. After witnessing the execution of Walter James Bolton, Lake describes leaving with a lingering, “sense of loss and corruption that [he has] never quite shed” (Lake. Paragraph 16). Lake’s use of this line as a conclusion to his article solidifies the article’s tone regarding the mental turmoil that capital execution can have on those involved. Likewise, Orwell describes a disturbed state of mind present even in the moments leading up to the execution, where the thought, “oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!” crossed his mind (Orwell.
to it because his fate did not lead him there. Billy applied the fact that he had to accept
In this paper I will explain and discuss the historical events that took place in a small rural town in early Massachusetts. The setting for which is Irene Quenzler Brown's and Richard D. Brown's, The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler. I will explain the actions and motives of Hannah and Betsy Wheeler in seeking legal retribution of husband and father Ephraim Wheeler. I will also discuss the large scope of patriarchal power allowed by the law and that given to husbands and masters of households. Of course, this will also lead to discussions of what was considered abuse of these powers by society and the motivation for upholding the Supreme Court's decision to hang Ephraim Wheeler.
Billy Budd, a novella written by Herman Melville, is the story of the happenings aboard the H.M.S. Bellipotent. Billy Budd was a sailor who was falsely accused of plans to a mutiny. He responded by unintentionally killing his accuser, John Claggart. Claggart's death left the captain and commander of the ship, Edward Vere, in a difficult situation (Calhoun 1). The conflict of this story and Captain Vere's decision have been studied, analyzed, and interpreted differently by many people over the last ninety years. Billy Budd was published in 1924, more than thirty years after the death of its author (Calhoun 1). In 1923, just one year before the publishing of the entire novella, Melville's manuscript was published (Shaw 592). To this day,
While it could be argued that the climactic conclusion should have been different, and those that believe this would be partially correct, the painful truth persists: nothing better could happen in the year the story takes place. Had this tale transpired one century later, the crime committed would amount to unintentional manslaughter, and Billy’s punishment would not be as severe. Unfortunately, this did not happen, and the consequences coordinate with the laws of that day. But if the decision lingers an immoral act due to the laws, why doesn’t Vere stand against the establishment of that time and err on the side of what is right? The reason is that Vere should have no actual loyalty to Billy in the first place. The duty of the captain should be to uphold the law, not to venture off on a humanitarian mission. Even if he decided to unrealistically portray the hero in this story, the captain’s luck would ultimately run out, and he would be trapped in the same boat as Billy Budd. In retrospect, the decision stays acceptable for that place and time, but fails in regards to the decision that would truly be
The “Bring Back Foolishness” Jeff Jacobys’ essay, entitled “Bring Back Flogging” was, in my sincere opinion, poorly constructed. There are numerous instances where I felt that he had either not supported his premises with valid information or had negated his support in later sentences. The essay begins by drawing forth images of Puritan punishment. He cites two instances of punishment, which were particularly torturous and radical in nature. He then draws a comparison between this inhumane punishment and imprisonment by stating with irony that, “Now we practice a more enlightened, more humane way of disciplining wrong doers: we lock them up in cages.”
In “The Death Penalty” (1985), David Bruck argues that the death penalty is injustice and that it is fury rather than justice that compels others to “demand that murderers be punished” by death. Bruck relies on varies cases of death row inmates to persuade the readers against capital punishment. His purpose is to persuade readers against the death penalty in order for them to realize that it is inhuman, irrational, and that “neither justice nor self-preservation demands that we kill men whom we have already imprisoned.” Bruck does not employ an array of devices but he does employ some such as juxtaposition, rhetorical questions, and appeals to strengthen his argument. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of supporters of capital punishment such as Mayor Koch.
“The third bullet was for the filthy flamingo, who stopped dead center in the road when the lethal bee buzzed past his ear. Billy stood there politely, giving the marksman another chance.” This clearly illustrated the child-like person Billy is. Instead of duck and cover, Billy stands there as if he were playing a board game he didn’t want to play and in protest did not move his player. He doesn’t truly grasp the distraught situation he is in and he most certainly doesn’t comprehend it. By not looking out for his own interest he becomes an infantile creature depending on the civil duties of others.
In conclusion, this essay analyzes the similarities and differences of the two stories written by Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Bartleby. The settings, characters, and endings in the two stories reveal very interesting comparisons and contrasts. The comparison and contrast also includes the interpretation of the symbolism that Melville used in his two stories. The characters, Billy and Bartleby, could even be considered autobiographical representatives of Herman Melville.
Herman Melville wrote some of the most widely read works in the history of literature during the late nineteenth century. He has become a writer with whom the romantic era is associated and a man whose works have become a standard by which modern literature is judged. One of his most well-known and widely studied short pieces of fiction is a story entitled, simply, Billy Budd. In this short story, Melville tells the tale of Billy Budd, a somewhat out-of-place stuttering sailor who is too innocent for his own good. This enchanting tale, while inevitably entertaining, holds beneath it many layers of interpretive depth and among these layers of interpretation, an idea that has been entertained in the literature of many other romantic writers. Melville uses a literary technique of developing two characters that are complete opposites in all aspects and contrasting them throughout the narrative, thus allowing their own personalities to adversely compliment each other. Melville also uses this tactic in another well-known short story, Bartleby the Scrivener. Much like Melville's two stories, another romantic writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses this tactic in his short story, The Artist of the Beautiful when he creates two completely different characters who vie for the same woman's love. Both writers use the contrary characters to represent the different facets of the human personality. Using this idea and many others, these romantic writers, Melville and Hawthorne, created works with depth of meaning that were both interesting to read and even more intriguing to interpret.
... Budd, Claggart went to Captain Vere and accused Budd of being apart of a mutiny. Unable to respond due to his "vocal impediment," Budd hit Claggart in his head, and instantly killed him (Melville 61). Captain Vere gathered the drumhead court, and from the narrator's reflection of the viewpoint of the men, they believed Budd was "the last man they would have suspected" of mutiny or murder (Melville 67). Budd admitted he "did not mean to kill [Claggart]," and Captain Vere declared, ""I believe you, my man" (Melville 68). However, Captain Vere decided to follow the Mutiny Act and announce Budd's punishment of death by hanging. Illustrating the events throughout the novel, the narrator represents the conflicting views of the characters from a third-person perspective. Through this depiction, Billy's innonence as well as society's destruction of innocence are revealed.
Some have misinterpreted Melville's Billy Budd as a story about the distinction between divine justice, on the one hand, and human justice, on the other. Here's a summary of the "incorrect" reading that leads to this conclusion: When John Claggart falsely accuses Billy Budd of inciting mutiny, Captain Vere (whose name suggests "truth") arranges a confrontation between the accuser and the accused. When Claggart shamelessly repeats the lie to Budd's face and when Captain Vere insists that Budd defend himself and when Budd is struck speechless (if you like) and, therefore, STRIKES Claggart who falls down dead, Captain Vere suddenly has a problem on his hands, a problem he did not bargain for. You see, he feels that Budd is innocent but he also knows that he has killed a superior officer, an offense punishable by death. Here's how Melville presents Captain Vere's argument at the drumhead court:
Since Billy knows the plane is going to crash, you would think that he would warn the passengers, yet he does not do anything to stop it. He doesn 't even get off the airplane or tell his father-in-law to get off.. He allows the events to take place as though nothing was going to happen.
It is known Billy's innocence was his down fall by hiding the true evil from his eyes. But why was John Claggart out to destroy Billy?. There are several reasons why John Claggart attempts to destroy Billy Budd. John Claggart wants to destroy Billy because he is extremely wary of Billy's intentions. He has come to believe that Billy is planning a mutiny and wants to take over the ship. Claggart reports this to captain Vere saying," During today's chase and possible encounter I had seen enough to convince him that at least one sailor aboard was dangerous." Meaning that he felt Billy was against them. Claggart felt that Billy's big plan was to get in favor of all the men on the ship and then turn them against the captain. Captain Vere responds by having Billy and Claggart meet in private where Claggart can openly accuse Billy of this crime. Fortunately, Claggarts attempt to destroy Billy for mutiny fails because he is struck down by Billy in one blow, ending the matter, but opening a much more serious one.