Billy Budd
Main Characters
Billy Budd- He is a bright-eyed, twenty-one year old forewoman of the British Fleet. An orphan, he is tall, athletic,
friendly, innocent, and helpful. He is a loyal friend, and a fierce fighter. All the officers like him except for Claggart.
Claggart- The Master-at-Arms that is envious and jealous of Billy Budd. He is out to make Billy's life miserable and
is the cause of Billy Budd's execution.
Captain Vere- The Honorable Edward Fairfax Vere is a bachelor of about forty. He has a nickname of "Starry Vere."
Captain Vere is forced to execute Billy Budd though he knew of his innocence. But nevertheless
Dansker- A veteran sailor who has taken a liking to Billy Budd. Tells Billy that Claggart doesn't like him. He is also
one of the most important members of the crew.
Chapters 1-7, Pages 1-27
The book starts out with the author remembering seeing a handsome man many years ago. He is reminded of this by
the Handsome Sailor, Billy Budd. Billy is twenty- one, a foretopeman of the British fleet who impressed Lieutenant
Ratcliffe of the H.M.S. Indomitable. Billy leaves his ship the Rights of Man, and joins the H.M.S. Indomitable.
He is received well by the crew and they like him lots. An officer asks him about who his parents are and he reply's
that he doesn't know. He was found in a basket hung on a man's door handle in Bristol. Billy seems to be practically
perfect, but he does have one weakness. When he is strongly provoked, he is inclined to stutter, or may even
become speechless. The author tells us of the uprisings in the British navy. It is later called the Great Mutiny. They
sail for the Mediterranean and have an uneasiness about them as they watch for signs of trouble or discontent.
Chapters 8-15, Pages 28-55
Billy had seen the gangway punishment, and was determined that he would always perform his duties well, and that
his actions would never cause him to get yelled at. Though he had made that resolution, he was occasionally getting
into slight trouble. He is confused by this, and goes to Dansker, who seems to have taken a liking to him. Billy asks
him for his opinion, and he says that it is because Claggart doesn't like Billy. That with all evidence to the contrary,
he despises him.
The day after the discussion with Dansker, Billy spills soup on the freshly cleaned deck just as Claggart passes by
him. Claggart notices that it was Billy that spilled the soup, and only taps him lightly with his rattan.
A silversmith that Johnny is apprenticing. He is a good silversmith but he cannot remember his orders very well.
to it because his fate did not lead him there. Billy applied the fact that he had to accept
This novel is about a young boy’s life (the author). It starts of f him describing
Billy is used to showing that everything happens because of fate. As a prisoner, Billy has no control over his day to day life. While Billy is in Dresden, the city is bombed, because of luck, only Billy and a few others survive the bombing in a slaughterhouse. The people of Tralfamadore tell Billy that humans do not understand time because everything they do is in singular progression.
to have flashbacks that takes them back to the war they had been in. I believe that Billy
... 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.
player in the novel, Toohey. Toohey with all the power he had with the public
Huck Finn - the central character of the novel and the son of the town drunk.
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.
We are first introduced to victor by Robert Walton, who is captain of a ship which is on an expedition t...
The main characters of the story are Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones, Blind Pew, Squire Trelawney, Doctor Livesey, Captain Flint, Long John Silver, Captain Smollett, and Ben Gunn. Jim Hawkins is a young man is his late twenties. He is a hansom man with blonde hair, brown eyes, big broad shoulders, and a very good sense of humor. He is a brave, curious, and out-going person. Jim is the hero of the book. It was Jim who finds the map and eventually saves everyone from the pirates. After many adventures on Treasure Island he returns to England with the treasure. Jim thought the adventure was quite scary, but he enjoyed it and would do it again. Billy Bones is a tall, strong, heavy, tan man. He has pigtails falling over his shoulders. He always wares the same soiled blue coat. He also has a scar on his face that’s a bright white color. Billy plays a drunken, violent and yet terrified man who brings the map to Jim’s Inn. He is given the Black Spot by Blind Pew and dies of a heart attack from terror. Blind Pew is plainly blind and uses a stick to help him walk in the right direction. He wares a great green shade over his eyes and nose. He is always hunched over, as if it was from age or weakness.
Billy is not happy to stay behind and tells the elderly couple not to mess with him because he knows they don’t really want to keep him and he knows that he has just been dumped off. The couple
Claggart did not openly get angry at Billy for the accident, but inside felt he had done it on purpose. As the soup ran down the corridor it seemed to symbolize an actual line drawn between the two. The resentment Claggart felt for Billy made him look him too critically. That is a good reason why Claggart could have thought Billy was planning a mutiny and would want him destroyed. He was just jealous of Billy's popularity.