Inconsistencies in Billy Budd
Billy Budd is a story that turned out nothing like I expected. What I thought was going to be a simple story about a young sailor turned out to be an in-depth examination of good and evil during the backdrop of the Golden Age of sailing. Knowing that Melville wrote this unpublished, with intentions to revise, made understanding the inconsistencies of the story easier. The obvious religious illusions only show up about half way through the story when Billy finally kills Claggart. Vere, seemingly out of character calls Billy the angel that delivered Gods will, but that he still had to die. I am still unsure of why Billy is seen as a Christ figure by the ship. The whole second half of the story, including the other multiple ending don’t seem to fit in with the beginning. The general cyclical nature, promoted by the last ending, also is confusing, but makes the story make a little bit more sense. It remains unclear whether this account of Billy Budd is the truth, or the retelling of the myth.
I still want to know why Billy is so Christ like. The imagery and story make sense, but to me, Billy has really done nothing to deserve this status. He may not be evil and he is innocent, but in my eyes he hasn’t done anything worthy of this Christ status. Maybe Melville planned to change this story later on, but to me there are definitely missing pieces in the story, especially in the way Billy is characterized.
While I am by no means an expert, my own reading of the text gave me several possible reasons for Melville to portray Billy as a Christ like figure. In one sense, he goes willingly to his death so that good would prevail – if we assume that order and the adherence to the laws of the sea are “good”. In another sense, Billy stood up to what was portrayed to readers as the “evil” Claggart, and then agreed to be martyred for his actions, so that the “good” Captain Vere would not face a mutiny. In the end, he accepts his fate, because he thinks that it is what is right, something that Melville seems to revere.