ENG 304: Melville & Ellison

In contrast to the majority opinion, “Donelson” was the one poem that I understood the most out of those that we read for Friday’s class. I felt like I was…

Throughout Billy Budd, Melville makes numerous biblical allusions, especially when referring to Billy. After Billy kills Claggart, Vere refers to him as the “vessel of an angel”. To Vere, the…

In class we were asked what the novel, Billy Budd, is really about. In my opinion, Billy Budd is a story about good and evil and the loss of innocence.…

One of the biggest questions raised about the story of “Billy Budd” is the strictness with which Captain Vere and the people aboard the Bellipotent adhere to the laws of…

Babo, in my opinion, is the most interesting character in all of Benito Cereno. Despite being a slave, he finds a way to take control of the ship with his…

In Harman Melville’s Billy Budd the titular character is repeatedly displayed and characterized as a well meaning, innocent character. Everyone seems to feel the seeming good energy that radiates from…

Much like in Typee, race is a central theme in Benito Cereno. Delano, much like Tommo does not outwardly hate other races. He is more of a benign racist. He…

In class a lot of people criticized Delano for being so blind to events that were taking place before him. And in class I too agreed that he did seem…

In class we discussed Delano’s trust in others, and how he may trust people a little too much. From the very beginning of the story, we are told through the…

After completing Benito Cereno by Herman Melville, many of the reader’s questions and suspicions are finally resolved in the last few pages of this short yet compelling story. There is…