Billy Budd Journal Entry #1:
Brief Summary:
The story begins in 1797 with an introduction explaining the phenomena of the “Handsome Sailor”. This refers to the younger, better looking sailor to which the fellow crew members flock. In this case the sailor is Billy Budd. The narrator then explains how Billy Budd ends up on the Bellipotent, after being chosen by Ratcliffe. At the time, the loyalty of any given crew was being questioned (there had been many a mutiny), and Budd seemed like the obvious choice thanks to his disposition. His new shipmates greet him with “a surprised glance of silent reproach” (Melville 3). Soon enough he wins over the crew…all but Claggart who has set out to get rid of Billy Budd (he is envious of his status among fellow crew members and his capability to be so innocent). Interestingly enough, the two, Billy and Claggart are both of the same breeding in a way.. I guess what I mean is that neither one knows of their origins. Anyway..Claggart tempts Billy Budd by sending one of the after guards to tempt him with the idea of mutiny. Billy resists. Claggart then confronts Captain Vere, voicing his concerns about Billy Budd. They bring Billy into Vere’s cabin and Vere has Claggart confront Billy. Billy is completely flabbergasted by the allegations and hits Claggart, knocking him to the ground. This blow kills Claggart. Billy is then put to trial and convicted. He is hanged before his crew and his last words are “God bless Captain Vere!” (his final act of kindness, alluding to forgiveness) (Melville 49).
What emotional reaction did you have to the text?
I felt badly for Billy Budd. I did not want him to die. He was an innocent soul. My heart stopped when he punched John in the face.. knocking him to the gr...
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...d have been spared. The book as a whole was just very sad. I did not enjoy it as much as Ethan Frome.
What intellectual reaction did you have?
You never know when life may be cut short so it is important to love those around you and to a accept their love.. That way even in death your memory or theirs can live on in the heart.
What personal connection did you make?
I did not really make a persona connection with this story. I have had friends and family who have died, yes…But the religious focus of this book sort of took away from it in my opinion. I am not religious and do not really understand the fascination with the idea of some sort of divine being having control over the lives of humans.
What questions do you have?
Why did each of these people have to die? Can that question even be answered? Why are people always appreciated more after they are gone?
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.
feelings towards life. Also they were recognized as a good impact on life because of their stories
Life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. (Jackie Robinson)
Why did they die? Why didn’t you stop it from happening? These are common questions asked following a loss. During this time of processing, two feelings are predominant; anger and guilt. The feeling of anger can be externally directed toward other people such as family members, colleagues, store clerks, bank tellers, and even pets. The anger can also be directed inwardly; this is when someone is angry with themselves. In both of these situations, the anger is misdirected. The anger being experienced is actually anger at the person that died. That is not meant to say we are angry with the person that died, rather we are angry at the loss of their physical presence in our life. We have been robbed of the opportunity to be with our loved one. Guilt is the other strong emotion that can be present when we are experiencing a loss. Many individuals get lost in guilt. These individuals believe they could have, should have, or would have been able to prevent their loved one from dying. If we step back and look at the situation, we realize we are only human. It is not our fault someone has died. We are not powerful enough to actually stop death from happening. Guilt is self-blame and it becomes a viscous circle that makes it hard to process grief. When individuals are able to rid ourselves of anger and/or guilt, it becomes possible to find
Many of the interpretations that people have developed while analyzing the book have been formed at least partially through the narrator's description of Captain Vere. Captain Edward Vere is the captain of the H.M.S. Bellipotent, which is the ship that Billy Budd is impressed into. Although portrayed as a good, strong leader by Melville, Captain Vere and his seemingly "admirable" traits are not so. These traits prove to be undesirable as the plot of the story unravels. As explained by Shaw, "Melville presents him as a man of admirable balance: brave but modest, firmly in control of his men without being overbearing..." (592). Furthermore, Melville mentions that Vere has an element of rigidity to him and that, although he is always aware of his crew's welfare, he does not tolerate any misbehavior or disciplinary infractions (Calhoun 2). Despite the portrayal of this rigidity as good, it proves to have a negative effect on Vere later in the story. According to Herman Melville, Captain Vere was an intellectual man who enjoyed reading (Melville 45). Once again, Melville portrays this trait as a good characteristic, but it proves to serve him poorly when he attempted to come to a decision regarding the death of Claggart at the hands of Billy Budd. Calhoun explains the negativity of these traits by adding that Vere's peers "detect a 'queer streak of pedantic running through him'" (Calhoun 2). He continues that this pedantic "connotes pride, narrowness, formality, and lack of imagination-- all qualities that serve Vere poorly when he is faced with a knotty ethical question" (Calhoun 2). Melville's description of Captain Edward Vere's character is not objective and is certainly open to various interpretations, including the ironist
The presence of death in the novel looms over the characters, making each of them reflect on the
The death of a loved one can be tragic. It often alters how people think, feel, and act. Some people withdraw from life, some move closer to God, and some appear to lose their minds. Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Samuel Johnson both lost someone very close to them, but found very different ways to deal with their losses.
Herman Melville's Billy Budd relates an allegory of innocence versus evil by symbolizing Billy Budd, John Claggart, and Captain Vere as Jesus Christ, Lucifer, and God.
Billy, who cannot understand ambiguity, who takes pleasant words at face value and then obliterates Claggart for suggesting that one could do otherwise, whose sudden blow is a violent denial of any discrepancy between his being and his doing, ends up radically illustrating the very discrepancy he denies.
This book turned out to be very interesting. At first, I had my doubts, but that went all away after reading just the first two pages of the book. It really caught my attention with all of the random events taking place during the actual story. I don’t know if it is all the death or mystery in the book, but this is one of the best books I have ever read. I would recommend this book a lot because I am not usually interested in books like this This really made me fascinated when I finally found out the question I have been asking myself and I don’t want to spoil it.
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” --Norman Cousins
Kurt Vonnegut begins the book with writing about his own experience with the war in Dresden. He goes on to tell about how he wanted to write about his experience for a while and how it took him twenty-three years to actually accomplish it. Vonnegut soon writes about another story in Chapter two and this is the story the rest of the book follows. The reader soon finds out about the character Billy Pilgrim and everything about his life. “He has seen his birth and death many times, he says, and pays random visits to all the events in between” (Vonnegut, 26). Vonnegut uses time-shifting throughout the novel to try and make the reader understand Billy Pilgrims traumatic experiences throughout his life. These different experiences made Billy Pilgrims
...s that one must accept the possibility of one's own death before he can truly appreciate what he has on earth, as the sobering awareness that one day, it will all be out of reach, prompts the urge to appreciate and value what one can have only for a limited period of time, and to use every moment of that time doing something that one will not regret when the bird sings its last note.
This message is still relevant today. Now many people commit suicide and end their life despite having many things that most people on this planet are not fortunate to have. Despite having every basic necessity and ability to complete any wish in life, people should put more attention to enjoy life in non-monetary ways
Once you have mourned the death of a loved one it’s important to start to move on. Don’t