Billy Budd Essay Examples and Topics

The course Herman Melville charts in his novella, Billy Budd, Sailor, is long and convoluted, perhaps surpassing even that of Captain Ahab and his crazed pursuit of the white whale. Published nearly three decades after Melville’s death, the author’s last work of prose is set…

“What’s in a Name: Melville’s Odd Wording in Billy Budd” The odd, one might say “queer,” language of the novella Billy Budd makes it difficult to not read Melville’s words in a sexualized way. In the beginning of chapter 11, the author uses wording that…

“Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!” Captain Vere, although having moral values, primarily focuses on the political correctness over the religious or moral correctness. Because of this belief, Vere does not trust himself alone to make the right decision,…

Herman Melville is the author behind one of the most infamous books of all time, Moby Dick. Arguably one of the most talented writers of all time, Herman Melville (1819-1891) was born and raised in a wealthy middle class family in New York City and…

Herman Melville passed away in 1891 before finishing his final novel. Melville’s granddaughter had the unfinished work published in 1924 over thirty years after he had last worked on it. His work entitled Billy Budd, Sailor has been widely recognized as a great success and…

Each of the three sequels adds to the story in its own way. They shed a backdrop of light on the decisions of Vere and his guilt that follows him. They also portray the political decisions of Vere and the newspaper writers later who cover…