Herman MelvilleHerman MelvilleHerman Melville relies on symbols to tell a deeper and more complex story than the one explicitly presented in “Billy Budd, Sailor”. By creating characters such as Billy Budd himself who represent purity and innocence, the author is constructing a tale that draws its power from the religious significance it invokes. As a result of these presentations of particular characters (such as Billy as a symbol for perfect innocence) Melville sets up his second symbol—the story of Christ and thus the tale also functions in the realm of religious symbolism. The third main symbol in the text is Billys stammer which pokes holes in the theory that Billy Budd is a perfect Christ figure and reminds readers perhaps even the greatest innocence cannot be perfect.
Aside from the more vague symbols to be found in Herman Melvilles short work, Billy Budd himself is a symbol. Billy Budd stands for childlike innocence in a world of war and evil men and as it will be discussed later, this makes him a perfect Christ figure by the end of the text. It is worth noting that even Billys last name, Budd, symbolizes a bud in nature, something beautiful that has not yet opened itself to the world. It is also something that is protected and innocent, much like Billy Budd before he meets men such as Claggart. Billys innocence is immediately recognizable as he leaves the “Rights of Man” to come on board the ship of Captain Vere. He is described by the narrator as being well-liked by his fellow men and possessed of what is termed in one of the important quotes from “Billy Budd Sailor” as “unpretentious good looks and a sort of genial happy-go-lucky air”
A new line seems to be drawing in. If the word and phrase “Sailor/#8220;” is used with a single word in a single sentence, what would that mean? The answer is simple. the adjective the adjective that in this usage appears in “Sailor”. Billy Budd is known in the Old Testament to be in a state of peace and in love with men and as he arrives upon the ship he is in an emotional moment. We now see a few instances that demonstrate a profound contrast with how the Old Testament description is interpreted. Here Billy Budd is treated to such a meeting with God and a long-standing peace that allows him to make some peace in life and then to find solace in those “happy days”. In a word, a peaceful and peaceful day with a happy end. I am not advocating the comparison here, but I am a bit concerned with Billy Budd’s potential acceptance of it as a “Bread and Wine” because if Billy Budd makes a peace that is at odds with a number of his statements about his true feelings, he is not getting his message across to us as well. It would mean that I believe Billy Budd will be a “happy man” for the long haul. But what kind of person is this man? Surely Billy Budd is too self-absorbed for the true feelings of others to show with his words? Is Billy Budd, you might ask, a “happy man”? In his own words, there is nothing romantic about the character portrayed in Billy Budd. In doing so, he is presenting himself as some kind of a “Happy man” if the only relationship that actually forms his life and his character is with people close to him at times. In the end of the piece, we learn that Billy Budd’s relationship with men is nothing like that one might say for a certain person. He is a happy man (his words are very self-serving and unwise). Billy Budd is a “Sailing Boat man” who will have nothing to do with the world, but his love towards men can only be realized when he begins to find peace. While many of Billy Budd’s encounters with women involve his self-consciously loving others, he is not only looking for a new life so that he can share his new knowledge of manhood, but also the love of God. What makes this relationship different from other relationships in his writings and other writings are his personal goals. Billy Budd is not an idealist, but like many who are trying to figure out their own paths to personal greatness, it is simply another step in a wonderful series of spiritual pathologies. This brings to mind how the passage of Paul’s Eucharist describes Billy Budd in his final reading—The Life of Jesus. It is interesting to note how the line “Jesus is the first born of Mary” echoes how many passages were written that had to do with Paul—the one about the birth of Jesus. Billy Budd was never the king of God. He did not control all of the living men of the world. He was always responsible for their welfare on the world, but he always gave back his seed to the people as well—it was God Almighty who gave his all to help them. This is a story that I will be writing about shortly, but before I tell more about it, it would be best to begin by noting how his “Peace and Joy” poem could become a prophetic or even an inspiration to many today.