Billy Budd, Foretopman: Analysis of Major Characters
"Billy Budd, Foretopman" is a novella by Herman Melville that delves into complex themes of innocence, jealousy, and the harsh realities of naval life in the late 18th century. The central character, Billy Budd, is a youthful and handsome sailor who possesses an inherently good nature but is tragically caught in a web of misfortune after being impressed into service aboard the H.M.S. Indomitable. His beauty and charm evoke envy in John Claggart, the ship's master-at-arms, who falsely accuses Billy of mutiny. This accusation leads to a dramatic and unjust trial, where Captain Edward Fairfax Vere, a conflicted leader known for his intellect, struggles with the rigid regulations that dictate a severe punishment.
Other notable characters include the Dansker, an experienced sailor who offers wisdom and support to Billy, and Lieutenant Ratcliffe, the officer responsible for Billy's impressment. The interplay between these characters highlights themes of power, innocence, and moral ambiguity, ultimately leading to Billy's tragic fate. The novella invites readers to reflect on the nature of justice and the impact of societal rules on individual lives, making it a poignant exploration of character dynamics and ethical dilemmas within a historical maritime context.
Billy Budd, Foretopman: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Herman Melville
First published: 1924
Genre: Novel
Locale: Aboard a British man-of-war
Plot: Symbolic realism
Time: 1797
Billy Budd, a youthful member of the crew of the merchant-man Rights-of-Man, who is impressed into service aboard H.M.S. Indomitable during the last decade of the eighteenth century. Billy is twenty-one, “welkin-eyed,” and possessed of great masculine beauty; he has no idea who his father and mother were, having been left a foundling in a basket on the doorstep of a “good man” in Bristol, England. Billy was a cheerful, stabilizing influence on the rough crew of the merchantman; when he is taken aboard the “Indomitable,” he is popular with all the officers and crew except John Claggart, the master-at-arms, who is envious of Billy's almost perfect physique and personality. Claggart falsely accuses Billy of fomenting a mutiny aboard the ship. When he repeats the charges in the Captain's quarters while Billy is present, the young man (who stutters under stress and sometimes suffers a total speech block) can say nothing in his own defense and hits Claggart on the forehead with his fist. Claggart falls and dies. In the subsequent trial, at which the Captain is the sole witness, there can be no leniency because of the recent Great Mutiny in the fleet. Billy is sentenced to hang. At the execution his last words are, “God bless Captain Vere!” Honest, refreshing, ingenuous, uncomplaining—these adjectives may be applied to Billy Budd, who represents an innocent youth trapped by the brutality of fleet regulations or, perhaps, truth and beauty trapped by the wickedness of the world.
Captain Edward Fairfax Vere, of the Indomitable. He is known in the fleet as “Starry” Vere to distinguish him from a kinsman and officer of like rank in the navy. the nickname is a misnomer, however, for Captain Vere, a bachelor of about forty, is a quiet, brooding intellectual who reads a great deal. He is also a fine commander, but he lacks the flamboyance of the more famous Horatio Nelson. He suffers greatly at having to testify before the three-man court against Billy Budd, whom he recognizes as an efficient, attractive, impulsive seaman. He, too, seems trapped by regulations (tightened during the Great Mutiny), which state that striking an officer is a capital offense. When Claggart comes to Captain Vere with his foggy, unsubstantiated charges that Billy is mutinous, the Captain summons Billy to his quarters to prove that Claggart is a false witness.
John Claggart, the master-at-arms of the ship. His duties are mainly to oversee the crew and its work. When Claggart observes Billy Budd, he quickly becomes envious of the personal beauty of the young man. the only basis for the charges Claggart makes against Billy is that an afterguardsman, a troublemaker, tries to be friendly and confidential with the foretopman. Because he joined the navy for no apparent reason and because he never makes any reference to his previous life ashore, Claggart is a man of mystery about whom many rumors are circulated on the ship.
The Dansker, an old veteran who serves as mainmast-man in his watch. He likes Billy from the start and is the one who nicknames him “Baby.” When Billy comes to him for counsel and to ask why his petty mistakes are getting him into trouble, the Dansker astutely remarks that “Jimmy Legs” (meaning the master-at-arms) is down on him.
The Afterguardsman, a troublemaking sailor. He approaches Billy and tries to tempt him to join an incipient mutiny. Billy angrily rebuffs him but does not report the incident to any officer.
Lieutenant Ratcliffe, the officer who goes aboard the Rights-of-Man and selects Billy for impressment.