Journal for Herman Melville, Billy Budd, the Sailor - Assignment Example

Task Billy Budd, the Sailor by Herman Melville Introduction Billy Budd, the Sailor by Herman Melville depicts an area of war aboard a war ship. Melville writes the story at the time when French uprising and insurgency had centered in the seas (Melville, 15). The emerging issues in the story are the emerging issues in the modern society (Snodgrass, 80).SummaryBudd who was caught in the midst of jealousy and abhorrence garners the support from the ship crew even to those thought to be resolute. Budd is fallaciously accused of planning a rebellion by the then resentful masters-at-arm Claggart (Melville, 4).

Budd haves a problem of communicating as he can not express himself in public. The claims placed against Budd by Claggat caught him unacquainted. Budd in an attempt to defend himself and filled with anger hits Claggart, and accidentally breaks his neck (Jorif, 165). Captain Vere is a witness to the conflict amid Budd and Claggart (Melville, 2). Budd is charged with murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Analysis I think it is ironical to find that captain Vere, who was Budd’s caretaker in the military, is the one who hands over the death penalty to him.

Budd might have appeared to have acted in self guard, but this was not treated to be any lesser as the death penalty was not reduced. The sentence handed over to Budd was not fair, since captain Vere was a witness (Melville, 2). I believe that Vere being a thoughtful man made a mistake by handing the cruel sentence to Budd as he was unfair on his basis (Hanley, 14). In my opinion, the story is about the impacts of war on innocent individuals like Budd, and to the strict unfair laws that govern how at times individuals socialize (MacIntosh, 257).

Moreover, the issues raised during the story leaves a lot of questions to be answered as they are considered to be non- judgmental and unfair to the contemporary society.ConclusionConclusively, Billy Budd, the Sailor narrates the story that happened during the French uprising and insurgency that had centered in the seas. The summary and analysis of the story depicts the significance of the book to the current society.Works CitedHanley, James. Herman Melville: A Man in the Customs House. Loughton Eng.

: Dud Norman Press, 1971. Print.Jorif, Rolando L. How Slave Narratives Influenced American Literature: A Source for Herman Melvilles Billy Budd. Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen Press, 2009. Print.MacIntosh, Simeon. Fundamental Rights and Democratic Governance. Kingston: The Caribbean Law Publishing Company, 2005. Print.Melville, Herman. Billy Budd, Sailor: An Inside Narrative. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 1970. Print.Snodgrass, Mary. Billy Budd & Typee: Notes. New York, NY: Wiley, 2003. Print.