Tim Lambert
Billy Budd ,Sailor response
In Herman Melville’s story Billy Budd, Sailor, the author discusses many of the subjects that were important to sailors in the late 1700’s. Billy Budd (the namesake for the book) is an impressed sailor taken off of a merchant ship and put to work on an English man-of-war. Melville also discusses mutiny which in the timeline of this book, had just happened at Nore. Billy Budd is accused of being involved in such a mutiny, which leads to his demise. One theme that is very apparent throughout this story is of religion and the Bible. Melville goes to great lengths paralleling stories of the bible with this book, and at one point, presents Billy Budd as an angel. In Billy Budd, Sailor, Melville attempts to show that sailors are not all unruly heathens as many people of those days believed.
Impressment of sailors was a large problem in the 18th century. The Royal English Navy had fewer hands than they needed so they would send out “press gangs” to wrangle up men able bodied enough to use on their ships. Billy Budd was taken off of a merchant ship named Rights-of-Man by a Lieutenant of the Bellipotent and placed on that ship. For the most part, Billy went quietly to his new ship. One incident that comes up later as evidence he could not be trusted came when he was leaving the Rights. As his transit boat was coming across the stern, Billy jumped up “and waving hat to his silent shipmates sorrowfully looking over at him from the taffrail, bad the lads a congenial good-bye. Then making a salutation to the ship herself, ‘And good-bye to you, old Rights-of-Man”(10). What he says here is very important because it is very much as though he is leaving his rights behind.
Hey guys, as you can see this is a rough draft, I still haven't begun formulating my main argument but it is about Jesus and stuff. Any feedback on what I have so far would be cool though. Happy responding!