http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/20... ( )

Reading Herman Melville's book for the second time, I found that it made an interesting perspective on the law and human judgment, and how they sometimes come into conflict.Throughout life and history, laws have been around to define the boundaries between right and wrong, and providing appropriate punishment for those who overstep these boundaries. Most would say that the definitions for these boundaries are reasonable and easy to abide to. Sometimes, though, these definitions come into question. In Billy Budd the law defining the firm criteria of what constituted mutiny--the martial law--was contested by one of the ship's officers, the virtuous and seemingly flawless Billy Budd. The punishment facing him was death by hanging.Billy Budd was well-loved by all his workmates (except Master-at-Arms Claggart) and was called the "Handsome Sailor". On the ship, the Bellipotent Billy finds himself in an interesting situation as an envious Claggar is intent on framing Billy for treason.What makes Billy's breaking of the law different is the unique circumstances surrounding it. One of the characters, Captain Vere, makes no apology for this and instead justifies the punishment by saying that law can sometimes contradict human nature, and one must always show allegiance to the king and their duties as crew members. Though he mentions human nature, established law takes precedence in conflicts. Still, because humans make these laws, there is the possibly of human error and judgment. The law in this novel shows how the leaders keep order in society. Crew members made half-hearted attempts to refute him, but none could deny the existence of that law, so plain in existence and so straightforward in content.As with all of Melville's work, this was not an easy reading. There are the author's distinctive character descriptions and his digressions, but that does not mean that the book is entirely inaccessible. Some editions of this book have other stories included, as well as readers' supplements and bibliographies. There are a couple of movie editions of this book, including one with Terence Stamp and Peter Ustinov, as well as an opera. ( )

9.0

I know it's a classic. I don't care. Melville is just not to my taste. There's nothing wrong with the themes of the novel, nor the plot. I just don't like the writing. ( )

Although well know for Moby Dick, the truth is that Melville left us a few minor materworks such as Billy Budd. An allegory about Jesus? Or just a rant against physical punishment in the Navy? Just like his whale, it is possible to find different meanings in this book. ( )