Billy Budd
Billy Budd is a novella by Herman Melville which was discovered among his manuscripts three decades after he died in 1891, and subsequently published posthumously in 1924 with success. Indeed, this riveting tale revived Melville's reputation for generations to come.
This novella is the epitome of manliness, of the kind extolled by Professor Harvey Mansfield in his book Manliness, and Melville tells the story of a sadistic sea captain who victimizes a sailor, pitting evil against good. There are no women in this entire book.
Melville's writing style here is an exposition, and this book has been called an ironic tragedy. Today the protagonist Billy Budd, who is actually more of a passive victim, might be viewed as autistic.
Early chapters in this book contain numerous biblical references. Chapter 3 discusses mutinies in the British Navy, particularly the Nore Mutiny (also known as the Great Mutiny) and the Spithead. (Other great mutinies, unmentioned in the book, are listed below.[1])
The book is available in the public domain today.[2]
Contents
Opening
This book begins as follows:
| “ | In the time before steamships, or then more frequently than now, a stroller along the docks of any considerable sea-port would occasionally have his attention arrested by a group of bronzed mariners, man-of-war's men or merchant-sailors in holiday attire ashore on liberty. In certain instances they would flank, or, like a body-guard quite surround some superior figure of their own class, moving along with them like Aldebaran among the lesser lights of his constellation. That signal object was the "Handsome Sailor" of the less prosaic time alike of the military and merchant navies. With no perceptible trace of the vainglorious about him, rather with the off-hand unaffectedness of natural regality, he seemed to accept the spontaneous homage of his shipmates. A somewhat remarkable instance recurs to me. In Liverpool, now half a century ago, I saw under the shadow of the great dingy street-wall of Prince's Dock (an obstruction long since removed) a common sailor, so intensely black that he must needs have been a native African of the unadulterate blood of Ham. A symmetric figure much above the average height. The two ends of a gay silk handkerchief thrown loose about the neck danced upon the displayed ebony of his chest; in his ears were big hoops of gold, and a Scotch Highland bonnet with a tartan band set off his shapely head.
It was a hot noon in July; and his face, lustrous with perspiration, beamed with barbaric good humor. In jovial sallies right and left, his white teeth flashing into view, he rollicked along, the centre of a company of his shipmates. These were made up of such an assortment of tribes and complexions as would have well fitted them to be marched up by Anacharsis Cloots before the bar of the first French Assembly as Representatives of the Human Race. At each spontaneous tribute rendered by the wayfarers to this black pagod of a fellow—the tribute of a pause and stare, and less frequent an exclamation,—the motley retinue showed that they took that sort of pride in the evoker of it which the Assyrian priests doubtless showed for their grand sculptured Bull when the faithful prostrated themselves. To return. ... others may have had wives and children left, too probably, in uncertain circumstances, and hardly any but must have had acknowledged kith and kin, while for Billy, as will shortly be seen, his entire family was practically invested in himself.[3] |
” |
Movie
A movie made in 1962 from this book is an underrated masterpiece, with a chillingly evil performance by Robert Ryan as the villainous captain Claggart. Peter Ustinov also stars in this movie, which was filmed in black and white.
