The novella is full of biblical allusions and is considered an allegory, as it conveys a hidden meaning through the use of symbolic characters and events. Billy's story effectively mirrors the story of Jesus Christ's redemption in the Bible. Like Christ, Budd becomes a sacrificial figure, someone who has died for a greater cause or good. Claggart, who causes Billy's death, could be said to represent Satan, while Captain Vere is a representation of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who presided over Jesus's trial and gave the order for his crucifixion.
In Chapter 22, the narrator makes an allusion to Abraham and Isaac:
The austere devotee of military duty, letting himself melt back into what remains primeval in our formalized humanity, may in end have caught Billy to his heart, even as Abraham may have caught young Isaac on the brink of resolutely offering him up in obedience to the exacting behest.
In the passage above, Melville likens Captain Vere to Abraham. In the Bible, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his faith and obedience. Melville likens Vere to Abraham here to illustrate the Captain's inner conflict; Captain Vere must reconcile his "higher" duty as Captain with his deep and conflicting emotions for Billy.
In Chapter 25, the narrator makes an allusion to Elisha, a reference to Elijah from the Bible:
Like the prophet in the chariot disappearing in heaven and dropping his mantle to Elisha, the withdrawing night transferred its pale robe to the breaking day.
In the Bible, Elisha is Elijah's disciple. Before Elijah leaves on a chariot of fire to heaven, he grants Elisha his wish of a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit. As Elijah ascends to heaven, his mantle (a cloak or robe) falls to the ground. Elisha picks up Elijah's mantle, symbolizing his succession as a prophet. Melville makes this allusion here to metaphorically describe the transition from night to day. The night, personified as wearing a "pale robe," fades as daybreak arrives, akin to Elijah's ascension to heaven.
In Chapter 31, the narrator makes an allusion to the cross in the Bible when describing the spar on which Billy Budd is hanged:
The spar from which the foretoman was suspended was for some few years kept trace of by the bluejackets. Their knowledges followed it from ship to dockyard and again from dockyard to ship, still pursuing it even when at last reduced to a mere dockyard boom. To them a chip of it was as a piece of the Cross.
A spar on a ship is a pole made of wood that is used to rig a sail. In the passage above, "piece of the Cross"refers to the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified in the Bible. In Christian tradition, these fragments of the Cross are seen as sacred. This allusion to the "chip of it" suggests that the sailors regard the spar with great reverence and importance. The spar, which plays a role in Billy's execution, has taken on a sacred meaning among the sailors.
In Chapter 25, the narrator uses personification as well as vivid imagery to describe the morning after Budd receives his fateful sentence:
The luminous night passed away [...]. A meek, shy light appeared in the East, where stretched a diaphanous fleece of white furrowed vapor. Suddenly eight bells was struck aft, responded to by one louder metallic stroke from forward. It was four o'clock in the morning. Instantly the silver whistles were heard summoning all hands to witness punishment.
Note how the narrator attributes the human qualities of meekness and shyness to a non-human entity: in this instance, the light. This gives the impression that the light is muted or not very strong. The narrator's use of personification also suggests that the light is making a deliberate entrance. The image of a "diaphanous fleece of white furrowed vapor" paints a vivid image of the sky at dawn. The use of the word "diaphanous" suggests that the vapor has a delicate and translucent quality, which conveys a sense of fragility and beauty. The word "furrowed" evokes the image of plowed fields, an image that is serene and picturesque.
The narrator also uses auditory imagery. The sudden sound of the eight bells, which Melville emphasizes for the reader, interrupts the serenity of the image and creates a sense of tension and anticipation. All in all, Melville uses personification and imagery here to create a strong sense of emotion in the reader. Melville does this on purpose to set up Billy's execution for the reader in a dramatic, evocative manner.
The novella is full of biblical allusions and is considered an allegory, as it conveys a hidden meaning through the use of symbolic characters and events. Billy's story effectively mirrors the story of Jesus Christ's redemption in the Bible. Like Christ, Budd becomes a sacrificial figure, someone who has died for a greater cause or good. Claggart, who causes Billy's death, could be said to represent Satan, while Captain Vere is a representation of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who presided over Jesus's trial and gave the order for his crucifixion.
In Chapter 22, the narrator makes an allusion to Abraham and Isaac:
The austere devotee of military duty, letting himself melt back into what remains primeval in our formalized humanity, may in end have caught Billy to his heart, even as Abraham may have caught young Isaac on the brink of resolutely offering him up in obedience to the exacting behest.
In the passage above, Melville likens Captain Vere to Abraham. In the Bible, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his faith and obedience. Melville likens Vere to Abraham here to illustrate the Captain's inner conflict; Captain Vere must reconcile his "higher" duty as Captain with his deep and conflicting emotions for Billy.
In Chapter 25, the narrator makes an allusion to Elisha, a reference to Elijah from the Bible:
Like the prophet in the chariot disappearing in heaven and dropping his mantle to Elisha, the withdrawing night transferred its pale robe to the breaking day.
In the Bible, Elisha is Elijah's disciple. Before Elijah leaves on a chariot of fire to heaven, he grants Elisha his wish of a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit. As Elijah ascends to heaven, his mantle (a cloak or robe) falls to the ground. Elisha picks up Elijah's mantle, symbolizing his succession as a prophet. Melville makes this allusion here to metaphorically describe the transition from night to day. The night, personified as wearing a "pale robe," fades as daybreak arrives, akin to Elijah's ascension to heaven.
In Chapter 31, the narrator makes an allusion to the cross in the Bible when describing the spar on which Billy Budd is hanged:
The spar from which the foretoman was suspended was for some few years kept trace of by the bluejackets. Their knowledges followed it from ship to dockyard and again from dockyard to ship, still pursuing it even when at last reduced to a mere dockyard boom. To them a chip of it was as a piece of the Cross.
A spar on a ship is a pole made of wood that is used to rig a sail. In the passage above, "piece of the Cross"refers to the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified in the Bible. In Christian tradition, these fragments of the Cross are seen as sacred. This allusion to the "chip of it" suggests that the sailors regard the spar with great reverence and importance. The spar, which plays a role in Billy's execution, has taken on a sacred meaning among the sailors.
The novella is full of biblical allusions and is considered an allegory, as it conveys a hidden meaning through the use of symbolic characters and events. Billy's story effectively mirrors the story of Jesus Christ's redemption in the Bible. Like Christ, Budd becomes a sacrificial figure, someone who has died for a greater cause or good. Claggart, who causes Billy's death, could be said to represent Satan, while Captain Vere is a representation of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who presided over Jesus's trial and gave the order for his crucifixion.
In Chapter 22, the narrator makes an allusion to Abraham and Isaac:
The austere devotee of military duty, letting himself melt back into what remains primeval in our formalized humanity, may in end have caught Billy to his heart, even as Abraham may have caught young Isaac on the brink of resolutely offering him up in obedience to the exacting behest.
In the passage above, Melville likens Captain Vere to Abraham. In the Bible, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his faith and obedience. Melville likens Vere to Abraham here to illustrate the Captain's inner conflict; Captain Vere must reconcile his "higher" duty as Captain with his deep and conflicting emotions for Billy.
In Chapter 25, the narrator makes an allusion to Elisha, a reference to Elijah from the Bible:
Like the prophet in the chariot disappearing in heaven and dropping his mantle to Elisha, the withdrawing night transferred its pale robe to the breaking day.
In the Bible, Elisha is Elijah's disciple. Before Elijah leaves on a chariot of fire to heaven, he grants Elisha his wish of a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit. As Elijah ascends to heaven, his mantle (a cloak or robe) falls to the ground. Elisha picks up Elijah's mantle, symbolizing his succession as a prophet. Melville makes this allusion here to metaphorically describe the transition from night to day. The night, personified as wearing a "pale robe," fades as daybreak arrives, akin to Elijah's ascension to heaven.
In Chapter 31, the narrator makes an allusion to the cross in the Bible when describing the spar on which Billy Budd is hanged:
The spar from which the foretoman was suspended was for some few years kept trace of by the bluejackets. Their knowledges followed it from ship to dockyard and again from dockyard to ship, still pursuing it even when at last reduced to a mere dockyard boom. To them a chip of it was as a piece of the Cross.
A spar on a ship is a pole made of wood that is used to rig a sail. In the passage above, "piece of the Cross"refers to the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified in the Bible. In Christian tradition, these fragments of the Cross are seen as sacred. This allusion to the "chip of it" suggests that the sailors regard the spar with great reverence and importance. The spar, which plays a role in Billy's execution, has taken on a sacred meaning among the sailors.
