In Chapter 1, Captain Graveling uses a simile to describe Billy's effect on the rest of his crew after his arrival:
Before I shipped that young fellow, my forecastle was a rat-pit of quarrels. It was black times, I tell you aboard the Rights here [...] But Billy came; and it was like a Catholic priest striking peace in an Irish shandy. Not that he preached to them or said or did anything in particular; but a virtue went out of him, sugaring the sour ones. They took to him like hornets to treacle.
The narrator uses a simile and compares the crew's response to Billy's arrival aboard the ship to the swarming of "hornets to treacle." Treacle is a sweet and sticky substance. In referring to treacle, Melville conveys the idea that the crew members are drawn to Billy like hornets drawn to something sweet and irresistible. This, in turn, says something about the effect Billy Budd has on his fellow crew members. Melville's use of simile thus creates a vivid, memorable image in the reader's mind and emphasizes the crew's positive response and attraction to Billy. All in all, Melville uses figurative language here to characterize Billy as charismatic and calming.
In Chapter 1, the narrator uses a simile after Lieutenant Ratcliffe recruits Billy Budd for the H.M.S. Bellipotent:
The officer contented himself with his first spontaneous choice. To the surprise of the ship’s company, though much to the lieutenant’s satisfaction, Billy made no demur. But, indeed, any demur would have been as idle as the protest of a goldfinch popped into a cage.
The narrator compares Billy's objections to the protest of a goldfinch (a type of bird known for its beauty and freedom) placed into a cage against its will. The narrator's use of simile implies that any attempt by Billy to protest or object to his situation would be futile, just like the protest of a goldfinch placed inside a cage. This evocative comparison emphasizes Billy's utter lack of control over his circumstances. Notably, the narrator comments on the lieutenant's "contentment" with Billy's lack of protest. This reflects the general culture of the ship. The crew is expected to show unquestioned loyalty towards their captains, while captains and other naval officers must enforce military law and maintain discipline on the ship. Billy Budd explores the concept of duty not only in the context of military regulations but also in the context of larger ideas like justice and fairness, and Melville uses figurative language here to introduce these concepts to the reader in an evocative manner.
In Chapter 2, the narrator uses a simile and compares Billy's sense of self-awareness to that of a Saint Bernard's dog:
Of self-consciousness he seemed to have little or none, or about as much as we may reasonably impute to a dog of Saint Bernard’s breed.
Saint Bernards are a breed of dogs known for their gentle and good-natured disposition. They are typically associated with rescue work due to their strength and the calm demeanor they exude. In using this simile, the narrator suggests that Billy has very little self-consciousness, perhaps as little as one would expect in a Saint Bernard.
Melville presents this simile to the reader to emphasize Billy's simplicity, purity, and unpretentious nature in an evocative manner. Moreover, the comparison to a Saint Bernard suggests that Billy is characterized by loyalty, goodwill, and a desire to help others. All in all, Melville's use of metaphor here highlights Billy's innate goodness and lack of self-serving motives. In contrast to other characters who are more self-conscious, Billy's character is marked by a childlike quality. In highlighting Billy's innate goodness and other positive traits, Melville makes his fate at the end of the novel all the more tragic and unjust.
In the novel, John Claggart is a foil to Billy Budd. He exists largely to contrast Billy's traits, values, and motivations, and vice versa. Note how the narrator describes John Claggart in Chapter 8:
Claggart was a man about five-and-thirty, somewhat spare and tall, yet of no ill figure upon the whole. His hand was too small and shapely to have been accustomed to hard toil. The face was a notable one, the features all except the chin cleanly cut as those on a Greek medallion; yet the chin, beardless as Tecumseh’s, had something of strange protuberant broadness in its make.
The narrator uses multiple similes to describe Claggart. The narrator likens Claggart's facial features to those on a Greek coin, suggesting classical beauty and symmetry. The narrator also compares Claggart to Tecumseh, the famous Shawnee chief and warrior. The distinctive nature of his chin contrasts "classical," "ideal" Greek features. This contrast between a sense of refinement and the "strange" broadness of Claggart's chin creates an unsettling, enigmatic image. This effect is intentional on the part of Melville, as Claggart's physical appearance is meant to reflect aspects of his character. All in all, the narrator's description of Claggart suggests that there are hidden complexities and contradictions to him.
Billy Budd, on the other hand, is often referred to throughout the novella as the "Handsome Sailor." Note the contrast in how the narrator describes Billy's physical features in this passage from Chapter 2:
Cast in a mold peculiar to the finest physical examples of those Englishmen in whom the Saxon strain would seem not at all to partake of any Norman or other admixture, he showed in face that humane look of reposeful good nature which the Greek sculptor in some instances gave to his heroic strong man, Hercules. But this again was subtly modified by another and pervasive quality [...] above all, something in the mobile expression, and every chance attitude and movement, something suggestive of a mother eminently favored by Love and the Graces.
The narrator emphasizes Billy's physique, specifically his English characteristics and heritage. As with Claggart, these physical descriptions are meant to reveal particular character traits. Billy's face is described in a way that implies he has a kind, serene demeanor, and the allusion and comparison to Hercules suggests that Billy has formidable physical strength and is a leader. Moreover, the phrase "suggestive of a mother eminently favored by Love the Graces" implies that Billy's expressions and movements are so tender and graceful it is as if he has been blessed by the gods of love and beauty.
In comparison to Claggart, Billy is portrayed in ideal terms. He is strong and classically handsome, but also exudes a sense of kindness and grace. Claggart is depicted as someone with a malevolent nature, while Budd is depicted to be the epitome of innocence and even purity. This foil pairing reflects the larger religious allegory that frames the story.
In the novel, John Claggart is a foil to Billy Budd. He exists largely to contrast Billy's traits, values, and motivations, and vice versa. Note how the narrator describes John Claggart in Chapter 8:
Claggart was a man about five-and-thirty, somewhat spare and tall, yet of no ill figure upon the whole. His hand was too small and shapely to have been accustomed to hard toil. The face was a notable one, the features all except the chin cleanly cut as those on a Greek medallion; yet the chin, beardless as Tecumseh’s, had something of strange protuberant broadness in its make.
The narrator uses multiple similes to describe Claggart. The narrator likens Claggart's facial features to those on a Greek coin, suggesting classical beauty and symmetry. The narrator also compares Claggart to Tecumseh, the famous Shawnee chief and warrior. The distinctive nature of his chin contrasts "classical," "ideal" Greek features. This contrast between a sense of refinement and the "strange" broadness of Claggart's chin creates an unsettling, enigmatic image. This effect is intentional on the part of Melville, as Claggart's physical appearance is meant to reflect aspects of his character. All in all, the narrator's description of Claggart suggests that there are hidden complexities and contradictions to him.
Billy Budd, on the other hand, is often referred to throughout the novella as the "Handsome Sailor." Note the contrast in how the narrator describes Billy's physical features in this passage from Chapter 2:
Cast in a mold peculiar to the finest physical examples of those Englishmen in whom the Saxon strain would seem not at all to partake of any Norman or other admixture, he showed in face that humane look of reposeful good nature which the Greek sculptor in some instances gave to his heroic strong man, Hercules. But this again was subtly modified by another and pervasive quality [...] above all, something in the mobile expression, and every chance attitude and movement, something suggestive of a mother eminently favored by Love and the Graces.
The narrator emphasizes Billy's physique, specifically his English characteristics and heritage. As with Claggart, these physical descriptions are meant to reveal particular character traits. Billy's face is described in a way that implies he has a kind, serene demeanor, and the allusion and comparison to Hercules suggests that Billy has formidable physical strength and is a leader. Moreover, the phrase "suggestive of a mother eminently favored by Love the Graces" implies that Billy's expressions and movements are so tender and graceful it is as if he has been blessed by the gods of love and beauty.
In comparison to Claggart, Billy is portrayed in ideal terms. He is strong and classically handsome, but also exudes a sense of kindness and grace. Claggart is depicted as someone with a malevolent nature, while Budd is depicted to be the epitome of innocence and even purity. This foil pairing reflects the larger religious allegory that frames the story.
In Chapter 8, the narrator uses a simile and makes an allusion to the poet Luiz de Camoëns as he reflects on the various (and sometimes disreputable) ways the navy recruited sailors, specifically in reference to John Claggart:
That era appears measurably clear to us who look back at it, and but read of it. But to the grandfathers of us graybeards, the more thoughtful of them, the genius of it presented an aspect like that of Camoëns’ Spirit of the Cape, an eclipsing menace mysterious and prodigious.
The narrator begins by reflecting on the differences in naval practices during the past versus the present. The narrator then makes an allusion to the epic poem the "Spirit of the Cape" written by Portuguese poet Luis de Camoëns. In Camoëns's poem, the Spirit of the Cape is a supernatural being that embodies the dangerous, foreboding nature of the Cape of Good Hope. The Spirit of the Cape appears as terrifying and monstrous, symbolizing the difficulties faced by Portuguese explorers navigating the dangerous waters around the Cape. Melville makes this allusion to create a sense of foreboding and mystery around Claggart's background and character, as Claggart has supposedly been recruited in a disreputable manner. In alluding to Camoëns's poem, Melville creates a sense of intrigue around Claggart's character, and the intensity of Camoëns's poem even suggests to the reader that Claggart may be a threat, turning this moment into an instance of foreshadowing.
At the end of Chapter 12, the narrator uses a simile to describe Claggart's nature:
With no power to annul the elemental evil in him, though readily enough he could hide it; apprehending the good, but powerless to be it; a nature like Claggart’s, surcharged with energy as such natures almost invariably are, what recourse is left to it but to recoil upon itself and, like the scorpion for which the Creator alone is responsible, act out to the end the part allotted it.
In the passage above, the narrator first presents the idea that Claggart possesses an "elemental evil" within him, which is suggested to be an intrinsic part of his nature. Despite recognizing the presence of good (perhaps even in Billy), Claggart is incapable of overcoming the evil within him. This supposedly innate evil is a crucial aspect of Claggart's character and contributes to his actions in the narrative.
The narrator then compares Claggart to a scorpion. Scorpions are often associated with their natural instinct to sting when threatened. This stinging behavior is thought to be intrinsic, meaning that, when scorpions sting, they are acting in accordance with their natural instincts. Like a scorpion stinging itself with a venomous tail, Claggart's malevolence turns inward, causing self-destructive behavior. This self-destructive tendency suggests that Claggart's malevolence ultimately leads to his downfall.
In having the narrator compare Claggart's nature to a scorpion, Melville suggests to the reader that Claggart's malevolent and destructive actions aren't entirely in his control. In doing so, Melville offers a deep, introspective, and morally complex view of Claggart, ultimately portraying him as self-destructive.
In Chapter 12, the narrator uses an allusion and simile to describe John Claggart's feelings about Billy Budd, specifically regarding Billy's "significant personal beauty":
Now envy and antipathy, passions irreconcilable in reason, nevertheless in fact may spring conjoined like Chang and Eng in one birth.
The names Chang and Eng refers to Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker, conjoined twin brothers born in the early 19th century in Siam, now known as Thailand. Chang and Eng Bunker became famous for their condition and toured as a sideshow act. The term "Chang and Eng" became synonymous with conjoined twins and was highly popular during the time Melville wrote Billy Budd.
In the passage above, the narrator directly compares the coexistence of envy and antipathy to the birth of conjoined twins. Melville presents this simile to the reader to emphasize the idea that the two emotions, while usually seen as opposite and incompatible, can, in reality, exist together in a person's psyche. Melville's language here highlights the complexity of human emotions while also adding depth to Claggart's character. Claggart is consumed by these conflicting feelings. In presenting such a vivid simile to the reader, Melville makes Claggart's emotions more relatable and understandable. This is significant as Claggart later accuses Billy of mutiny, an act that leads to Billy's tragic death. And although Billy's death is tragic, Melville presents it to the reader as morally complex. All in all, Melville seems to suggest here that people's emotions are complex and can't be easily reduced to a single motive.
