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Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Hawthorne:
In Chapter 2, the narrator makes a reference to author Nathaniel Hawthorne when describing Billy Budd's appearance:
Though our Handsome Sailor had as much of masculine beauty as one can expect anywhere to see; nevertheless, like the beautiful woman in one of Hawthorne’s minor tales, there was just one thing amiss in him. No visible blemish indeed, as with the lady; no, but an occasional liability to a vocal defect [...] under sudden provocation of strong heart-feeling in his voice [...] was apt to develop an organic hesitancy, in fact more or less of a stutter or even worse.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American author known for writing the novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Melville was well acquainted with Hawthorne and greatly respected him as a fellow author. Melville makes this allusion to Hawthorne to underscore the idea that despite Budd's physical beauty, he possesses a flaw, much like a character in one of Hawthorne's tales. Billy's "defect"—his stutter—makes him seem more realistic and relatable as a character. The narrator's description of Billy's "defect" is also a significant instance of foreshadowing; Billy's habit of stuttering gets in the way during a crucial moment in the narrative, when Claggart accuses him of plotting mutiny.
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