Introduction
Billy Buddy has been presented as a character with exemplary principles. He displays a character that is not common in most men of his caliber. Despite his heroic actions, he remains to be a humble individual who will not want to hurt his opponents. He has the ability to retaliate on those who ill-mistreat him or even curse them yet he chooses to maintain a calm spirit. He is an all rounded man possession all the positive characters that could be desired in an individual. This has earned him a supernatural respect that can only be found in a supreme being. To those who believe in the nature of God, they have considered him to posses Christ-like characters while those who believe in the ability of human nature have considered him a hero. In this paper, we shall be focusing on the character of Billy Budd and the roles he played that justify him as either a god or a hero.
Christ figure
Melville has displayed Billy Budd as an innocent and sinless individual who seeks peace with everyone. Just as Christ came for the main purpose of reconciling man with God, Billy had no ill intentions with anyone. There are features that reveal the pious nature of Billy Buddy; this is more especially when he met John Claggart. Claggart envies him because of his looks and character, he therefore creates enmity which is compared to the relationship that king David in the bible and Saul. In this description, Billy is displayed as a strong and powerful individual who has the ability of destroying Claggart yet he chooses not to revenge on him. Claggart looks at Billy as a weak person who cannot harm him and continually plots ways of destroying him. However, Billy’s strength manifests when he shows and proves that he has that ability to harm him yet he considers it not right.
Billy is a hero who only displays his strength when it is necessary, just like Christ, he does not use his strengths and abilities to against his foes but rather to protect the rights of the weak. This generally distinguishes his character of which he is envied because of the name he earned for himself. Unlike other characters that use devious means to earn and retain a name, Billy earned his name because of his good conduct and sincere lifestyle (Melville, 23). Just like Christ, he hated anything to do with sin and even discouraged people from engaging in offense. He did not parade himself even after being noticed and considered powerful. He maintains his good attitude towards people who are considered of lesser value to him. Even though he knows he is great, he despises no one and instead works towards improving the life of other people.
Another character displayed by Billy that reveals his Christ like nature is the compassion he has towards people. It is mainly because of this reason that he attracts the weak in the society. The fact that he helps them with no ill intention makes him to be liked by all. People look at him as a person who has the ability to solve their problems. He is one person that they can be assured that when they approach him with their issues, he will not only be willing to help them but they will also be guaranteed of solutions. It is because of the attitudes they hold towards him thet motivates his course. Looking at his lifestyle, one can almost think that he understood the value of his existence and it was focused towards the course of the needy.
The symbolic nature of Billy to a Christ figure is also revealed when he is made to suffer for his innocence and goodness. Just as Christ was persecuted and even hated because of the relationship he had with the weak in the society, Billy faced many resistances from his opponents who had plans to kill him. In a society where wickedness is the order of the day, people tend to hate those who are contrary to what is right. This is because they keep exposing their wicked ways and constantly telling them to change their ways. Wickedness is one of the ways through which people gain fame and wealth. It is for this reason that a person who proves the society that they can have what they need and still maintain a righteous nature are dreaded. The fact that they discourage others from wickedness makes them a threat to the society. They also tend to believe that such people are using other supernatural powers to gain attention from other people. They believe that if they get rid of the people, them they will have peace in doing what they want as well as convince people that what they stand for is better than what their opponents stood for.
The battle between evil and good has come out prominently in the story. Billy is a representation of good while Claggart is a representation of evil. This is a war that proceeds on in all his life. Ti sis a comparison of the life of Jesus where he was in constant battle with evil he was a righteous yet humble king who did not tolerate evil in his life. He understood the source of evil and purposed to change the appearance of issues. Billy knew how evil had prevailed in the world and quite understood the deception that people were exposed to. It was therefore his role to assure and tell people that it was possible for them to stay in such a world and yet be blameless and pure. This was however a midst strong opposition of his opponents who were out to disapprove him. In most cases, people will love to be associated with evil rather than good because of the shortcuts tat are easy to get over. Doing right has never been easy because of the sacrifices that are involved. Billy, just like Christ, purposed not only to live innocent lives but also encouraged others around them to walk the same way.
Romantic hero
Billy is displayed as a romantic hero in the novel; this is prominent in a number of incidences where he has to conquer his enemies. Despite the fact that he avoids every form of wickedness, his heroic character comes out when he is not defeated in his war against evil. It is always never easy to stand ground amidst opposition. He does not give up on his pursuit for righteousness and purposes to defend what he believes is right. A hero can be defined as a person who believes in his abilities and is ready to fight for a particular course. What distinguishes a hero from other people is their ability to stand for what they believe for no matter the opposition. They are also ready to pay the price of selling their principles by advocating for them. Billy has shown such ability through the various challenges that he had to overcome just to fight for his course. It did not matter to him how many people were against him, he knew he had a mission to accomplish and would accomplish it to the very end.
In the process of perusing his course, he is encountered with enemies including Red Whiskers whom he knew he had to teach a lesson. He gave him a blow that made him to never against stand in his way. Billy Buddy knew the benefits of what he fought and stood for; he would not allow anything to interfere with pursuit for peace and righteousness. The society has a way of finding fault in the innocent and sinless individuals. They may be taken either for granted, or falsely accused for what they did not do. In the entire character of Billy, Melvin has displayed him as a victim of righteousness. He suffers many things that even lead to his death simply because he chose to stand for what was right (Clinton, & Irele, 65). Despite all the challenges that come with such life, we did not see him compromise on his principles. Just as a hero would rather die for perusing his course rather than living for giving up on it, the choices made by Billy led to his death. He died not because he was a criminal but because he had stood for the right things that other people had failed to achieve.
His principles had been a threat to his opponents and other people of his life that they plotted to kill him, he was held between giving up on his principles and gaining more friends or simply stands his ground and die for it. As a hero, his answer was obvious and automatic; he chose to die for what he believed in, which is a sign of a true hero. A hero is not only admired for his actions but also his looks and principles. Billy has been described as a handsome young man who had found a purpose for his life. His look is one of the features that attract hatred from his opponents. Looks are the basic features that will attract people towards a character. It is also because of his looks that also complement his character tat he is able to gain the attention and attraction of those who are close to him. He is able to convince his followers of what he stood for, as it was not just a theoretical principle but also a practical one.
A hero is not just a person who tells people to adapt a particular lifestyle but leads them through. Billy is one person who does not just talk but lives his talk. It is easier for people to believe and follow what he advocated for because of his exemplary leadership. Despite the fact that he was innocent and right is, he displayed strength just to assure his followers and opponents that he is not a coward (Melville, 54). He knows when to be lenient on his opponents and when to prove to them that his innocence is not a weakness on his part. This makes his followers to have more trust on his leadership with the assurance that he also has the ability to protect and defend them. This are features of a true romantic hero that has been displayed by Melvin in Billy Buddy. A true romantic hero knows who to keep close as a friend and who to avoid as an enemy. This does not however imply that he will should absolute hatred towards his opponents, but gives them a gap. He reads the moods of the time and act accordingly. He is innocent and righteous yet not cowardly especially in his approach towards the opponents.
Conclusion
Melvin had a specific purpose to fulfill and accomplish in his literature, he uses Billy Buddy’s character to display the true character of a god figure. His aim was to reveal to the audience that righteousness is principle that one can live for without being cowardly in his approach (Clinton, & Irele, 37). He also emphasizes on the importance of knowing oneself and setting principles that one has the ability to live and even die for, no natter the outcome. The author also proves to us that it is not wickedness that attracts enemies but also living right. Despite the fact that Billy lived right, it did not imply that he would be without enemies. It was in fact because of his right acts that he was opposed and hated by his opponents. Melvin also wanted to reveal the Christ like character in Billy’s episode, he hated sin and would do anything to avoid it and defend his followers from it. Contrary to what many believe that one can only survive through wickedness, his encounter reveals to us how possible it is to live right and sacrifices involved. This is however, a worth course that impacts on others positively.
Works cited
Clinton, Jerome, & Irele, Abiola. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume 2. London:
W.W. Norton & Co., 2009.
"Herman Melville's Billy Budd - Billy Budd as Allegorical Figure." 123HelpMe.com. 04 Apr
2012
Melville, Herman. Billy Budd. New York: Plain Label Books, 1956.
