Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Billy Budd :: essays research papers
Billy Budd by Herman Melville fits into both categories of tragedy, classic and modern. This story fits into both Aristotleââ¬â¢s and Arthur Millerââ¬â¢s concepts of tragedy. Billy Budd is this storyââ¬â¢s tragic hero and its his actions that determine how this story fits into both categories.The classic definition of tragedy is Aristotleââ¬â¢s, that the tragic hero must be noble and have a tragic flaw. He must also experience a reversal of fortune and recognize the reason for his downfall. This couldnââ¬â¢t be any more like Billyââ¬â¢s story. Billy played was a respected and loved sailor with an embarrassing stutter, but was accused of conspiring to stage a mutiny. This changes Billyââ¬â¢s life dramatically resulting in him to kill an officer, and sentenced to death. Before he is executed though he blesses the man who sentenced him to death, which tells the reader that he had forgiven him and understands why he must be killed. Aristotleââ¬â¢s definition says a tragedy should have ââ¬Å"incidents arousing pity and fearâ⬠. The incident with Claggart must have certainly caused the reader to pity him and to fear how Captain Vere would handle Billy. The modern concept of tragedy is that of Arthur Millerââ¬â¢s, that the audience feels and fears for the characters so much that it is as if they are the characters themselves. The characters finally meet their tragic end, and the audience witnesses and understands their end. This applies to Billy mostly because of his likeability. The readers come to love Billy as his fellows sailors do. He is completely innocent and naive at the same time. The readersees his weakness and comes to feel sorry for Billy the way one might for a child. The reader sympathizes with Billy especially when he is confronted by Claggart and can do nothing, but stutter. The reader is with Billy throughout and witnesses his transformation at the end. In this fashion,
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