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Allegory
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Rights of Man:
In Chapter 1, the narrator makes various allusions when introducing the ship Rights-of-Man:
That was the merchant ship’s name, though by her master and crew abbreviated in sailor fashion into the Rights. The hardheaded Dundee owner was a staunch admirer of Thomas Paine [...] In christening his vessel after the title of Paine’s volume the man of Dundee was something like his contemporary ship-owner, Stephen Girard of Philadelphia, whose sympathies [...] he evinced by naming his ships after Voltaire, Diderot, and so forth.
The narrator explains that the ship is named after Thomas Paine's famous book, The Rights of Man. Paine was a prominent English-American political activist, philosopher, and author during the American and French Revolutions. In The Rights of Man and his other writings, Paine advocated for democracy, human rights, and a separation between church and state. Naming the ship after Paine reflects the Dundee owner's belief in such principles.
The narrator also mentions Stephen Girard of Philadelphia, another shipowner who names ships after notable thinkers, in this case famous French Enlightenment philosophers Voltaire and Denis Diderot. In doing so, Melville provides important historical and political context for the reader while also underscoring a trend among shipowners who used ship names to express their political philosophies.
Explanation and Analysis—Alexander the Great :
In Chapter 1, the narrator compares the sight of Billy Budd astride a horse to Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus:
Ashore he was the champion; afloat the spokesman; on every suitable occasion always foremost. Close-reefing topsails in a gale, there he was, astride the weather yardarm-end, foot in the Flemish horse as stirrup, both hands tugging at the earing as at a bridle, in very much the attitude of young Alexander curbing the fiery Bucephalus. A superb figure.
Alexander refers to Alexander the Great, the renowned military leader, conqueror, and former king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. Alexander, who ruled during the 4th century, is known for his extraordinary military campaigns and empire. Bucephalus refers to Alexander's legendary, powerful horse. According to historical accounts, the horse Bucephalus was known for being wild and unmanageable, but Alexander was able to tame and ride him. Alexander has a deep bond with Bucephalus, something that earns him admiration and loyalty from his troops.
Melville makes this allusion to Alexander the Great to draw a parallel between Alexander and Billy. Melville portrays Billy as masterful and capable. The allusion to Alexander and his horse symbolizes a mastery and control of a potentially chaotic or difficult situation. All in all, Melville's use of allusion here reinforces Billy's character as someone who is admirable and worth looking up to.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Mythical Heroes :
Billy Budd contains multiple allusions to various mythical heroes. Melville often makes these allusions to characterize Billy Budd. In Chapter 1, for example, Lieutenant Ratcliff compares him to the god Apollo:
“But where’s my beauty? Ah,” looking through the cabin’s open door, “here he comes; and, by Jove, lugging along his chest—Apollo with his portmanteau!—My man,” stepping out to him, “you can’t take that big box aboard a warship.”
In Greek mythology, Apollo is a god and associated with the sun, light, poetry. He is also the god of beauty and aesthetics, and considered to be the most beautiful god, as he is described as handsome and youthful. The lieutenant's comparison all in all highlights Billy's handsome and godly nature.
In Chapter 9, the narrator makes an allusion to another mythical hero, this time the Greek god Achilles, in reference to Billy after he asks the Dansker for advice:
Something less unpleasingly oracular he tried to extract; but the old sea Chiron, thinking perhaps that for the nonce he had sufficiently instructed his young Achilles, pursed his lips, gathered all his wrinkles together, and would commit himself to nothing further.
In Greek mythology, Achilles is known as a hero and warrior of the Trojan War. Known for his strength, courage, and skill in battle, Achilles is considered to be the quintessential warrior. The narrator also makes an allusion to Chiron, a centaur in Greek mythology known for his intelligence and knowledge of medicine. Chiron was a tutor and mentor to Achilles. Similarly, Dansker is a mentor and guide to Budd when he first arrives on the Indomitable. This allusion allows Melville to explain the nature of their relationship in an evocative manner.
In Chapter 17, the narrator compares Billy to the Greek mythological figure Hyperion:
When Claggart’s unobserved glance happened to light on belted Billy rolling along the upper gun deck in the leisure of the second dogwatch, exchanging passing broadsides of fun with other young promenaders in the crowd, that glance would follow the cheerful sea Hyperion with a settled meditative and melancholy expression, his eyes strangely suffused with incipient feverish tears.
In Greek mythology, Hyperion is associated with the sun. He is the god of light and is depicted as a powerful and radiant figure. Melville makes this allusion to characterize Billy as radiant, cheerful, and overall positive. This positive description of Budd is also contrasted with Claggart's "melancholy expression," which foreshadows Billy's tragic death at the end of the novella.
Related Themes:
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Claggart and Budd:
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.
Related Themes:
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.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Claggart and Budd:
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.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Camoëns :
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.
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Mythical Heroes :
Billy Budd contains multiple allusions to various mythical heroes. Melville often makes these allusions to characterize Billy Budd. In Chapter 1, for example, Lieutenant Ratcliff compares him to the god Apollo:
“But where’s my beauty? Ah,” looking through the cabin’s open door, “here he comes; and, by Jove, lugging along his chest—Apollo with his portmanteau!—My man,” stepping out to him, “you can’t take that big box aboard a warship.”
In Greek mythology, Apollo is a god and associated with the sun, light, poetry. He is also the god of beauty and aesthetics, and considered to be the most beautiful god, as he is described as handsome and youthful. The lieutenant's comparison all in all highlights Billy's handsome and godly nature.
In Chapter 9, the narrator makes an allusion to another mythical hero, this time the Greek god Achilles, in reference to Billy after he asks the Dansker for advice:
Something less unpleasingly oracular he tried to extract; but the old sea Chiron, thinking perhaps that for the nonce he had sufficiently instructed his young Achilles, pursed his lips, gathered all his wrinkles together, and would commit himself to nothing further.
In Greek mythology, Achilles is known as a hero and warrior of the Trojan War. Known for his strength, courage, and skill in battle, Achilles is considered to be the quintessential warrior. The narrator also makes an allusion to Chiron, a centaur in Greek mythology known for his intelligence and knowledge of medicine. Chiron was a tutor and mentor to Achilles. Similarly, Dansker is a mentor and guide to Budd when he first arrives on the Indomitable. This allusion allows Melville to explain the nature of their relationship in an evocative manner.
In Chapter 17, the narrator compares Billy to the Greek mythological figure Hyperion:
When Claggart’s unobserved glance happened to light on belted Billy rolling along the upper gun deck in the leisure of the second dogwatch, exchanging passing broadsides of fun with other young promenaders in the crowd, that glance would follow the cheerful sea Hyperion with a settled meditative and melancholy expression, his eyes strangely suffused with incipient feverish tears.
In Greek mythology, Hyperion is associated with the sun. He is the god of light and is depicted as a powerful and radiant figure. Melville makes this allusion to characterize Billy as radiant, cheerful, and overall positive. This positive description of Budd is also contrasted with Claggart's "melancholy expression," which foreshadows Billy's tragic death at the end of the novella.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12 (not in all editions)
Explanation and Analysis—Chang and Eng:
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.
Related Themes:
Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—Mythical Heroes :
Billy Budd contains multiple allusions to various mythical heroes. Melville often makes these allusions to characterize Billy Budd. In Chapter 1, for example, Lieutenant Ratcliff compares him to the god Apollo:
“But where’s my beauty? Ah,” looking through the cabin’s open door, “here he comes; and, by Jove, lugging along his chest—Apollo with his portmanteau!—My man,” stepping out to him, “you can’t take that big box aboard a warship.”
In Greek mythology, Apollo is a god and associated with the sun, light, poetry. He is also the god of beauty and aesthetics, and considered to be the most beautiful god, as he is described as handsome and youthful. The lieutenant's comparison all in all highlights Billy's handsome and godly nature.
In Chapter 9, the narrator makes an allusion to another mythical hero, this time the Greek god Achilles, in reference to Billy after he asks the Dansker for advice:
Something less unpleasingly oracular he tried to extract; but the old sea Chiron, thinking perhaps that for the nonce he had sufficiently instructed his young Achilles, pursed his lips, gathered all his wrinkles together, and would commit himself to nothing further.
In Greek mythology, Achilles is known as a hero and warrior of the Trojan War. Known for his strength, courage, and skill in battle, Achilles is considered to be the quintessential warrior. The narrator also makes an allusion to Chiron, a centaur in Greek mythology known for his intelligence and knowledge of medicine. Chiron was a tutor and mentor to Achilles. Similarly, Dansker is a mentor and guide to Budd when he first arrives on the Indomitable. This allusion allows Melville to explain the nature of their relationship in an evocative manner.
In Chapter 17, the narrator compares Billy to the Greek mythological figure Hyperion:
When Claggart’s unobserved glance happened to light on belted Billy rolling along the upper gun deck in the leisure of the second dogwatch, exchanging passing broadsides of fun with other young promenaders in the crowd, that glance would follow the cheerful sea Hyperion with a settled meditative and melancholy expression, his eyes strangely suffused with incipient feverish tears.
In Greek mythology, Hyperion is associated with the sun. He is the god of light and is depicted as a powerful and radiant figure. Melville makes this allusion to characterize Billy as radiant, cheerful, and overall positive. This positive description of Budd is also contrasted with Claggart's "melancholy expression," which foreshadows Billy's tragic death at the end of the novella.
Related Themes:
Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Peter the Barbarian:
In Chapter 21, the narrator makes an allusion to Peter the Great in reference to Captain Vere's actions after hearing Claggart's accusations against Budd:
The maintenance of secrecy in the matter, the confining all knowledge of it for a time to the place where the homicide occurred, the quarter-deck cabin; in these particulars lurked some resemblance to the policy adopted in those tragedies of the palace which have occurred more than once in the capital founded by Peter the Barbarian.
Peter the Great refers to a Russian monarch who ruled from 1682 to 1725. He is best known for his efforts to modernize and westernize Russia by introducing a wide range of reforms. His reign is associated with the transformation of Russia from a medieval and isolationist state into a more modern, European one. "The capital" the narrator refers to is the city of St. Petersburg, which Peter the Great established as the new Russian capital during his rule. In changing Peter's name from the "Peter the Great" to "Peter the Barbarian," the narrator offers his opinion of Peter's style of rule—an opinion that is clearly negative. In referencing Peter the Great and using the word "Barbarian," the narrator suggests that the Captain's methods of dealing with Claggart's accusations are uncivilized and politically improper.
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Jesus Christ:
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.
Related Themes:
Chapter 25
Explanation and Analysis—Jesus Christ:
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.
Related Themes:
Chapter 31
Explanation and Analysis—Jesus Christ:
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.
Related Themes:
