Research Paper on:
Positions of Billy Budd and Captain Vere in Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
death, or more accurately, his execution, we are provided with a symbolic examination of different ideals in terms of society, those being the old Romanticism ideals and the Enlightenment ideals.  In the following paper we examine the character of Billy and the character of Captain Vere as it reflects the two different ideals. Billy and the Captain Melvilles  entire novel is one whose theme and message are seen in the decision that faces Captain Vere as he decides the fate of Billy. This is not to say that  the entire novel actually involves this decision, but that the plot which unfolds and the end that comes, all lead up to and involve the decision made by Vere as  it relates to Billy, the most innocent and noble man aboard the ship. In better understanding this decision we look at the two forms of thought which seem to be  presented in the story. Those forms of thought are the ideals of Romanticism and Enlightenment. With the ideals of Romanticism we are faced with an approach that insists on the  integrity of the individual, as well as the system. In this approach one must understand that it is the integrity of the individual which truly holds society together, and the  integrity of the individual that makes man worthy. With the ideals of Enlightenment we are given a much more complex train of thought as one must also examine the good  of a society, the importance of reason, and the primary position possessed by law. In the case with Billy Budd we note that the story involves shipmates who are interested  in mutiny. One man, in the dark of the night, approaches Billy and hints at mutiny. Billy shows his loyalty and his honor in the following: "But Billy broke in,