Good Versus Evil in Billy Budd Good versus evil is a very common theme in many different types of literature. One literary work which portrays the battle between good and evil very affectively is Billy Budd by Herman Melville. In this novel, good is portrayed through the character of Billy, while the character of Claggart portrays evil. The battle between good and evil is personified through the characters of Claggart and Billy.The first and most influential character in the book is Billy Budd who personifies goodness and innocence. By definition, good and innocence both mean possessing little or no evil or imperfections so the words can be used interchangeably in many circumstances. “By nature, Billy is purely innocent, not quite childlike, but lacking the knowledge of good and evil” (Pink Monkey). This quote is a very accurate description of Billy. Although he is a man and has the physical qualities that are attributed to a grown human being, he lacks what is referred to as “common sense” from a worldly point of view. His childlike attributes include his name. Bill’s full name is William, but the men aboard the ship refer to him as “Billy” and sometimes even Baby Budd. “Commonly, only young innocent men hold the name Billy” (Simms, “Criminal Without a Crime”), so even the hardened men on the ship saw Billy as innocent and unlike the rest of them in terms of morals. Again Billy’s innocence is shown when he first boards the Indomitable and witnesses the whipping of a man who neglected his responsibilities. Billy is outrages and terrified at the sight of this and promises himself that he would never put himself in the same situation. One of the best scenes depicting Billy’s innocence is when Billy spilled some soup and Claggart mocks him by saying, “Handsomely done, my lad! And handsome is as handsome did it too” (Melville 36). Bill...
