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Billy Budd Symbolism

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Billy Budd, Sailor is one of the simplest stories imaginable and yet it has an amazing complexity because of the moral raises by it. Billy Budd, Claggart, and Captain Vere are characters who correspond to a type of human symbolic. Symbolism helps the author to reinforce the image that he wants to give of his characters. Budd is linked to the sun and day. He is blond with blue eyes; his skin is burnished by the sun. In contrast, Claggart is the night, he is the comet, his place are the cellars like creatures of the deep and therefore his hair is dark and white skin. However, for Captain Vere, the author only uses specific words; he does not make too much effort in offering sensations as the other two characters. In this story, symbolism serves to give greater moral weight to the characters and their actions. …show more content…

I see Budd as an innocent boy, who does not understand irony or malice because he does not feel or recognize them. His lack of experience in life and some lack of perspicacity make him trust everyone. In the story, Budd is a good moral man who faces a hostile and envious crew member. Throughout the novel, he is compared to an illiterate nightingale, with an innocent dove, with a St. Bernard. And perhaps the description that best reflects is one that compares it to a loyal barbarian, like Adam before knowledge. So perfectly, the author presents him that his only defect is stuttering when something upsets him. This is what brings Budd close to human beings. In contrast, Claggart, the master of arms, and Vere, the captain, are more credible and realistic characters. Clearly, the author does not want to leave any doubt about how different was Budd from the rest of the

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