Ishmael is a character in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (), which opens with the line, "Call me Ishmael." He is the first person narrator in much of the book. Ishmael plays a minor role in the plot, however, and early critics of Moby-Dick assumed that Captain Ahab is the blogger.com either confused Ishmael with Melville or overlooked the role he played The setting is the last decade of the eighteenth century. The British naval warship H.M.S. Bellipotent impresses, or involuntarily recruits, the young sailor Billy Budd, extracting him from duty aboard the Rights-of-Man, a merchant ship. Billy’s commanding officer, Captain Graveling, though reluctant to let one of his best men go, has little choice in the face of the superior ship’s demands How to Read a Book is a book by the philosopher Mortimer J. blogger.com co-authored a heavily revised edition in with the editor Charles Van Doren, which gives guidelines for critically reading good and great books of any blogger.com revision, in addition to the first edition, treats genres (poetry, history, science, fiction, et cetera), inspectional and syntopical reading
Billy Budd, Sailor: Plot Overview | SparkNotes
The setting is the last decade of the eighteenth century. The British naval warship H. Bellipotent impresses, or involuntarily recruits, the young sailor Billy Budd, extracting him from duty aboard the Rights-of-Man, billy budd essay, a merchant ship.
Billy packs up his gear without so much as a protest and follows the boarding officer of the Bellipotent, Lieutenant Ratcliffe, across the gangway to his new assignment.
After a cheery good-bye to his old mates, Billy settles in quickly among the company of the Bellipotent. He proves most industrious and eager in his role as foretopman and soon earns the affection of his more experienced fellow sailors. Hoping to avoid a similar punishment, Billy attempts to fulfill his duties in model fashion, but finds himself under constant scrutiny due to various minor infractions, billy budd essay. Puzzled by this persecution, Billy seeks out the advice of the Dansker, billy budd essay, an aged, experienced sailor.
After explaining the situation to him, the Dansker concludes that Claggart, the master-at-arms, holds a grudge against Billy. The contents of the pan trickle to the feet of the passing Claggart, who makes an offhand, seemingly lighthearted remark in recognition of the spill. One night, an anonymous figure rouses Billy from his sleep on the upper deck and asks him to meet in a remote quarter of the ship. Confused, Billy mechanically obeys. At the mysterious rendezvous, Billy is puzzled when, after some vague discourse, the unidentified man flashes two guineas in exchange for a promise of cooperation.
Without comprehending the exact details of this solicitation, Billy recognizes that something is amiss, and he raises his stuttering voice and threatens the man with uncharacteristic violence. The conspirator quickly slinks into the darkness, and Billy finds himself confronted with the curious inquiries of two fellow sailors. Unsure of how to explain the situation, Billy explains that he simply happened upon a fellow sailor who was in the wrong part of the ship, and chased the man back to his proper station with a gruff rebuke.
Somewhat later, after a brief skirmish with an enemy frigate, Claggart approaches Captain Vere with news of a rumored mutiny and names Billy budd essay Budd as the ringleader of the rebellion. Vere summons Billy to his cabin and instructs Claggart to repeat his accusation. Upon hearing of this unexpected blot on his character, Billy is rendered speechless.
The blow proves forceful enough to knock Claggart unconscious, and he lies bleeding from the nose and ears as Billy and Vere attempt to revive him.
Abandoning this effort, Vere dismisses Billy to a neighboring stateroom until further notice. In a billy budd essay move, Vere calls a drumhead court consisting of the captain of the marines, the first lieutenant, and the sailing master. Vere, billy budd essay, functioning as the main witness, gives a testimony of the relevant events to the jury.
Billy remains rather silent during his period of questioning, admitting to the blow but maintaining his innocence of intention and declaring his lack of affiliation with any potential mutiny. The court dismisses Billy again to the stateroom. During a tense period of deliberation, billy budd essay, Vere hovers over the jury. When they seem to be deadlocked, unable to make a decision, Vere steps forward to declare his conviction that the rule of law must supersede the reservations of conscience.
He concludes his speech to the jury by insisting that they decide to acquit or condemn in strict accordance with the letter of military law. After a period of further deliberation, the jury finds Billy Budd guilty as charged and sentences him to death by hanging on the following morning, billy budd essay. Captain Vere communicates to Billy the news billy budd essay his fate and, after a discussion with him billy budd essay we do not learn about directly, he withdraws to leave the prisoner by himself.
Billy spends his final hours in chains on board an upper gun deck, guarded by a sentry. That morning, shortly after four A. Whistles blow and the ship returns to regular business. On its return voyage, the Bellipotent falls in with a French warship, the Athée, or Atheist. Finally, the legend of Billy Budd becomes recorded and institutionalized in naval circles.
A newspaper reports the incident from afar, implicating Billy budd essay Budd as the villainous assailant of an innocent Claggart. Want study tips sent straight billy budd essay your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter! Search all of SparkNotes Search Suggestions Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. No Fear Literature Translations Literature Study Guides Glossary of Literary Terms How to Write Literary Analysis.
Biography Biology Chemistry Computer Science Drama Economics Film Health History Math Philosophy Physics Poetry Psychology Short Stories Sociology US Government and Politics. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List Billy Budd Claggart Captain Vere. Themes Motifs Symbols Key Facts, billy budd essay. Important Quotes Explained.
How to Write Literary Analysis Glossary of Literary Terms How to Cite This SparkNote Suggested Essay Topics. Summary Plot Overview.
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Herman Melville's \
, time: 8:34Ishmael (Moby-Dick) - Wikipedia
How to Read a Book is a book by the philosopher Mortimer J. blogger.com co-authored a heavily revised edition in with the editor Charles Van Doren, which gives guidelines for critically reading good and great books of any blogger.com revision, in addition to the first edition, treats genres (poetry, history, science, fiction, et cetera), inspectional and syntopical reading Ishmael is a character in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (), which opens with the line, "Call me Ishmael." He is the first person narrator in much of the book. Ishmael plays a minor role in the plot, however, and early critics of Moby-Dick assumed that Captain Ahab is the blogger.com either confused Ishmael with Melville or overlooked the role he played The setting is the last decade of the eighteenth century. The British naval warship H.M.S. Bellipotent impresses, or involuntarily recruits, the young sailor Billy Budd, extracting him from duty aboard the Rights-of-Man, a merchant ship. Billy’s commanding officer, Captain Graveling, though reluctant to let one of his best men go, has little choice in the face of the superior ship’s demands
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