Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Does Billy
Budd face his trial at the hands of a kangaroo court, one that is
characterized by irresponsible, unauthorized, or irregular status
or procedures? If Billy's trial is illegitimate, how does its illegitimacy relate
to the overall theme of the novel?
2. What moral
issues arise with the jury's decision to sentence Billy to death?
Do you think the jury makes the right decision?
3. Ultimately,
who bears the most responsibility for Billy's death: Claggart, Vere,
or Billy himself?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. How does war function in Billy
Budd, both in the narrative itself and in the allegory?
Which images symbolize war? How does war affect law? Thinking about
the romantic tales of Captain Graveling and the narrator's descriptions
of Captain Nelson, how does the war of the past differ from the
warfare at the time the novel takes place? According to Melville,
what ultimately accounts for this difference?
2. What role does the chaplain
play on the ship? How is he perceived by the crewmen and Billy,
respectively? What impact does he have on the novel's exploration
of religious and moral themes?
3. Why might Melville have called Billy
Budd “an inside narrative”? What do you make of the controversy
over the novel's title? Does the title of the book have any bearing
on how we interpret the story?
4. What role does irony play
in Billy Budd? To what extent is the novel sincere?
5. In what ways does Melville
dramatize the conflict between a person's inner self and that person's
role in society? In particular, think about the Dansker, Captain
Vere, and the jury.
