Billy Budd Assessment of Captain

Billy Budd Assessment of Captain Vere's Sentencing of Billy Budd In this paper I will argue for Captain Vere's dismissal from his command of the Avenger in His Majesty's Royal Navy, by showing the arguments that I would expect to be made on his behalf, against him, and how I would vote and why. Against Vere One argument I expect to be made against Captain Vere is that by finding Billy Budd guilty and hanging him until dead Vere violated the Spirit of the Law, though he followed its Letter.

The Letter upon which Billy Budd is hung is read by Vere: If any officer, mariner, soldier, or other person in the fleet, shall strike any of his superior officers, or draw, or offer to draw, or lift any weapon against him, being in the execution of his office, on any pretense whatsoever, every such person being convicted of such offense, by.the sentence of a court-martial, shall suffer death (Article XXII of the Articles of War).

And yet Vere and the rest of the crew know Budd to be innocent, in that he had no intention of striking Claggart or inciting a riot or causing harm. But that Claggart slandered Billy Budd, the good nature of Budd could not but react to the lie that Claggart issued: therefore, though Vere understood this completely and his conscience prodded him to reach another conclusion, he would not: "Do not think me pitiless in thus demanding sentence on a luckless boy. I feel as you do for him.

And for myself -- revulsion. Shame. And rage" (74). Nonetheless, Vere (for all his rage) sends Billy to his grave under the verdict of an unjust and unwarranted death sentence. For Vere The argument that I expect to be made on Vere's behalf is this: It must be conceded that Vere desired to operate according to the requirement and demands of the rigors of the Law.

The Law, it should be noted, is instituted for a reason: to keep order amongst the affairs of men; to regulate their actions; to help govern their wills. Yet Billy Budd had a good will, and his numerous good actions and laudable reputation preceded him. His goodness was not inhuman either -- as Vere attempts to rationalize within himself. (as though one could say, "Billy is inhumanly good, therefore inhuman; therefore it is no crime for him to be judged guilty of Claggart's murder. Claggart also was inhuman.

Impossible goodness killed by impossible wickedness." Vere rationalizes their aspect to the point of absurdity, to keep from dealing with reality.) How I would vote and why I would vote against Vere and this is why: The fact is that Vere did not and could not judge this case appropriately. His education has formed him only half-so. His ideas of duty, justice, order, and responsibility before the law have all risen from the Enlightenment doctrine of his day and age.

He has let slip the simple fact that the Law has two natures, which must be observed always: the Law is one part objective and one part subjective -- the Law contains a Letter as well as a Spirit. They will say that Vere was only doing his duty to keep open rebellion and mutiny from occurring on his ship. I say he is lucky no such mutiny arose following his cynical judgment upon Billy. Billy Budd was a sailor beloved of all who met him.

That Vere judged him guilty should have provoked the crew to judge Vere unfit for command. Such would have been fitting. But the crew followed Vere in his sorry example to uphold the Law. Vere did not uphold the Law. He upheld a Letter -- just like the ancient Pharisees would have done to the God they denied -- a Man of as much Goodness and Truth as Billy Budd. Vere should have been more attentive to the Spirit of the Law in Billy's case.

Instead, he allowed himself not to be moved -- even when compelled: "And pity, if we are men, must move us, Captain." "So I am moved," replies Vere to Ratcliffe, "but we cannot have warm hearts betraying heads which should be cool" (72). Where is the betrayal? Vere betrays himself! Man is made of two parts, just as is the Law -- body and soul, head and heart. Vere does not allow himself to be moved the way God allows Himself to be moved to pity for all sinners.

Vere, consequently, is Satanic: his rule is informed only by spiritless letters which mean nothing but demand mechanistic obeisance. Where Vere should have pity, he employs reason. Where Vere should reason, he employs self-pity. Vere is an inversion.