Bill Budd

Herman Melville’s Billy Budd is a story about true goodness. It entails the conflict of good and evil, but more than that it portrays innocence in its’ most purest form. Innocence is an exploitable commodity. While this is universally recognized, there are many different ways people confront it. Some people choose to embrace and protect it. While others choose to abuse it and corrupt it. Those who choose the latter are evilplain and …

…fleece of the Lamb of God seen in mystical vision, and simultaneously therewith, watched by the wedged mass of upturned faces, Billy ascended, and, ascending, took the full rose of the dawn” Billy’s death serves the purpose of reminding us all that selfishlessness is the ultimate virtue. Perhaps, with the memory of Billy Budd, we can rise above the evil in the world and make an impact on the lives of those around us.