Billy Budd by Herman Melville - Appearance Versus Reality (thesis and first body paragraph)

A character's single mistake can lead to his ultimate downfall. In the book Billy Budd by Herman Melville, the sole mistake of the main character was his naïve nature to assume things to be the way they appear. The protagonist and main character, Billy mistakes his master-at-arms John Claggart, the jealous antagonist against the rise of his status, for a truthful man. It is Billy's childhood teachings, disregard for wise advice, and inability to …

…that Billy fails to realize because of his mindset. Even when Billy's crewmate, Dansker, says, "Jemmy Legs is down on you," (9) referring to the master-at-arms, his response is return is to the defense of Claggart. Billy childishly thinks that Claggart's words to him are truthful because he was raised to believe that a sailor's word is frank and uncomplicated. These many events show the boyish personality that Billy allows to block his perception of reality.