Rating: 
Summary: A so-so tale of the sea
Review: Billy Budd is a handsome, if slightly dense, young sailor aboard the sailing ship "Bellipotenet." The other sailors look up to and respect him because of his beauty and naivete. All, that is, except for the master-at-arms John Claggart. He has some kind of grudge against Billy and does his best to make life at sea rough for him. When talk of mutinies is heard through the fleet, Claggart gets his cronies together to frame poor Billy Budd.
It's not a bad novella, but Melville's language is almost too wordy to keep the reader focused on the story at hand and bogs down the pacing. Maybe that has to do with the time period in which it was written, but I found myself re-reading passages just to make sure I knew what was going on. Also, you're never really sure why Claggart is envious of Billy: his good looks? the fact that the crew prefers him to Claggart? he has a crush on him? Ideas are hinted at, but nothing is ever made concrete. I felt dissatisfied with the conculsion, too, but don't want to give any spoliers. Overall, a so-so book.
Rating: 
Summary: A novella that is pure rubbish.
Review: "Billy Budd and Other Tales" - this review is for "Billy Budd." Herman Melville's novella is a rambling piece of junk. Perhaps ten pages actually pertained to the plot of "Billy Budd," while the rest of seventy pages were about useless thoughts, perceptions, and historical tie-ins that did not benefit from the story at all. The story was barely about the character of Billy Budd, and was more like a soapbox for the author. This is not worth the time. I do not recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A novella that is pure rubbish.
Review: "Billy Budd and Other Tales" - this review is for "Billy Budd." Herman Melville's novella is a rambling piece of junk. Perhaps ten pages actually pertained to the plot of "Billy Budd," while the rest of seventy pages were about useless thoughts, perceptions, and historical tie-ins that did not benefit from the story at all. The story was barely about the character of Billy Budd, and was more like a soapbox for the author. This is not worth the time. I do not recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: As Relevant Today As It Was in 1891 - Wonderful !
Review: .
Many lessons in the story of Billy Budd. And one is the personality of the master-in-arms, John Claggart. How does one explain in our current life persons who lash out at us for false reasons due to alterative motives? We can dispute the charges but when asked what reason we believe the reputable and well-respected person is accusing us for, what is our answer? This is where reading books, anything from philosophy, psychology, novels, biographies, etc., are so crucial in life. Crucial in all our endeavors, from cliché speech walking in our neighborhood to who we vote for politically. And so, here we are accused for motives beyond surface despite the respectability and dignity that the accuser so verily has. If we and our judges are familiar with the stories of the biblical Joseph and his brothers, and I find much more so, the story of John Claggart and Billy Budd, then our referral to such stories reaps far more insight than a lengthy explanation would do.
Another point that hit so very hard with me is at the end of the novel, where Melville quotes the fictitious Newspaper's account of the Billy Budd story and I can't help but compare it to 99.9% of the stories on CNN and the American journalist media; shod journalism, bias, one-sided, selective and utterly false, that is, false to the extent that it conveys the right story but subtly changes and so slyly maneuvers the intents and motives and in many cases, outright falsifies the information as in "Billy Budd conspires mutiny and thus punished appropriately." So it is, in George Bush's' America, both domestically and in foreign policy. But what makes matters so much worse is the believing public, "Billy Budd really is evil," a naive public that is built on journalism where the reading of books is long forgotten in favor of surface superficiality; the TV, internet and of course, our journalism. After reading Melville's story and his subsequent news article, there you can read the differences.
Were Captain Vere and the three lieutenants correct in their decision to execute Billy Budd? Should the letter of the law been obeyed? Or did this incur extenuating circumstances to pardon either the official crime or the punishment? This was a time of recent mutinies and revolts on other ships, although nothing of the sort here happened, it pervaded the spirit of strict disciplinarian measures. In addition, the outcome of the obedience and servitude of the sailors and officers would have to be weighed ahead of the life of Billy Budd, despite is false accuser and impulsive blow to counter act his failure to use speech to defend himself. Does this support a zero tolerance law code? Or should flexibility and discernment above strict adherence to each and every case be determined by the spirit and purpose of the law broke rather than then the letter of the so-called infringement?
Subjectively, Billy Budd was a good man and innocent of the death by accident he incurred to Claggart and therefore should be either found guilty of a lesser charge or given lesser punishment. Billy Budd's last words, "God Bless Captain Vere." Objectively, Billy Budd broke a major law, killing a superior officer, which in turn, has a major influence on the entire fleet of sailors and officers and is therefore guilty and subject to hanging.
Rating:
Summary: As Relevant Today As It Was in 1891 - Wonderful !
Review: .
Many lessons in the story of Billy Budd. And one is the personality of the master-in-arms, John Claggart. How does one explain in our current life persons who lash out at us for false reasons due to alterative motives? We can dispute the charges but when asked what reason we believe the reputable and well-respected person is accusing us for, what is our answer? This is where reading books, anything from philosophy, psychology, novels, biographies, etc., are so crucial in life. Crucial in all our endeavors, from cliché speech walking in our neighborhood to who we vote for politically. And so, here we are accused for motives beyond surface despite the respectability and dignity that the accuser so verily has. If we and our judges are familiar with the stories of the biblical Joseph and his brothers, and I find much more so, the story of John Claggart and Billy Budd, then our referral to such stories reaps far more insight than a lengthy explanation would do.Another point that hit so very hard with me is the Newspaper's account of the story and I can't help but compare it to 99.9% of the stories on CNN and the American journalist media; shod journalism, bias, one-sided, selective and utterly false, that is, false to the extent that it conveys the right story but changes so slyly the intents and motives and most certainly in many cases, outright falsifies the information. So it is, in George Bush's' America, both domestically and in foreign policy. But what makes matters so much worse is the believing public, a naive public that is built on journalism where the reading of books is long forgotten in favor of TV, internet and of course, journalism. After reading Melville's story and his subsequent news article, there you can read the differences. Were Captain Vere and the three lieutenants correct in their decision to execute Billy Budd? Should the letter of the law been obeyed? Or did this incur extenuating circumstances to pardon either the official crime or the punishment? This was a time of recent mutinies and revolts on other ships, although nothing of the sort here happened, it pervaded the spirit of strict disciplinarian measures. In addition, the outcome of the obedience and servitude of the sailors and officers would have to be weighed ahead of the life of Billy Budd, despite is false accuser and impulsive blow to counter act his failure to use speech to defend himself. Does this support a zero tolerance law code? Or should flexibility and discernment above strict adherence to each and every case be determined by the spirit and purpose of the law broke rather than then the letter of the so-called infringement? Subjectively, Billy Budd was a good man and innocent of the death by accident he incurred to Claggart and therefore should be either found guilty of a lesser charge or given lesser punishment. Billy Budd's last words, "God Bless Captain Vere." Objectively, Billy Budd broke a major law, killing a superior officer, which in turn, has a major influence on the entire fleet of sailors and officers and is therefore guilty and subject to hanging.
Rating: 
Summary: Billy Budd Review
Review: Billy Budd is unlike any book I have ever read. The way it is written is very unique and elaborate. There are some aspects about the story I liked, however it had some weaker points.
Even though it is only 90 pages long, it is packed with complex sentences and ideas. It seemed to stray from the storyline occasionally and begin to ramble on about senseless things. The language and wording he used seemed unnecessary and irrelevant. Also, at times, it got somewhat boring to read. I read that the story parallels the story of Christ, and I would have to disagree. Christ sacrificed himself for mankind, when Billy never put others first at all.
What I did like about the book were it's characters. Melville used a minimal amount of characters in this book, unlike most books. Also, each character was deep, and they all seemed to be almost labeled. Billy, being the extremely innocent 21 year old, was nearly flawless. What I liked about him was that his one fault proved to be fatal, indirectly. Billy stuttered and had trouble speaking when under pressure, which drove him to lose his temper and accidentally kill Claggart, and for that he was hanged. Claggart, to me, seemed somewhat psychotic. He hid his anger and malice, and because of this, he suspected others did also. He hated Billy for no reason, just that he thought Billy was conspiring against him. Vere was a kind man, except for the fact that he let his work as a captain interfere with his morals, like when he sentenced Billy to be hanged.
Melville wrote this story with the main idea being good versus evil, and I liked that. He wrote it with Billy as good and Claggart representing evil, and this aspect was one of my favorite parts to this novel.
All in all, I thought the book had a good idea, but it was presented in the wrong way. There were parts I loved and parts I could not stand, so I give it a three of five.
Rating: 
Summary: Billy Budd, Sailor
Review: Billy Budd, Sailor is an extraordinary novel. I can see why it is called one of the best short stories of all time. The story is about a sailor, of course, named Billy Budd. He is on a boat during the Napoleonic Wars. He is accused of plotting mutiny by the ship's master-at-arms, John Claggert. Billy Budd eventually gets so mad at the injustice he is receiving that he kills Claggert. Consequently, he is sentenced to death by Captain Vere.
What I did not like about the story was that is was so hard to read. The story was written in 1924 so the language is different from today's vocabulary. The novel is full of words that normal people do not understand; however, there is a glossary in the back of the book to help the reader. If you look up all the words, the novel takes a very long time to read, but it is still very good. I would say the main downfall of this book is the burdensome vocabulary.
I really enjoyed the character Billy Budd. Even though he is falsely accused of mutiny, he always kept his head high. His one shortcoming ended up costing him his life. This character flaw was his quick temper. This was most evident when he killed John Claggert.
My favorite thing about the story would have to be the plot. If you look back at the plot, you would notice a resemblance to the story of Christ. When I noticed it was like the story of Christ, I was in awe. That is what made me like this story so much. Actually the novel is kind of scary. There is imagery created that relates the present day Billy Budd to the past story of Christ. The plot makes this story so powerful, so meaningful, and so suspenseful because you want to know if Melville will change the ending. The resemblance of this story to the one of Jesus brought up a question for me. Did Melville intentionally relate this to the Bible?
Furthermore, I also enjoyed the aspect of the storytelling that Melville left questions unanswered at the end of this story. Some remaining questions are: Why did Claggerts accuse Billy Budd? Was Billy Budd guilty or innocent of mutiny? I like that these questions were not answered because then the reader is left wondering. This increases the reader's imagination.
Rating:
Summary: Billy Budd: Misleading and/or Deceiving
Review: Don't judge a book by its cover (or size). If ever this statement was true, it is now. At first glance, Billy Budd by Herman Melville looks like at quick easy read at only 80+ pages. Once you get through the first few paragraphs, you realize that you just might have bit off more than you can chew. The character Billy Budd seems to be a stand up guy. Though quiet, he boosts the morale of his shipmates with just his presence. Melville himself calls him the, "Handsome Sailor." He appears to be almost perfect in every way, although he does have one fault. He stutters when he is overwhelmed by many feelings he cannot express. I like this about Billy. It shows that he is human and does have imperfections. Another character, Captain Vere, is a little bit creepy for my taste. His obsession for Billy, whether it be sexual or not, is a bit strange. A specific instance of the odd obsession is in the scene in chapter 10 in the mess hall. It is the well known "spilled soup" scene. The detailed description Melville gives to a small section dealing with spilled soup on the floor is a bit extreme. I agree with most people saying that there is much homoerotic content in Billy Budd. Overall I give this book a low score. I do like the idea behind the story. A well liked sailor who doesn't cause trouble is set up by his commanding officers. Billy is portrayed as a hero to his shipmates. A young man, murdered because of his innocence. If it wasn't for the idea behind the story it would get a much lower rating.
Rating:
Summary: Another Melville Great
Review: Let anyone tell you: it may look short and innocent but the story is waayyyyy beyond that! I'm in an advanced study program with an ambitious teacher, so I got to read this in 8th grade. It was a bit of stretch. On the whole you can say it was good, but the work just took out all the fun. The story itself is quite simple: Billy Budd is a young and handsome sailor, perfect and good, and at the envy of others. John Claggart is the scheming first mate, who seizes the opportunity of the chaotic time period to seek his vengeance on Billy Budd. Captain de Vere is a highly intellectual man with faults and regrets, torn by duty and fear, but ultimately good. You can think of these three as Jesus, the Devil, and Man (respectively). As I said, the story was simple and short, but Melville had some real time on his hands and the result is enigmatic - chock full of tangents on tangents. I focused a little too much on the depth and didn't do too well on the details of events. The Nore Mutiny had our whole class confused, so do some research on sailing and naval terms. And be prepared for a LOT of REreading!
Rating:
Summary: Will excercise your brain and toughen your resolve
Review: The most amazingly confusing sentence in my experience opens the book. I read it nearly six times and still am unsure its meaning. At only 88 pages, the novel seems innocent enough, but prepare thyself for a good mental stretch!
|
