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Billy Budd

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Billy Budd
Billy Budd is a 21 year old foretopman. I don’t know who my parents are, I was an abandoned child. I am big, strong and physically beautiful, my nickname is “Handsome Sailor.” I am also called “Baby Budd,” because it represents my childlike youthfulness and innoncence. I am well liked by others and I am also very innocent. I am naive and I don’t think anyone would ever be out to get me because I have never directly confronted evil. I am good natured and I have no malice for anyone. I have always been popular with the crew, except for a guy named John Claggart, which I misjudged his intentions because of my openhearted nature. My only defect is a speech impediment. I start to stutter or become completely speechless when I am excited or troubled. This ends up really hurting me in the end because I am unable to defend myself.

Billy Budd killed claggart as an accident, it was out of frustration because he couldn’t get the words out, he has a weakness in his speech, a speech impediment. Claggart kept pushing him. He was pushed to his limit. His inability to express himself

I don’t believe he killed Claggart as a form of natural justice because it wasn’t planned, it was a complete accident. I do believe he was sentenced to die by a form of conventional justice. Claggart was lying and Billy Budd didn’t intentionally kill Claggart. He was sentenced to death as a form of conventional justice because although the drumhead court and Captain Vere do believe that Billy’s intentions were completely different from his actions, Vere reminds the court of the legal requirements in the military code and Billy Budd is sentenced to death.

There are problems with the meaning of justice from this because was it right to sentence Billy Budd to death even though it was an accident? Also, there is a line between justice and fairness. Captain Vere feels that Billy Budd is innocent but he also knows that he has killed a superior officer, so it seems unfair to execute Billy Budd,
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