The Moral World of "Billy Budd"

The Moral World of Billy Budd sees the novel not as inviting us to choose between the testament of acceptance and the testament of resistance, those views that, respectively, support and critique Captain Vere but rather as challenging us to experience the difficulty of making decisions in the world. The first part is an examination of the two testaments, the second part analyzes the three major characters.

The Moral World of Billy Budd sees the novel not as inviting us to choose between the testament of acceptance and the testament of resistance, those views that, respectively, support and critique Captain Vere but rather as challenging us to experience the difficulty of making decisions in the world. The first part is devoted to an intensive examination of the evolution of the two testaments, including analyses of the three book-length studies of the novel, climaxing with Wenke's argument that the Genetic Text shows the novel's active pursuit of ambiguity. The second part analyzes the three major characters, showing how the text almost programmatically complicates each judgment of them. This dynamic is especially true of its judgments of Captain Vere, the character at the center of the critical debate. The critical focus here is on the numerous dichotomies the text uses to present Vere's character, showing how an analysis of these terms leads to a more complicated view of him than previously seen. The Moral World of Billy Budd specifically argues that these oppositions are not intended to be resolved but dissolved, to be seen, that is, as needing to be overcome and approached rather as a means of engaging in a reflection on the nature of moral judgment itself. At the same time, despite the difficulties of deciding, it is clear from the text's perspective that, like Captain Vere, the reader too must decide between the possible alternatives even though any decision reached will be overshadowed by the larger dilemma of operating in a theater beyond our grasp.

Autorentext

Russell Weaver received his PhD in English from the University of Chicago. His first book was Questioning Keats: An Introduction to Applied Hermeneutics (Peter Lang, 2006). He is currently Professor of English at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.

Zusammenfassung
Offers an examination of the evolution of the two testaments, including analyses of the three book-length studies of the novel, climaxing with Wenke's argument that the Genetic Text shows the novel's active pursuit of ambiguity. This title analyzes the three major characters, showing how the text programmatically complicates each judgment of them.

Inhalt

Contents: The Critical Heritage - Acceptance, Resistance, and the Struggle To Define Billy Budd - Brodtkorb: Language, Mystery and the Acceptance of Annihilation - Scorza: Burke, Rousseau, and the Two Narratives of Billy Budd - Parker: The Genetic Text and the Incompleteness of Billy Budd - Garner: Finding the Kernel in the Shell - Wenke: Billy Budd and the Pursuit of Ambiguity - Billy - Claggart - Vere - The Moral World of Billy Budd.