Hanging of the Morally Right Billy Budd, Sailor, by Herman Melville places a physical specimen in Billy on the same ship as a mental specimen in Claggart. Claggart begins to believe that Billy has it in for him, and begins to make his false claims about Billy. This leads to a confrontation between Claggart and Billy in front of Captain Vere. This leads to Billy punching and killing Claggart, and leaving Vere in dismay. Captain Vere puts a court together and has them decide whether Billy is to be hanged or not. In the end, he is and his spirit lives on among the seas. As we progress through the book, the question of morality is brought up quite often; often through depictions between physical and mental representations. Melville uses these physical and mental…show more content… Initially, the court rules, “can we not convict and yet mitigate the penalty?” (112). In Billy Budd, Sailor, Vere makes it obvious on why he doesn’t want that. He believes it’ll make them appear weak and go against the tradition the ship has. The main reason Captain Vere doesn’t want this relates back to the body, or the right of morality. If he were to go in between, he’d go against the tradition and the law, which would be morally wrong. Thus, leading him to say no, and having the court rule in executing Billy. By Captain Vere putting the court together and the court deciding that Billy will be executed, demonstrates the different effects on morality. By having Billy hung, it shows that choosing the morally right solution is more respected than the morally wrong solution. While Captain Vere feels sympathetic for Billy, he knows that he needs to follow marshal law. This can also be related to the body and mind. Captain Vere decides to go with the hanging of a body which provides physical consequences compared to letting him live which includes mental
