Comparison of Billy Budd and the Life of Melville - 1507 which he lived. This understanding helps clarify the meaning and significance of one's work. In many ways, Billy Budd describes issues important to Herman Melville with both direct and indirect parallels to the Civil War era and to particular individuals in Melville's life. War, current politics, slavery, and even the assassination of President Lincoln were important to the creation of Billy Budd. This essay aims to identify the analogous relationship between these incidents and the particular individuals in Melville's life who inspired him to write Billy Budd. Melville seems to have lived a life inevitably centered on war and politics. His grandparents were fighters in the Revolutionary War, and Melville was 42 when the Civil War broke out. Melville also spent much of his life as a sailor. Although he never participated in the war in an official capacity, we see how glaringly important the Civil War was in his life by examining Billy Budd and most of his other works. Politics was an important factor in Herman Melville's life. Although he was known for never voting, he stubbornly remained loyal to his sociopolitical views. During this era, it was common for politics to be an important topic of family discussion, because shared political beliefs strengthened the American family. At that time, there was great dissension between the Democrats and the Republicans. Additionally, families lived and behaved according to the ideals of a particular faction. The Melville family generally shared the ...... middle of paper ...... always. Melville slowly said “goodbye” to his years as a sailor. His hopes that the world would perceive progress in the destructive way he perceived it were shattered. As The Civil War World mentions the parallel, "like the death of Billy Budd in Herman's last novel, it takes its meaning from the mystery of life, from the existential beauty of youth in its carefree and vigorous dreamlike march towards its starry ending. Melville died without achieving his goal, despite his attempts to communicate with Americans through creative literature. Herman Melville's Billy Budd offers us insightful thoughts on the struggle between good versus evil, Christ versus Satan, subordination versus insubordination, advancement versus stagnation and manages to correlate them all in a single novel. Works Cited: Melville, Herman. Billy Budd and Other Tales. New York: Bookmark

Essay / Comparison of Billy Budd and the Life of Melville - 1507 which he lived. This understanding helps clarify the meaning and significance of one's work. In many ways, Billy Budd describes issues important to Herman Melville with both direct and indirect parallels to the Civil War era and to particular individuals in Melville's life. War, current politics, slavery, and even the assassination of President Lincoln were important to the creation of Billy Budd. This essay aims to identify the analogous relationship between these incidents and the particular individuals in Melville's life who inspired him to write Billy Budd. Melville seems to have lived a life inevitably centered on war and politics. His grandparents were fighters in the Revolutionary War, and Melville was 42 when the Civil War broke out. Melville also spent much of his life as a sailor. Although he never participated in the war in an official capacity, we see how glaringly important the Civil War was in his life by examining Billy Budd and most of his other works. Politics was an important factor in Herman Melville's life. Although he was known for never voting, he stubbornly remained loyal to his sociopolitical views. During this era, it was common for politics to be an important topic of family discussion, because shared political beliefs strengthened the American family. At that time, there was great dissension between the Democrats and the Republicans. Additionally, families lived and behaved according to the ideals of a particular faction. The Melville family generally shared the ...... middle of paper ...... always. Melville slowly said “goodbye” to his years as a sailor. His hopes that the world would perceive progress in the destructive way he perceived it were shattered. As The Civil War World mentions the parallel, "like the death of Billy Budd in Herman's last novel, it takes its meaning from the mystery of life, from the existential beauty of youth in its carefree and vigorous dreamlike march towards its starry ending. Melville died without achieving his goal, despite his attempts to communicate with Americans through creative literature. Herman Melville's Billy Budd offers us insightful thoughts on the struggle between good versus evil, Christ versus Satan, subordination versus insubordination, advancement versus stagnation and manages to correlate them all in a single novel. Works Cited: Melville, Herman. Billy Budd and Other Tales. New York: Bookmark - NAL, 1961.

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