Billy Budd: Three Main CharactersBilly Budd, a 19th century novel written by Herman Melville, involves three main characters: Billy Budd, John Claggart, and Captain Vere. At the beginning of the novel, Melville portrays each character with a distinct personality; Billy Budd is depicted as the simple-minded sailor, Claggart is seen as the villain, and Captain Vere is seen as the honorable superior of the ship. As the novel develops, earlier images of these characters are contradicted as previously unseen traits of each character are revealed. John Claggart represents the incarnation of a man haunted by demons. In chapter twenty, Melville carefully describes the change in Claggart's twisted figure as he speaks to Billy with a "hypnotic gaze" of his charge against the handsome sailor. His image was initially one of “fascination with the snake”; however, his facial expression corrodes as he reveals his anger and antipathy towards Billy face to face. First, his eyes change color from a "usual rich purple" to a "muddy purple". Melville even depicts him almost as a non-human being, “the alien eyes of an uncatalogued creature”. Furthermore, contrary to his initial image, Melville compares man to "a hungry torpedo fish." Melville deliberately takes Claggart's demonic trait to a more extreme level. Billy Budd plays the role of a simple, kind-hearted peacemaker. Her attractive appearance and innocent nature earned her the loyalty of many sailors, with the exception of John Claggart. During Billy's brief moment during his stay in Captain Vere's cabin, we can see that his angelic image transforms into the image of a mortal creature. When John Claggart shocks Billy by accusing him of being involved with a rebel group, Billy finds himself "impaled, stricken with white leprosy". He is stunned and mute, as if hypnosis – ***Hypnotist?***Claggart – had actually hypnotized him to the point of blocking his ability to speak. Captain Vere even urges Billy to defend himself; However, we know for a fact that Billy's main weakness is his inability to express himself in such a situation. Melville also compares Billy to a former classmate of Captain Vere. Just like the young classmate, Billy turns into a helpless child, who struggles to spit out a word. This moment of helplessness is broken when Billy hits Claggart with a cannonball. Instantly, Billy's image of a good-natured sailor is replaced by the image of a killer. It is this unexpected transformation in Billy's nature that tests his life..