Moby-Dick 759into the service of the Royal Navy. At both jobs,
with the merchants and the Royal Navy, Billy puts
forth a decent effort at becoming a “good worker,”
although he is much more the darling of the former
ship. In fact, when he is on the merchant ship, he is
responsible for all normal duties, but his presence
brings with it a calming effect. With Billy around,
the other sailors feud much less, and the threat of
mutiny decreases. His mere presence eases tensions
between other sailors, and because of this he has an
unofficial job as “peacekeeper.” During his time on
Rights of Man, Billy fulfills both of his jobs very well
and is well respected by the crew. All are sad to see
the good worker go.
Billy does not fare nearly as well on his second
ship, HMS Bellipotent. From the very moment the
two ships part, he finds himself in some trouble.
As his former crew sails away, he shouts a fare-
well, which is against the rules of the navy. Having
never been bound by such strict rules before, Billy
is immediately seen as less of an ideal worker. As
the story progresses, he often finds himself getting
rebuked for minor infringements of the rules. After
witnessing a lashing given to another crewmember
who broke the rules, Billy does his best to take
on the role of “good worker” among his new crew,
although something, or someone, always prevents
him from attaining the same high position he held
on the more lenient Rights of Man.
Work takes another form for the captain and his
lieutenants, as the fear of mutiny runs high through-
out this tale. The story is set at a time, Melville tells
us, when mutiny was common, and part of each
captain’s job was not only to quell actual mutinies,
but also to dissuade any activity that could poten-
tially lead to a mutiny. This is part of the reason for
the strict nature of things on board Bellipotent and
also for Billy’s inability to be the good worker he
was before. On his former ship, his presence helped
to ease the fear of mutiny, making his old captain’s
work less demanding. Captain Vere, however, has to
be on the lookout constantly, and as Billy hasn’t been
able to ease the tension aboard this ship, Vere’s work
is much more stressful.
Billy’s work and Vere’s work come into direct
conflict via Claggart, the ship’s master-at-arms.
One of Claggart’s jobs is to keep order on the lower
decks, which suggests that he would appreciate Bil-
ly’s peacekeeping abilities. However, he develops a
dislike for Billy, and because of this, Claggart makes
it his mission to try and harm the young sailor. After
an incident involving a mysterious figure, Claggart
lies to Vere and claims that Billy is planning to take
part in a mutiny. Vere’s job compels him to investi-
gate this rumor. When accused, the innocent Billy
grows angry and, unable to express himself with
words, lashes out and kills Claggart with a single
blow. Vere now has no choice but to reprimand
Billy; not doing so would put him in direct conflict
with his designated duties and would show weak-
ness to the rest of the crew. Vere forms a jury aboard
the ship, a trial takes place, and Vere is forced to
sentence Billy to be hung. Still a good worker, good
sailor, and good spirit, Billy respects the decision and
sings the praises of his captain just before he dies.
To Billy, work is the key to good behavior and
good citizenship. Aboard his first ship he is the ideal
worker in more ways than one. However, when the
ethics of work become twisted by Claggart’s jealousy
and deceitfulness aboard Billy’s second ship, Billy
is doomed to die. Because one man distorts the
concept of work, two other hard-working men are
put into difficult positions. Billy’s severe emotional
response, while perhaps warranted, leads to severe
retribution, all in the name of duty.
Ronald DavismELviLLE, HErman Moby-Dick
(1851)
Published in England and America in 1851, Moby-
Dick is a masterpiece of American literature. It is the
first-person narrative of a figure known to the reader
only as Ishmael, who in a highly indirect fashion
tells of his tragic adventures on board the whaling
vessel, Pequod.
After informing the reader what drove him to go
to sea and how he came to Nantucket in search of
joining a whaling vessel, Ishmael introduces Pequod’s
captain, Ahab. A lifelong whaleman, Ahab has
recently encountered and fought the famous white
whale, Moby Dick, losing his leg in the process.
When Ahab recovers and sets back out to sea, he
becomes obsessed with destroying the white whale,