『선원, 빌리 버드』에 나타난 선과 악의 실재

Reality of Good and Evil in Billy Budd, Sailor

The purpose of this study is to analyze the reality of good and evil in Billy Budd, Sailor, to examine Herman Melville’s Christian perspective. Herman Melville takes a special interest in evil, along with God during his lifetime. First of all, regarding evil, he explains the evil of Claggart in quote of the words of Plato in the definition of the devil. Melville describes the motive of evil, which is inherent in Claggart as the “Natural Depravity” defined by Plato. In other words, He sees that Claggart is a man with the mind of evil by nature. On the other hand, Melville describes Billy Budd, who is the reality of good by drawing an analogy of Adam before the Fall. Judging from such definition, it seems that Melville agrees with the Augustine’s claim about God’s goodness, representing that God does not create evil. Melville reveals his view of faith through the confrontation between Claggart, the reality of evil, and Billy Budd, the reality of good. It shows that the Christian perspective of Melville is changed from the ‘God of eternal malice’ to the ‘God of love and forgiveness’. Therefore, Melville’s attitude towards God in Billy Budd, Sailor indicates that he conforms to and reconciles with God’s will.