"Captain Vere's Role in Billy Budd"

Melville's character, Captain Edward Fairfax Vere, leaves the jurors with no recourse but to condemn their crew mate Billy Budd for his crime. The captain's fear of mutiny, his twisted perception of justice, and his feigned adherence to duty motivates him to manipulate the jurors to convict Billy Budd.

All of his arguments have an ironic nature. Fear governs his actions, yet he argues that the jurors should use sound logic over their emotions. Concern for himself drives his behavior, but he entreats the jury to consider their duty to king and country while ignoring their own concerns for justice. Captain Vere manipulates the events of the trial to pre-determine Billy's conviction while deluding himself into believing that he is seeking justice. Captain Vere realizes that these men hold an obvious kinship with Billy, and the does not want it to affect their judgment of Billy. In a time when mutiny is prevalent, the captain argues that logic and thought would have to override emotion. He tells the men to "let not warm hearts betray heads that should stay cool," to prevent them from being swayed by their emotions. He provides a warning to them to not allow themselves to get consumed by personal emotion when the lives of the crew and the British people are at stake. It also illuminates that he has some bias against Billy, because he does not want the jurors' feelings to interfere with getting him convicted.

Captain Vere's insistence on pursuing a path that would require the men to use the martial codes as a strict guide further illustrates his bias. He states that he regards Billy's act of slaying his superior officer, Claggart, as being the most heinous of the naval crimes. This makes it clear to the jurors that they have an obligation to closely follow the laws setup in the Articles of War. Captain Vere asserts that a martial court should not concern themselves with the motivations of the person but solely with the consequences of their actions. Therefore they must strictly adhere to the law based upon Billy's crime. He goes on to argue that the members of the drumhead court are here not to act as specialists in ethics or morality, but to act as practical jurors(seamen) dealing with martial law.

The captain believes that news of Billy Budd's deed might incite a mutiny in the crew. To prevent this, he must convince the jury that mercy can not be an option during a time of war. The Captain notes that if this were not a time of war Billy would have merely been kept as a prisoner. However, he declares a war is upon them and they must obey their "vows of allegiance to martial duty." He calls for quick action to prevent news of Billy Budd's deed from inciting a mutiny. The captain points out a mutiny could prove devastating for not only himself, but England as well. He states to the members of the drumhead court that they must all stand against one common enemy, the French Directory, and avoid being disjointed at all costs. Captain Vere makes it clear that the path of leniency would cause the crew to perceive the murder as an unpunished, flagrant act of mutiny. The captain states that by taking mercy upon Billy Budd, the crew would misinterpret the action and chaos would bring break out aboard the ship.

Captain Vere, knowing that in spite of his appeal to use logic, the threat of mutiny, and the act Billy committed may not persuade the jurors to turn against their natural instincts. They may still wish to act mercifully, so he uses their sense of duty to manipulate them to convict Billy. He reasons to the drumhead court that by becoming officers in the British navy they must accept and adhere to all of its laws. The captain states that "in natural justice it is shameful for an innocent man to suffer death," but reminds the men that their obligation is to their responsibilities as naval officers. By becoming officers, they must cease to concern themselves with natural law and must obey the call of duty. The captain uses this argument as the basis for his justification to convict Billy. In the trial, Captain Vere does not act on reason but chiefly on his primal emotion of fear. He fears that if Billy were set free the ship could fall into mutiny. Ironically, he uses logic and strict adherence to martial law and duty to condemn Billy.

He realizes that the only way to save his ship and crew from mutiny will be to sentence Billy Budd to death. Captain Vere coldly and systematically persuades the members of the drumhead court to do so. He points to the severity of the crime, the added seriousness of the war, the jurors' responsibility to their duty, the ever present danger of mutiny, and the need for logic and reason over emotion. Presented with these logical arguments the jurors have no other recourse than to sentence Billy to death.Captain Vere's Role in Billy Budd's Conviction

have questions or comments? Email Me!