BILLY BUDD
A Note About the Author
Herman Melville was an American. He was born on 1st August 1819, in New York City. From the age of fifteen, Herman Melville had many different jobs. He worked in a bank. He worked on ships. He was a teacher in a school. In 1841, Melville worked on a ship called Acushnet. It sailed to the Pacific Ocean. The sailors on the Acushnet hunted whales and killed them. After many adventures in the Pacific islands, Melville sailed on a ship called The United States. This ship belonged to the US Navy. In 1844, Melville left the US Navy. He began to write stories. These stories were about sailors, ships and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. These stories were popular. In 1847, Herman married Elizabeth Shaw. Three years later, they bought a farm in the state of Massachusetts. They had two sons and one daughter. Melville travelled to the Middle East in 1857. He wrote more books and he began to write poetry. But he was no longer a popular writer. He had to sell some of his land. After the American Civil War in 1863, Melville went back to New York City. He worked in a government office. He lived in New York City until he died. He died on 28th September 1891. He was 72 years old. Some of Herman Melville's stories are: Typee (1846), Omoo (1847), Mardi (1849), Redburn (1849), White jacket (1850) and his famous story about a whale Moby Dick (1851). Billy Budd was Melville's last story. lt was published in 1924, 33 years after Melville's death.
A Note About This Story
Time: 1797. Place: the Mediterranean Sea. This was a time of wars and revolutions. Many people did not want kings to rule their countries anymore. The people wanted more food, better work and more freedom. In 1797, George III was King of Great Britain and Ireland. There was a war between France and Britain. The French and British armies fought battles on the land. The French and British navies fought battles on the sea. Warships were made of wood. They had many sails and huge, powerful guns. Each warship had hundreds of men on board. Some of the men were sailors. Some of the men were officers. The sailors cooked the food and they cleaned the ship. They listened to the orders from the officers. Then the sailors steered the ship. They moved the sails. The sails made the ship go faster or slower. Some of the sailors fired the huge guns. They were the gunners. There were also marines and corporals on warships. Marines were special soldiers. They fought in battles at sea. Corporals were the policemen on the ship. The master-at-arms was in charge of the corporals. All these men lived together on the ship for many months. At this time, sailors lived in bad conditions. They were often cold and wet. They were paid very little money. Their food was bad. Their work was dangerous and hard. Sea battles were frightening and terrible and very many sailors died in battles. Many more got horrible injuries. In the eighteenth century, the British Navy needed many sailors for the warships. Sailors were often impressed. Officers went to towns or onto trading-ships. They beat the sailors and took them to the warships. These impressed men had to stay on the warships. They had to work and they had to fight. Some of them never saw their homes or their families again. In Spring 1797, some sailors in the British Navy mutinied. They did not want to work. They did not want to fight. They wanted more money and better conditions. They wanted the impressing to stop. The admirals of the navy were very worried. Britain and France were at war. Mutiny was treason. The sailors were making trouble for , their country. They were helping France, the enemy of Britain. Admiral Nelson was an important officer in the British Navy. He was a brave man and a good officer. He spoke to the other admirals. After that, the navy made better conditions for the British sailors.
1 A British Warship
It was the summer of 1797. Britain and France were at war. The British Navy was fighting the French Navy. Edward Vere was the captain of a British warship. Captain Vere wanted more sailors for his ship. He did not have enough men to fight battles. Captain Vere's ship was called HMS Indomitable. It had a large crew and it had seventy-four big guns. There were hundreds of men on HMS Indomitable. Every sailor on the ship had a special job. Some of the men were gunners. They fired the huge guns at enemy ships. Some of the men climbed the masts and pulled the rapes. They moved the Indomitable's huge sails. Other men were lookouts. They sat at the tops of the tall masts and watched for enemy ships. The ship's officers blew their whistles and they gave their orders to the sailors. The sailors heard the sound of the whistles and they listened for the officers' orders. The officers were in charge of the sailors. And Edward Vere was in charge of all the officers and sailors on the lndomitable. Captain Vere was a brave man and a good captain. He was kind to the sailors on his ship. But he watched them very carefully.
2 The Trading-ship
One day, HMS Indomitable passed a British trading-ship in the Channel. The captain called one of his officers. “Lieutenant Ratcliffe,” said Captain Vere. “We must have some more men. Sail after that ship. Take some men and a boat. Go on board the ship. Bring some of its men back to the Indomitable. They must fight for their king and their country!” HMS Indomitable stopped the trading-ship. Lieutenant Ratcliffe and some of his sailors got into a small boat. They rowed the boat to the trading-ship and they went on board it. The ship's captain looked at Ratcliffe and his men. He was not happy. 'What do you want?' he asked. 'Britain is at war, sir!' Ratcliffe answered. 'I must have some of your men. Call your crew onto the deck!' The captain of the trading-ship obeyed the order. He called his sailors onto the main deck. They stood in a line in front of the lieutenant. Ratcliffe looked at all the men carefully. Most of them were old, ill and weak. He did not want any of these men. But there was one young man with them. He was strong and handsome. He had bright blue eyes. 'What's your name?' the officer asked the handsome sailor. 'William Budd, sir,' the young man answered. 'People call me Billy Budd, sir.' Lieutenant Ratcliffe smiIed. 'You are young and strong, Billy,' he said. 'I'll take you. I don't want any of the others.' The captain of the trading-ship was very unhappy. 'You are taking my best man!' he said. 'I'm sorry, Captain,' Ratcliffe replied. 'Billy Budd must fight for his king and his country now. Billy, bring your things. Be quick!' 'Billy is a hard worker,' the captain said sadIy. 'He is always happy. And all the men in our crew are happy too. The men don't fight each other any more. And they work hard.' 'Hasn't Billy got any enemies?' Ratcliffe asked.
3 Billy Budd, Foretopman
Captain Vere saw Billy Budd and Lieutenant Ratcliffe coming on board HMS lndomitable. The captain was not happy. 'Only one man!' he said to himself. 'We must have more sailors.' But then he looked at the young man, and he smiled. He spoke to Billy. 'You are young and strong,' he said. 'His name is William Budd, sir,' Ratcliffe said. 'Well, William Budd, you will be a foretopman on this ship, said Captain Vere. “Do you understand the work of a foretopman?” Billy looked up at the Indomitable's tall fore mast. 'Yes sir,' he replied. 'I will do my best for you, Captain. ' So Billy Budd became a foretopman on HMS lndomitable.
All the lndomitable's foretopmen were young and strong. They worked on the ship's tall fore mast. They pulled the ropes and moved the huge sails. Sometimes, they worked near the deck. Sometimes, they worked high on the mast. The foretopmen were lookouts too - that was part of their work. One of the foretopmen was always at the top of the mast. He was watching for enemy ships. Billy was happy on the foremast. The foretopmen were the best I sailors on the Indomitable. They were his friends. They were happy too.
4 The Master-at-Arms
It was the month of August. HMS Indomitable had left the Channel. The warship was now sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, between Spain and Africa. Captain Vere watched his crew carefully, but there was no trouble on the Indomitable. Another man was watching the crew too. His name was John Claggart. He was the master-at-arms. Claggart was a powerful man and a dangerous man. The master-at-arms was the chief policeman on the Indomitable. He was in charge of the ship's policemen , the corporals. Nobody on the Indomitable liked John Claggart. 'Who is he? Where did he come from?' the crew asked each other. They did not know the answers to these questions. But they told many stories about the master-at-arms. “He's not an Englishman. He's an American.” “No! He isn't an American. He's a Frenchman!”
5 The Spy
The next day, another strange thing happened. Billy and some of his friends were eating their midday meal. They were eating hot soup with bread. A strong wind was blowing and there were huge waves on the sea. The Indomitable was moving up and down, and from side to side. Billy and his friends were talking and laughing. Suddenly, a huge wave hit the ship. Billy's soup spilt onto the clean deck. At that moment, master-at-arms walked past the men. Billy´s soup was on the deck. Claggart stepped over the hot liquid. He did not say anything, but his face was angry. The sailors were frightened. But then the master-at-arms saw Billy and he smiled.
6 The Gold Coins
HMS Indomitable was a big ship. But hundreds of men lived on it. The ship was very crowded. The sailors slept in hammocks on the gun-decks. Every night, they fixed their hammocks between the huge guns. The hammocks were very close together. The weather was very hot in August 1797. One night, Billy got into his hammock and tried to sleep. But he could not sleep. He was hot. There were too many sailors near him. After an hour, Billy went up to the main deck. He lay down on some sails. Ano