Innocence When Dooms tht Idealist Man in Melville s Billy Budd

Innocence sometimes reaches the points of naïveté as it stands against evil and depravity but at another time this innocence may lead to one s doom if it lacks wisdom . It finds its counterpart in the hatred and malice that some people are disguised with . The conflict here is also which law society has to apply ; man-made law or natural law for both laws put man in an inevitable way under , sometimes , unjust punishment. In Billy Budd , men who confront the law and men who confront evil suffer similar consequences suggesting the dark view that evil and law are closely connected . The story has clear references with the circumstances of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice , his innocent spirit , and his unjust execution though critics remain sharply divided over whether Billy Budd s religious imagery represents Melville s embrace of religion or harsh critique of it .