Greek Philosopher Antisthenes stated, “As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.” When someone is envious of someone else, then it consumes them. Such a case is seen in the book Billy Budd, Sailor, by Herman Melville. A young sailor by the name of William “Billy” Budd is stationed on the H.M.S. Bellipotent, a British warship, commanded by Captain Edward Vere. On the ship, Billy encounters the master-at-arms, John Claggart, who immediately forms a negative relationship with the young sailor. Eventually, Claggart’s dislike of Billy goes to the extreme when he accuses Billy of organizing a mutiny in front of Captain Vere. Some people say that this accusation was justifiable, and Claggart was correct to go through with his plan. Others, however, argue that it was a wrong and unjust act. Claggart’s accusations of Billy were not warranted because it was fruitless, selfish, and wrong.

Among the reasons …show more content…
Billy Budd was rarely exposed to malice, so when master-at-arms John Claggart showed dislike for him, he was completely oblivious of this, even believing the bloodthirsty wolf held high esteem for him after a “comment” by him at lunch. Even when the experienced Danish sailor, known as the Dansker, told Billy of Claggart’s hatred, he had trouble believing it. Finally, when Claggart brought the momentous accusation to him, Billy was shocked, for “the rose-tan of his cheek looked struck as by white leprosy(Melville, pg. 53).” Billy was struck speechless by this charge, and when Captain Vere prompted him to defend himself, he instinctively responded to Claggart with his fists, which led to the prosecutor’s death. Because of this response, Billy was put on trial, convicted, and hanged. Because of Claggart’s selfish plan, Billy Budd would not only face the terror of defending himself against charges of the highest level, but also the penalty of