Who is the handsome sailor? He is role model, a peacemaker, and uncorrupted by mortal evils. Billy Budd, the epitome of handsomeness, represents this innocent ideal. But he is only innocent in who he is, not what he does. Innocence is defined as a lack of worldly knowledge and experience, not a lack of conscience or the natural graces. He is without the influence of corruption and so inevitably sin will destroy him. Claggart, the living representation of the devil, under pressure and over time diffused evil into Billy's purity. In writing Billy Budd, Herman Melville does not delve into an issue of what is right or wrong in characters of men; he focuses on the weighty decision facing Captain Vere (Padilla). Vere hangs in limbo as he is forced to interpret the laws of man and of nature for himself and decide between his martial duty and...