Billy Budd, Sailor

In Herman Melville's Billy Budd, set aboard a British navy ship at the end of the eighteenth century, the innocent and charming sailor Billy Budd quickly wins the admiration of his crewmates. However, his good nature incites the envy of John Claggart, the cold-blooded Master-at-Arms, who becomes fixated on his destruction. As tensions rise amidst fears of mutiny, Claggart’s false accusations against Billy culminate in a perilous charge of treason, challenging the notions of good and evil within a harsh naval environment.