Billy Budd, Sailor

A mutiny refers to a group of subordinates who rebel against their leader, whom they may overthrow and even kill. It becomes a motif in the text. There is no mutiny on board Vere’s ship, but Claggart uses the rumor of Billy’s conspiracy to undermine him. This is particularly effective, given the Nore Mutiny, an infamous event that happened not long before the events of the story. Various mutinies led to the Mutiny Act, which is the law that Vere upholds when he sentences Billy to death.

Mutiny is a multi-faceted concept, and Melville suggests that mutinies are not always wrong, or evil. People who refuse to participate in a war are mutinous against the draft laws and the government that legislates them. This motif hence reflects The Struggle Between Morality and Lawfulness.

A mutiny can also be a symbol of the need to preserve one’s individuality, rather than to simply conform with society. However, for a mutiny—or an uprising, or various campaigns of social activism—to be effective, it cannot be the work of an individual, but a committed, coordinated group. Dissent must be squashed quickly. In Billy Budd, each time there are stirs of discontent, the officers whistle, sending the men back to their tasks.