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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Billy Budd, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Natural Character and Appearance
Duty, Loyalty, and Camaraderie
Justice
Individual vs. Society
The Present vs. the Past
Storytelling, Rumor, and Truth
Summary
Analysis
The narrator ponders the legal system and wonders why clergymen are not involved, since they have experience dealing with human nature and have knowledge about morality and human evil. He justifies this digression by saying that it was necessary because Claggart's mysterious, evil nature is central to the story.
This chapter may seem like a digression in the narrator's winding tale, but the issue of justice—and of who ought to decide the fate of accused individuals—will soon become of central importance to the narrative.
Themes
Literary Devices
