Some stuff on Billy Budd:
Most critics see Billy as the protagonist with Claggart as the antagonist and Vere as the mediator who brings out the lessons.
Billy is most often seen as the protagonist with Vere as the antaonist since the real conflict occurs between these two rather than between Billy and Claggart; individualism v. authority. Declaring your position as “we” and “our” reduces credibility that needs attribution. What is the source of these opinions?
Most critics see allegory in Budd; Biblical stuff about the fall of man.
Vere is seen as an aristocratic, educated man who prefers militarism over community and rights of individuals. This is the “truth’ of civilized society, thus his name. Your symbols must be internally consistent; more than one allusion is necessary.
Vere is a tragic hero who keeps his honor by accepting full responsibility for his decision to have Billy hanged. He does not feel regret in the novel, though he seems to in the film.
The novella promotes questioning authority (thus, Thoreau).
Ambiguity is not the same as irony.
Some see the homophobia of both Claggart and Vere as the problem that leads to Billy’s death. This homophobia is obvious, even in the film. It is the source of the evil.
Melville often railed against social injustice in society and Billy Budd is seen as ironic social criticism because the bad guys win. Accidental killing, bad; state execution, good. Vere holds to the forms of established order. He does not have personality deterioration or a mental collapse. He feels what he feels and cannot bear it in the film, although he is fine in the novella. “Billy Budd, Billy Budd” is a love declaration, not a guilt declaration.
Teachers read a lot of critical analysis of Billy Budd before they teach it and you run into the danger of doing an analysis lacking the aegis of lit critic. Validity is an issue here.Everything I give you comes from study of canonic criticism. True, deconstruction is now popular but you need to address this straight up before you run afoul of traditionalists and teach kids that whatever they think is true regardless of what an author may think..
The social emotional, justice and leadership questions are now mis-numbered.