Melville & Sophocles Discussion

MELVILLE: “OPEDIPUS, YOU SEE, WAS MY MODEL.”

SOPHOCLES: “THAT IS ABSURD. YOUR CHARACTER, THIS BILLY, HAS NONE OF THE TRAITS THAT MY TRAGIC CHARACTER POSSESSED.”

MELLVILLE: “BILLY BUD MAY HAVE NOT BEEN ANY GREAT KING OR A MAN OF IMMENSE MONETARY WEALTH, BUT HE POSSESSED A DIFFERENT SORT OF GREATNESS. “

SOPHOCLES: “YOU SPEAK OF A DIFFERENT SORT OF GREATNESS, AS IF IT THAT COULD POSSIBLE COMPARE TO THE LIFE OF MY OEDIPUS. HE ROSE TO THE HIGHEST POSITION A MAN CAN OBTAIN. HE WAS A KING, A RULER OF A POWERFUL LAND, NOT SOME COMMON SHIPBOARD SAILOR. YOUR BILLY BUDD HAD NOTHING.”

MELLVILLE: “OEDIPUS WAS A GREAT KING AND A WONDERFUL RULER OF A POWERFUL LAND, JUST AS BILLY WAS A GREAT SAILOR AND WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF AN IDEAL HUMAN BEING. HE ALSO ROSE TO A HIGH POSITION IN MY STORY.

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I WILL GLADLY GIVE YOUR SAILOR THE COLD SHADOW OF MY KING. IF IT IS IN THE SHADOWS OF THE GIANT OEDIPUS REX THAT BILLY BUDD MUST DWELL THEN LET IT BE. SERVES ME FAR BETTER THAT HE REMAINS THERE NEXT TO HIS INSPIRATION. HE TRIED TO BRING THIS OUT IN THE MOST EVIL OF PEOPLE. THESE QUALITIES ARE TEST THROUGHOUT THE STORY AS NUMEROUS TEMPTATIONS ARE PLACED BEFORE HIM. BILLY BUDD LACKED THE ABILITY TO LIE, CHEAT, OR STEAL. BILLY BUDD, ONCE I ESTABLISHED HIM, HAD NO CONTROL OVER HIS FATE. I PLACED TEMPTATIONS AND OBSTACLES BEFORE HIM KNOWING HIS REACTIONS WERE RESTRICTED TO THE HIGH MORALS I HAD GIVEN HIM. ”

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**Bibliography**

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. ACCORDING TO PLATO IN POETICS A TRAGIC CHARACTER IS RESTRICTED TO WHO AND WHAT THEY ARE AND ONLY REACT AND ACT UPON SITUATIONS PRESENTED BEFORE THEM. HE GAINED THE CONFIDENCE OF ALL HIS FELLOW SHIPMATES AND WAS REWARDED NOT ONLY WITH THEIR COMRADERIE BUT WITH A PROMOTION TO A HIGHER RANK. I MAY AGREE WITH YOUR REASONING, BUT TO ALLOW MYSELF TO THINK THAT YOUR STORY RIVALS OR COMPARES TO MINE IS NEXT TO NOT POSSIBLE. YOUR STORY OF OEDIPUS HAS INSPIRED ME AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS. HE NOT ONLY SOUGHT OUT THE TRUTH, BUT HE BELIEVED THAT ALL HUMANS CONTAINED AN HONEST AND GOOD CORE. ”

MELLVILLE: “THAT IS WHY I STATED THAT YOUR STORY SERVED AS A MODEL.

Approximate Word count = 579
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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