mutiny and sailor discontent within the British navy, Captain Vere, in his unswerving dedication to duty and law, is as helpless within the law as Claggart is helpless within his own nature. Falsely accused of mutiny by Claggart, Budd, in his innocence, is broken and condemned under maritime law. Much to Captain Vere's personal regret, his overwhelming devotion to duty compels him to execute Billy Budd under the Articles of War in order to preserve a naval tradition, which demanded unquestioning obedience and loyalty. Both men yield to the irrational in a time of crisis, whether it concerned law or reason.
             Seltzer states "And so the execution of Budd had essentially to be understood as a sad affirmation of [criminal society]" (17). Billy Budd, Sailor is a testimony to Melville's concern for decaying m
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