's innocent and noble deeds. Claggart's contempt towards Billy is never explained, so the reader is left to believe that there is an innate evilness about Claggart that leads him to target Billy as his enemy. The vision of Claggart as a serpent symbol is apparent again. In the Bible there was no justification of the serpent's treachery in tricking Eve, Claggart has no real reason to hate Billy, except possibly the jealousy that he feels towards Billy's handsome appearance and innocent spirit.
             Of the several different Biblical figures that Billy represents, his physical description in the beginning of the story most strikingly matches those of Adam. The picture of perfect beauty, Billy is a sweet, innocent young man that has never been exposed to the corruption of the world. When Billy is impressed to join the ship the Bellipotent, he cheerfully waves good-bye to his first ship, The Rights of Man. Symbolically, Billy is waving good-bye to his own rights and happiness. Like Adam in the Garden of Eden, Billy was in a place where he had everything he could want. He was loved and appreciated by his crewmates, who saw him as a refreshing source of kindness and compassion. Billy makes the transition onto a war ship where he is surrounded by corruption. In essence, Billy loses all of the things that supported and encouraged his innocent spirit.
             When Claggart accuses Billy for being apart of the mutiny he becomes unable to speak, and he strikes Claggart hard, more out of shock than anger. This scene represents Billy's fall from innocence, just as eating the fruit marked Adam's fall from grace. Adam lived contently in the Garden of Eden, but eventually the pressures of the evilness around him caused him to eat the
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