When Law and Justice Aren't Synonyms / Cuando ley y justicia no son sinónimos

Today we publish a text and some exercises on the tremendous injustice suffered by a young sailor, hero of the novella Billy Budd. We also publish a translation of the text to the Spanish in case anyone needs some help understanding it. Advanced level.

Hoy publicamos un texto con ejercicios sobre la tremenda injusticia que sufrió un joven marinero, héroe de la novela corta Billy Budd. También publicamos la traducción al español del texto por si alguien necesita algo de ayuda. Nivel avanzado.

When Law and Justice  Aren’t Synonyms

Law and Justice are not always the same thing. Billy Budd is a novella by Herman Melville. It was published posthumously and instantly became a classic. One of the points it makes is that those who apply a law sometimes commit an injustice.

Billy Budd was a young man who began life as an orphan and who found work as a sailor  in a merchant ship called The Rights of Man. He was famous for his extraordinarily good looks and for his pleasant ways, being a very nice person and a  born peacemaker. In brief, he was beautiful without and within. The only defect Billy seemed to have was a slight stutter that worsened when he was nervous or upset. Unfortunately, Billy was impressed by the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and forced to leave his ship and transferred to The Bellipotent, a warship. There he soon learned that life on a battleship was far more brutal than life on a merchant ship. 

Unfortunately for him, Billy became the object of the intense persecution of the perverse Master at Arms John Claggart. Billy, who was very innocent, could not understand why this man hated him and did all he could to stay out of trouble. Claggart, however, was dead set on darkening Billy’s soul. Unable to tangle Billy in his web in another way, Claggart falsely accused him of being the ringleader of a supposed incipient mutiny. The ship’s captain, Edward Vere, called both men to his quarters to find out what exactly was happening. During the confrontation with Claggart,  Billy began to stutter and could not defend himself verbally. He was so aghast at the accusation and felt so helpless, that he lashed out  at Claggart. This man fell to the ground and to Billy’s horror, died. 

On the ship, Billy was tried for murder. A jury of high-ranking officers could not come to a verdict. The captain felt forced to make them reach one, and it had to be unfavourable for Billy. Though he believed Billy was innocent, Captain Vere cited the Mutiny Act  and said the law demanded Billy be condemned, for he had killed a superior. The law  had to be applied. Billy was sentenced to be hanged. He accepted this injustice serenely, and his last words were “God bless Captain Vere.” Though practically everyone believed Billy was innocent, fascinated by Billy’s words,  the whole crew repeated them, and blessed the captain, thus exonerating him from his possible responsibility in Billy's death. Shortly after Billy’s death, Captain Vere’s ship saw some action. During battle with a French warship called The Atheist, Captain Vere was fatally wounded. His last words were “Billy Budd.”    

Texto en español: Utilízalo sólo si no te enteras bien al leer el texto en inglés.

Cuando Justicia Y Ley No Son Sinónimos

La ley y la justicia no son siempre lo mismo. Billy Budd es una novela corta escrita por Herman Melville. Se publicó póstumamente y se convirtió en un clásico de inmediato. Una de las cosas que nos demuestra es que quienes aplican la ley a veces cometen injusticias por hacerlo.

Billy Budd era un joven que había crecido siendo huérfano y que encontró trabajo como marinero en un barco mercante  llamado Los Derechos del Hombre. Billy era famoso por ser excepcionalmente bien parecido, muy agradable, y un conciliador nato.  En breve, era hermoso por dentro y por fuera. El único defecto que parecía tener era un leve tartamudeo que se agravaba mucho cuando estaba nervioso o agitado. Desgraciadamente, Billy fue reclutado a la fuerza por la marina real británica y fue trasladado a una nave de guerra de nombre La Potente en la Guerra para luchar en las Guerras Napoleónicas.  Allí pronto aprendió que la vida en la marina de guerra era mucho más brutal que la vida en la marina mercante.

Desafortunadamente para él, Billy pronto se convirtió en el blanco del odio y la persecución del maestro de armas Juan Claggart. Billy, que era muy inocente, no podía entender porque este hombre le odiaba, e hizo todo lo posible para evitar conflictos. Pero Claggart parecía empeñado en ensombrecer el alma de Billy. Incapaz de lograr que cayese en una de sus trampas, Claggart acusó falsamente a Billy de ser el cabecilla de un supuesto incipiente motín. El capitán del barco, Eduardo Vere, citó a ambos hombres en su dependencia para intentar esclarecer el asunto. Durante el careo con Claggart, Billy comenzó a tartamudear y viendo que no podía defenderse verbalmente, le propinó un golpe a Claggart. Este cayó al suelo, y para horror de Billy, murió ahí. 

Billy fue juzgado por asesinato en el mismo barco. Un jurado de oficiales de alto rango no pudo llegar a un veredicto. El capitán se sintió en la obligación de forzarles a condenar a Billy porque según la legislación sobre motines, aquel que matase a un superior tenía que ser ahorcado. Había que cumplir la ley,  y Billy fue condenado a muerte. Billy aceptó esta injusticia con serenidad y sus últimas palabras fueron “Dios bendiga al Capitán Vere.” Aunque casi todo el mundo le creía inocente, fascinados por el perdón otorgado por Billy, toda la tripulación, presente en el ahorcamiento, repitió sus últimas palabras, bendiciendo al capitán y de esta manera exonerando a esta autoridad de su posible culpa. Poco después de la muerte de Billy, La Potente en la Guerra  vio acción. Durante un enfrentamiento con una nave francesa llamada La Atea, el Capitán Vere fue herido de muerte. Sus últimas palabras fueron “Billy Budd.”   

Exercises:

I – Match these word with their meanings:

____1. novella                                                a. dar un golpe

____2. stutter                                                 b. motín

____3. impress                                               c. liar

____4. tangle                                                  d. sorprendido y aterrado

____5. web                                                     e. cabecilla

____6. ringleader                                            f. reclutar por la fuerza

____7. mutiny                                                 g. red

____8. quarters                                              h. tartamudear

____9. lash out                                               i. short novel or long short story

____10. aghast                                               j. dependencias, habitaciones          

II- True or false. Explain all your answers.

____1. Billy Budd was the son of a British sailor.

____2. There was nothing exceptional about Billy.

____3. The merchant ship Billy worked in was called “The Independent.”

____4. Billy stuttered badly when he was emotionally disturbed.

____5.  Claggart was an evil being who wanted to hurt Billy.

____6. Life in the navy was much tougher than life on a merchant ship.

____7. Claggart accused Billy of trying to murder him.

____8. When questioned by Captain Vere, Billy found he could not defend himself verbally.

____9. Billy had the clear intention of killing Claggart.

____10. The jury sympathized with Billy, and did not want to condemn him to death for murder.

____11. The law said that anyone who killed a superior had to be beheaded.

____12. Captain Vere felt sorry for Billy, but forced the jury to condemn him.

____13. Billy went to his death screaming curses.

____14. Captain Vere died during a battle with a Dutch ship.

____15. The name of the enemy's warship was The Deist.

III – Writing: Try to write a composition that  answers all these questions.

1. Do you think the names of the three ships mentioned in this novella have a special meaning? Why?

2. Why do you think Claggart wanted to destroy Billy?

3. Would Billy have been sentenced to death if he had been able to defend himself verbally?

4. Was Captain Vere doing the right thing when he forced the jury to condemn Billy? What would you have done in his place?

5. Did Billy forgive Captain Vere for having sacrificed him to uphold the law? Did the crew also forgive the captain for this injustice thanks to Billy’s words? Why would this be important?

Herman Melville

IV – Fill in the blanks to complete this information about the author of Billy Budd. Use these words:  cardiovascular,  classic, Dutch, experience, famous,  marry, poet, prosperous, posthumous, successful.

Herman Melville was born in New York in 1819. Of __________ and Scottish ancestry, he was the grandson of two heroes of the American Revolutionary War. His father was a kind and pleasant man who was  a ____________ merchant but who spent more than he should have  and the family suffered financial problems when he died. Herman took to sea as a common sailor, and this __________ led to his writing many books about the sea. His first books, Typee and Omoo were __________, and he made enough money to be able to __________ and raise his own family. Melville’s most __________ novel is Moby Dick, which is, as everyone probably knows, about the world’s most famous fictional whale. Though he is best known for his novels and short stories, Melville not only wrote prose, he was also a __________.  Melville died in 1891  of __________ disease, leaving behind an unpublished volume of poetry and the posthumous novella Billy Budd, which also became a great __________.