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Many themes relating to the conflict between Good and Evil can be found in Herman Melville's novella Billy Budd, Foretopman. First originating as a poem about a middle-aged man on the eve of his execution, Billy Budd is the only true work of fiction written by Melville (Bloom, Critical Views 198). The idea for the novella was probably suggested in part by an incident in 1842 in which a midshipman and two seamen of the American brig Somers were hanged at sea for mutiny (Voss 44). Although it remained unpublished for until almost half a century after Melville's death, Billy Budd quickly became one of his most popular works (Bloom, Critical Views 198). Perhaps one of the most widely recognized themes in Billy Budd is the corruption of innocence by society (Gilmore 18). Society in Billy Budd is represented by an eighteenth century English man-of-war, the H.M.S. Bellipotent. Billy, who represents innocence, is a young seaman of twenty-one who is endowed with physical strength, beauty, and good nature (Voss 44). A crew member aboard the merchant ship Rights of Man, Billy is impressed by the English navy and is taken aboard the H.M.S. Bellipotent. As he boards the H.M.S. Bellipotent, he calmly utters, "Goo