Can a man kill another man; and yet, to be a passive hero? In Harrison Hayford and Merton M. Seath's short story, "Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)," Billy Budd is characterized as a passive hero. Unexpectedly, Billy Budd is chosen and forced into the king's service. Even so, Billy Budd is a positive influence on nearly all of his shipmates and officers. However, Billy's affection with the new weapons master proves that Billy does not have a positive effect on everyone. Ultimately, Billy Budd's lack of adult experience becomes his undoing; because Billy is unable to understand that someone could aim to compromise his person. Billy Budd is characterized as a static hero by his previous ship, Captain Graveling, after being transferred to a ship called the Billipotent. Thus, the caption Graveling complains to Billy Budd's new lieutenant, Radcliffe, “But Billy came; and it was like a Catholic priest bringing peace to an Irish festival. Not that he preached to them, said or did anything in particular; but a virtue went out of him, softening the harsh ones (Hayford and Sealts 933).” ...