uson (1997) maintains, the Enlightenment was ômanÆs emergence from his self-incurred immaturityö (25). Such an outlook and innocence as BillyÆs, a blind faith if you will, would have been viewed as idealistic in light of the nature of men to Enlightenment thinkers.
The ôgoodö symbolized by Captain Vere is not such an idealistic or romantic notion of good. Vere is symbolized as part of the ôgoodö in the novel, and BillyÆs final words before hanging are ôGod bless Captain Vereö (Melville 1962, 123). However, Captain VereÆs ôgoodnessö is tempered by reality and by the knowledge that the State must maintain law and order to prevent chaos. Vere knows that in order to protect the rights of all individuals the State must maintain law and order to keep any individualÆs behavior from superceding those rights. The Enlightenment was a time of uncertainty in which a new set of normative values were beginning to make their presence felt i
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