'Billy Budd'

Poor ol' Billy Budd.

The guy doesn't have a thing going for him. All he knows is the sea and the stars. Gets yanked around like an indentured servant.

Just a good looking, young, athletic, charismatic kid trying to make his way in the world keeping his elbows greased and his head down.

Then Claggart gets jealous, trumps up some bogus mutiny rumors, Budd takes a swing and -- lo and behold -- kills Claggart.

One swing of the arm, a clenched fist. Maybe hadn't thrown a punch in his entire life and the first time he takes a swing at a guy, he dies.

Leave it to Herman Melville to write the most simple story about good versus evil. And with evil winning. Whereas the hero of, say, "Moby Dick" is ambiguous, at best, the line is pretty clear in "Billy Budd" where both the white whale and Ahab perish.