Billy Budd, Daniel Orme summary
Daniel Orme of 49 · 8 min to read the chapter
In Daniel Orme, an aging sailor retires ashore, where lodgers secretly drug him and treat his tattoo and scar as evidence of evil. The landlady refuses to evict him, and his solitary death leaves his past unresolved while the narrator questions whether appearance and rumor can reveal a person's character.
What happens
- The narrator introduces the difficulty of understanding a stranger whose appearance invites curiosity but whose history remains unknown.
- Daniel Orme earns respect through naval service, but his reserve and marked face encourage rumors of piracy.
- Retirement softens his manner, though he privately studies something beneath his sweater.
- Lodgers drug him, discover a crucifix tattoo crossed by a scar, and unsuccessfully urge his landlady to remove him.
- Orme grows gentler with age and is found dead beside an old harbor gun on Easter Day.
- The narrator questions accusations against him and imagines peaceful final memories before describing his neglected grave.
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Why does the landlady refuse to remove Orme?
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