Typee by Herman Melville
"Typee" is a novel by Herman Melville, first published in 1846, which recounts the adventures of two young sailors, Tom and Toby, who desert their whaling ship, the Dolly, in the Marquesas Islands. The narrative explores themes of cultural encounter and the complexities of life among the Typee tribe, known for their cannibalistic reputation. Despite initial fears, Tom and Toby find themselves treated with respect and hospitality by the Typees, allowing the story to delve into the tribe's customs, social structure, and daily life, which includes communal living, polygamous relationships, and various rituals. Throughout his captivity, Tom grapples with his situation while forming a bond with a young woman named Fayaway and learning about the tribe's practices, such as tattooing and the Feast of the Calabashes. As he recovers from an illness, Tom reflects on the tribe's apparent happiness and the contradictions within their cultural identity. The novel culminates in Tom's eventual escape, highlighting both his longing for freedom and the connections he forged with the Typee people. "Typee" remains a significant work within Melville's oeuvre, prompting discussions about colonialism, cultural misunderstanding, and the nature of civilization.
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Typee by Herman Melville
First published: 1846
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Adventure
Time of plot: Mid-nineteenth century
Locale: Marquesas Islands
Principal characters
Herman Melville (Tom) , an American sailorToby , his friendMehevi , the chief of the TypeesKory-Kory , a native servantFayaway , a native girlMarnoo , a native taboo man
The Story:
The whaler Dolly was long at sea, and the men are discontented and restless when the captain finally gives orders to put in at Nukuheva, one of the Marquesas Islands. This is the chance for which Tom and Toby, two young sailors, are waiting. Even though the natives of the island are known to be cannibals, Tom and Toby desert the ship and flee inland, planning to hide until the Dolly sails. They hope to then sign aboard another ship where they would get better treatment.
Tom and Toby begin their flight with only a few biscuits for food. On the first night away from the ship, Tom contracts a disease that causes his leg to swell, and he is in much pain. Nevertheless, he and Toby continue. At last, when their food is all gone, they realize that they can stay alive only by giving themselves up to one of the savage tribes that inhabits the island.
They discover too late that the natives to whom they surrender themselves are the Typee tribe, the most ferocious cannibals on Nukuheva. Tom and Toby are treated with respect, however, and are given food and comfortable quarters. All the natives come to see the strangers. Mehevi, the chief of the Typees, appoints Kory-Kory as personal servant to Tom. The captives go to live in the home of Tinor, Kory-Kory’s mother. Mehevi has a medicine man examine Tom’s swollen leg, but the native remedies have no effect on the disease.
Tom, unable to walk, spends most of his time reclining in the house while Kory-Kory attends to his needs. A beautiful young maiden, Fayaway, is also his constant companion. She, among all the Typees, seems to understand the painful situation of the two captives. Toby convinces the Typees that he should be allowed to return to the main harbor on the island to seek medical aid for Tom. On the trail, he is attacked by hostile warriors from a neighboring tribe, and he returns to the Typees with an ugly head wound.
A few days later, Toby discovers a boat offshore. He is allowed to go down by the beach, but Tom is detained in his house. Toby promises to bring medical aid to Tom within three days, but the three days pass without the return of Toby. Tom can learn nothing from the natives; he realizes that now he is the single captive of the Typees. Somewhat recovered, he is allowed to roam almost at will within the country of the Typees, but he is always accompanied by Kory-Kory, and there is no chance for escape.
As Tom’s leg improves, he begins to indulge in the pleasures allowed him and to observe the native life with interest. The Typees seem to exist in a perpetual state of happiness, interrupted only by skirmishes with neighboring tribes. One of Tom’s greatest pleasures is to paddle a canoe about a small lake in company with Fayaway. For the privilege of taking Fayaway with him, he has to ask special permission, since entering a canoe is ordinarily taboo for a woman.
One day a handsome stranger appears among the Typees bearing news from other parts of the island. He is Marnoo, a taboo man, who is free to go among all the tribes without harm. When Tom learns that Marnoo knows English, he asks the native to help him escape. This Marnoo cannot do for fear of arousing the anger of the Typees.
The daily life of the natives is extremely regular. Each morning they bathe and eat breakfast. After the meal, they smoke their pipes. The rest of the morning they spend sleeping, conversing, or doing odd jobs about their houses. The men often spend the afternoon in the large meetinghouse of Mehevi; there they relax and joke in a sort of bachelors’ club. Before the evening meal, they bathe again. After the meal, the young girls entertain the rest with dancing. Everyone retires at an early hour.
Tom is present at the Feast of the Calabashes. It seems to have some religious significance, but most of the time is spent in eating and drinking. During the two days of the festival, Tom decides that the natives do not take their religion seriously. They possess many idols not treated with any high degree of respect. The most universal religious observance is that of tattooing; everyone is tattooed upon the face, even the women. The bodies of some of the men are completely covered with intricate designs.
Since the men outnumber the women in the tribe, the women often have two or three husbands, but the men never have more than one wife. All in the tribe seem happy with the various aspects of their social organization. Private property is limited to household goods; food is common property. All understand and follow the laws and customs of the tribe; there are never disputes among the Typees.
One day, a battle is fought between the Typees and a neighboring tribe. Afterward, the bodies of the dead enemies are taken to the ceremonial feasting place. For the next day or two, Tom is not allowed to leave the vicinity of his house. He suspects that the Typees are making a meal of their dead enemies. Later he discovers the remains of the meal and finds that he is correct, though the Typees deny that they are cannibals.
A few days later, Marnoo again appears among the Typees. This time he tells Tom to try to escape by means of the same path by which he left. Tom is unable to leave the village, however, for Kory-Kory keeps close watch on him day and night.
Not many days after Marnoo leaves, the Typees excitedly announce the approach of a boat. Tom argues with the natives and finally persuades them to let him go to the beach. He has some difficulty in getting there, since his leg begins to swell again. At the beach, Tom finds a boat from an Australian ship standing just outside the surf. Marnoo tells the Australian captain of Tom’s trouble, and he sends a boat loaded with presents to obtain Tom’s release. The Typees, however, have no wish to release their captive. In desperation, Tom breaks away from the guard placed around him and plunges into the surf. He manages to reach the boat, and the sailors pull away from shore. Thus ends Tom’s captivity among the Typees. His only regret is in leaving the faithful Kory-Kory and the beautiful Fayaway.
Many years later Tom again meets Toby and learns from him that he intended to return to the aid of his injured friend, but he was tricked into boarding a vessel that sailed from Nukuheva the following day. It is only long after Toby gave Tom up for lost that the two friends learn of each other’s fate after their separation.
Bibliography
Bloom, Harold, ed. Herman Melville. New ed. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2008. Collection of critical essays analyzing Melville’s work, including Bryan C. Short’s piece “’The Author at the Time’: Tommo and Melville’s Self-Discovery in Typee.”
Bryant, John, ed. Melville Unfolding: Sexuality, Politics, and the Versions of “Typee,” a Fluid-Text Analysis, with an Edition of the “Typee” Manuscript. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. The manuscript of Typee, Melville’s most popular novel during his lifetime, was discovered in 1983. Bryant focuses on the “invisible text of revision” in the manuscript, describing how Melville altered his text to create the final version of the novel. This book is linked to an electronic edition of Typee to enable readers to chart Melville’s process of creating his novel.
Delbanco, Andrew. Melville: His World and Work. New York: Knopf, 2005. Delbanco’s critically acclaimed biography places Melville in his time, including the debate over slavery and the details of life in 1840’s New York. Delbanco also discusses the significance of Melville’s works at the time they were published and their reception into the twenty-first century.
Herbert, T. Walter. Marquesan Encounters: Melville and the Meaning of Civilization. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1980. An examination of Typee and two other nineteenth century narratives of Americans in the South Seas in the context of how Marquesan societies were irreparably damaged by contacts with white people during this era. Provides excellent readings of the political and the religious dimensions of Melville’s book.
Kelley, Wyn. “’Making Literary Use of the Story’: Typee and Omoo.” In Herman Melville: An Introduction. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2008. Chronicles Melville’s development as a writer, providing analyses of his works.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗, ed. A Companion to Herman Melville. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2006. Collection of thirty-five original essays aimed at twenty-first century readers of Melville’s works. Includes discussions of Melville’s travels; Melville and religion, slavery, and gender; and the Melville revival. Also includes the essay “The Motive for Metaphor: Typee, Omoo, and Mardi” by Geoffrey Sanborn.
Lawrence, D. H. Studies in Classic American Literature. New York: Penguin Books, 1978. Lawrence was important in the rediscovery and the reevaluation of Melville in the 1920’s. Lawrence’s book contains two essays on Melville, including one on Typee and Omoo.
Levine, Robert S., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Herman Melville. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. An indispensable tool for the student of Melville, this collection of essays includes discussions of Melville and sexuality, his “traveling god,” and “’Race’ in Typee and White-Jacket” by Samuel Otter.
Melville, Herman. Typee: Complete Text with Introduction, Historical Contexts, Critical Essays. Edited by Geoffrey Sanborn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. In addition to the text of the novel, this volume contains essays written by Melville’s predecessors and contemporaries that provide historical context for the depiction of sexuality, tattooing, cannibalism, and taboo in the novel, explaining why the work stirred controversy in its time.
Rogin, Michael Paul. Subversive Genealogy: The Politics and Art of Herman Melville. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985. Incisive psychological and Marxist reading of Melville’s life and work, arguing that he is one of the leading thinkers of his age. The book’s reading of Melville’s family’s place in the historical context of the 1840’s is unparalleled.