Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

The narrator works on a whaling ship named the Dolly, which spends six months “out of sight of land” (3). Onboard, the men are rapidly running out of food. All that remains is a single chicken. As the crews crave any sight of land, Captain Vangs charts a court for the Marquesas Islands. The captain hopes to reach these islands in a week. Europeans have reached many of the islands in the South Pacific, but the Marquesas are relatively unknown to Europeans at this time. Christian missionaries, known for their zealotry and willingness to go anywhere, have also avoided the Marquesas. Those missionaries who did go had little success because the people of the Marquesas have a reputation among Europeans for practicing a form of brutal cannibalism. The islands are considered dangerous, but the narrator feels optimistic about “Cannibal Islands” and hopes to see the temples, trees, and rulers of the islands who (according to reports from French sailors) are covered in tattoos.

Onboard the Dolly, the crew lies around the ship. They expect to reach land soon and do little work. The crew studies the sea until someone calls out, “land ho!” The captain steers the ship toward the largest island, Nukuheva, where the Dolly sails into the bay. Several French ships are already present. The crew learns that the French sailors have “taken possession” of the Marquesas Islands in the name of the French Empire, regardless of whether the local people want to be part of the French (or any) Empire. The crew of the Dolly does not have time to consider their rivalry with the French. A fleet of canoes, piloted by local men, have approached the Dolly. The locals offer fruit and other supplies to trade, and many women call out to the ship. These local women wear no clothes to cover their “naked forms,” which attracts the gaze of the European sailors, who have been at sea for six months. As the women approach, the evening descends into wild debauchery, of which the narrator is critical. He disapproves of how the crew cavorts with the young local girls. He wonders whether the luckier locals might be those on the islands that “contaminating” European or American sailors never visit.

The story takes place during summer 1842, and the French have been in the Marquesas Islands only for several weeks. By the time the Dolly arrives, nearly 100 French soldiers are living on the island. The curious locals watch the French from their huts. European behaviors intrigue the locals. They are particularly impressed by the sight of a European horse. The French appoint the chief of the island of Nukuheva, named Mowanna, head chieftain of a puppet state that they will control. The narrator notes that the French present themselves as polite diplomats but in truth are hiding the “outrages and massacres” (18) that they plan to unleash on the local people.

The narrator has been on board the Dolly for 18 months as part of a seven-year contract he signed. By this time, however, he loathes the living conditions aboard the ship. In Nukuheva, he begins to consider abandoning the ship despite his contract. He notes Captain Vangs’s rough treatment of sailors; Vang overworks them, does not feed them enough, and is quick to punish anyone who complains. The narrator would rather live with the local people of Nukuheva than spend another day about the Dolly with Captain Vangs. He hopes to find passage off the island on another passing European ship.

After resolving to abandon ship, the narrator plans to escape into the high mountain that towers over the bay of Nukuheva. The Indigenous people fear the mountaintop and live in the valleys behind the mountain. Two different valleys behind the mountain are home to two very different tribes of “savages.” The first is the supposedly friendly Happar tribe. The second is the notorious Typee tribe, who are known for their brutality and ferociousness and for being “inveterate gormandizers of human flesh” (25). Many stories describe the violent ways that the Typee people greet any European, so he plans to avoid them. He pauses the story to critique how European and American storytellers present Polynesian and other Indigenous peoples. The term “savages,” he asserts, is misused. Peoples’ behavior is exaggerated for effect. Indeed, the narrator suggests, many of these people likely became “savage” after coming into contact with Europeans and previously lived according to their own standards of civilizations, which could have been relatively peaceful.

If Captain Vangs knew that a sailor planned to abandon ship, the narrator notes, he would do everything in his power to stop the man and would not hesitate to turn crew members against one another. Therefore, the narrator keeps his plan quiet. Already, however, he savors his future freedom. While walking along the deck of the Dolly one night, he spots a crewmate named Toby. The narrator depicts Toby as a young man filled with the spirit of adventure. On this night, he seems caught in a daydream while staring over the side of the ship. Toby rarely speaks about himself. He is “moody, fitful, and melancholy” (32). He never discusses his past. Feeling a pang of sympathy for Toby, the narrator reveals his plan to abandon ship and invites Toby to join him. Toby agrees right away, and the two hatch a plan to slip away the following day.

Captain Vangs authorizes a day of shore leave for the crew. Every crew member plans to leave the ship and go to the local settlement. Before they depart, the captain lectures them about the local people, warning that the “tattooed scoundrels” are cannibals. Nevertheless, every crew member wishes to go ashore. The narrator collects “food, tobacco, and a piece of calico cloth to purchase the good-will of the natives” (36), hiding these items in his clothing, and then joins the others. As they row to shore, rain begins to fall. When they reach the bay, the men run from the rowboat to a bamboo shelter, falling asleep as they wait for the rain to stop, but the narrator and Toby stay awake. As soon as they can, they leave the others and set out for the mountain. The local people shelter in their homes to keep out of the rain, so Toby and the narrator proceed unimpeded. The locals watch them, and soon they have climbed high enough to look down on the bay. The climb becomes more difficult near the mountaintop. The trail eventually disappears, and they must hack through dense forest. Branches hit their skin, and they sweat. As sunset approaches, they reach the ridge of the mountain, where they plan to rest. This is “the highest land on the island” (40), and the narrator gazes down at the bay and all the ships. His newfound freedom and the beauty of the natural surroundings exhilarates him.

The narrator turns his gaze inland. He expects to see the two valleys belonging to the Happars and the Typees but does not. Instead, he sees only “a series of ridges and inter-vales” (41). He becomes concerned about how he and Toby will survive in hiding. They check their supplies. Rain has washed away the bread the narrator hid in a calico cloth. He still has the tobacco and the cloth itself. The two biscuits that Toby took have melted into a “soft, pulpy, and discolored” (42) lump and mixed with the tobacco. The men split the remaining food evenly and build a shelter in a ravine, where they plan to spend the night. However, the shelter does little to keep out the rain. They do not sleep much and by morning are soaking wet and freezing cold. As they wander further into the forest, seeking warmth, another storm hits. They shelter under bushes, and Toby falls asleep. The narrator looks at his sleeping companion, comparing their adventure to the story of the babes in the wood. He worries that his leg is injured, possibly by a bite from “some venomous reptile” (48). When he stands, however, he looks down into a wondrous valley. The view fills him with immense joy.