by Jessica Jiang
Herman Melville’s Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life reflects Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s claim in The Social Contract (1762) that “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” The tale follows the anthropological narration of Tommo as he abandons his life as a sailor to join the native Typees on the island of Nukuheva. Through an anthropological and philosophical retelling of his journey, Melville uses the fictional voice of Tommo to exhibit captivity and one’s innate desire to resist this fate. Throughout the text, Tommo is engaged in a relentless pursuit of an escape – first from the authoritarian forces aboard The Dolly, then from the loss of his cultural identity as he becomes immersed in the lifestyle of the Typees. Furthermore, we may observe how the initial distinction that grounds Tommo’s identity during his time with the Typees is his status as a traveler. The distinction of his American status enables him to indulge in various forms of luxury without compromising his American identity as he perceives the consequences of his actions to only extend until he returns to his homeland. Tommo’s enjoyment on the island relies on the strength of the discernment between him and the Natives, which is rooted in colonial narratives and the perceived embodiment of the “civilized” and the “savage”. When this dichotomy threatens to collapse and his American identity becomes threatened, this triggers his innate fear of captivity and drives his desire to escape the island.
The text opens with Tommo situated on board The Dolly, under the leadership of an authoritarian captain who neglects his crewmates and brutally responds to signs of protest. The bleak description of Tommo’s life at the beginning of the novel reveals what it means to exist within a civilized realm. From the early stages of the text, we see Tommo’s desire for freedom manifest through his grand claims. He outlines his justification for deserting The Dolly: “the usage on board [the ship] was tyrannical; the sick had been inhumanly neglected, the provisions had been doled out in scanty allowance, and her cruises were unreasonably detracted. The captain was the author of these abuses; it was in vain to think that he would either remedy them, or alter his conduct, which was arbitrary and violent in its extreme” (20-21). Not only does this description allow readers to deduce Tommo’s intense desire to flee, but the cruelty being assigned to authoritarian leadership invokes a feeling of helplessness, or a sense of restriction due to the fear of being met with brutality. This is the reader’s first impression of Tommo’s experience within the civilized realm; to start off the book in this manner provides us with a profound notion of the dismal environment that he wishes to flee from, as well as highlighting the tempting juxtaposition posed by the unbounded freedom of Nukuheva.
During this period, the description of the island is idealized as it represents a sanctuary that will keep him and Toby safe from the unjust treatment on board The Dolly. In comparison to the bleak conditions on board the ship, Tommo describes his initial impression of Nukuheva: “how shall I describe the scenery that met my eye, as I looked out from this verdant recess! (…) seemed from where I stood like an immense arbour disclosing its vista to the eye, whilst as I advanced it insensibly widened into the loveliest vale eye ever beheld” (34). Tommo’s glamourization of the island evokes the impression that it will embrace and nurture him as a visitor; this is demonstrated in his confidence that the tropical fruits of Nukuheva will provide all the sustenance needed to survive. Possessing the naive vision of him and Toby feasting on tropical fruits and surviving off the bountiful resources of the land, Tommo neglects to secure adequate nutrition from the boat before departing. He recalls, “although I had never before thought of providing anything in the way of food for our expedition, as I fully relied upon the fruits of the island to sustain us wherever we might wander” (45). Ultimately, the glamourization of the island derives from Tommo’s intense desire to flee his lifestyle within the civilized realm. Like the grand claims of neglect and brutality on board The Dolly, Tommo inadvertently exaggerates the appealing characteristics of Nukuheva to generate a stark contrast to the desolate conditions on board the ship.
In alignment with Tommo’s perception of himself as a visitor, it can be observed that the fear of cannibalism pervades throughout the text, dehumanizing the native Typees in the eyes of Westerners. As stated in the captain’s address to the sailors, “Plenty of white men have gone ashore here and never been seen any more […] you need not blame me if the islanders make a meal of you” (30). This illustrates the Western depiction of the Natives as brute savages, indicative of the ways the text utilizes the long-standing Eurocentric narrative in which the white man encounters the savage Native. The dichotomy between savage and civilized lingers in Tommo’s mind throughout his time amongst the Typees, as indicated by his descriptive language upon arriving on the island. Brutalist descriptions subsequently pervade the text, and body parts are assigned edible qualities. When Tom injures his leg, his injury is “in the same condition as rump-steak” (67); Toby is described to be “ripe for the enterprise” (26); when the men approach the Typee, readers are prompted to envision them as “a couple of white cannibals” (79). The looming fear of cannibalism reinforces the dichotomy between the notion of civilized and savage people and becomes reflective of the relationship between predator and prey. This binary permeates the text, and its presence is integral to supporting Tommo’s perceived distinction between “us” and “them”.
However, as we witness Tommo’s relationship with the Typees flourish under their unanticipated hospitality and protection, his anxiety settles, and he allows himself to enjoy the luxuries of the island. His presence then takes on an anthropological gaze and his recollections are directed at American readers — the cultural discrepancies are highlighted to articulate the distinction between the Typee’s lifestyle and that of his homeland. In describing the Typees’ ritual process, Tommo recounts, “we were struck with the aspect of four or five hideous old wretches, on whose decrepit forms time and tattooing seemed to have obliterated every trace of humanity […] Their skin had a frightful scaly appearance, which, united with its singular colour, made their limbs not a little resemble dusty specimens of verde-antique. Their flesh, in parts, hung upon them in huge folds, like the overlapping plaits on the flank of a rhinoceros.” (107) By assigning animalistic qualities to the cultural traditions of the Typees, Tommo exhibits the Western ideologies that have been instilled in him – that Indigenous cultures embody a subhuman, other-worldly form. At this point in the text, he largely views the Natives as a society that is detached from him; the tales of cannibalism, as well as the exaggeration of cultural features that highlights the distinction between them and Americans, reaffirm his status as a traveler. The temporary implications of this title settle his anxiety and enable him to indulge in the hospitality of his hosts.
As Tommo comes to revere the Typee’s way of life, claiming that “the Polynesian savage, surrounded by all the luxurious provisions of nature, enjoyed an infinitely happier, though certainly a less intellectual existence, than the self-complacent European” (124), the concept of temporariness is crucial; he adamantly refuses any offer to permanently identify with their culture. For the Typees, a significant indication of status within their society is the tattoos that one adorns. Upon Tommo’s first encounter with a “distinguished personage” whom the “Natives regarded with the utmost deference” (87), he claims that the “most remarkable in the appearance of this splendid islander was the elaborate tattooing displayed on every limb” (88). Readers may thereby conclude that the bearing of tattoos is a crucial signifier of one’s immersion within the Typee society. When Tommo encounters the tattooist who adamantly wishes to imprint Typee cultural markings onto his skin, he “shuddered at the ruin he might inflict upon my figure head” (219). However, in an act of compromise, Tommo “holds out his right arm in a fit of desperation” (219). This act demonstrates that it is not the act of tattooing itself that Tommo is averse to, but rather, it is the prominent marking that would imprint onto his head and mark his alienation from American culture that he fears. At this moment, the dichotomy between him and the Natives blurs and threatens to collapse. Tommo comes to realize that the luxury he has previously enjoyed was offered to him in “narrow limits” (338) and the more time he spends with the Typees, the less they regard him as a guest. With the pressure to aesthetically mark himself among the Typee people, Tommo once again “began bitterly to feel the state of captivity in which [he] was held” (338) as his American identity and status as a visitor is threatened. Tommo desperately negotiates and eventually flees those who insist on having him tattooed.
Mirroring his actions at the beginning of the story on board The Dolly, the story concludes with a thrilling depiction of Tommo’s escape from the island. Tommo thereby begins and ends the novel with an escape plan, allowing readers to conclude that his innate desire for freedom was never truly fulfilled. From his escape from the inhumane leadership on board The Dolly to his desperation to flee from the Typees who threaten his cultural identity, Tommo demonstrates how one experiences captivity in all areas of life. The exhilaration of finding freedom was only attained when he indulged in his status as a traveler; Tommo spends much of the text identifying and highlighting how the Natives differ from him to emphasize the temporary implications of his status. Despite sections of the book where he praises their lifestyle, his Eurocentric upbringing made it crucial that he be distinguished from the Typees. Given the dramatic conclusion, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life invites the readers to reflect upon the force of one’s innate desire to be free, as well as the Eurocentric colonial narratives that engrain a lingering and potent prejudice.
Works Cited
Melville, Herman. Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life. Penguin Publishing Group, 1996. Edited by John Bryant.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract. Penguin Classics, 2002.