Typee

Typee Summary

Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life is Herman Melville's first book, published in 1846. It is a semi-autobiographical narrative based on Melville's experiences in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands, offering a romanticized and critical portrayal of Polynesian life and Western colonialism.

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Typee Excerpt

Short Summary: Herman Melville's Typee narrates the adventures of a sailor who deserts his whaling ship and immerses himself in the life of the Typee people in the Marquesas Islands, exploring themes of civilization, freedom, and cultural encounter.

"Six months at sea! Yes, reader, as I live, six months out of sight of land; cruising after the sperm whale beneath the scorching sun of the Line, and tossed on the billows of the wide-rolling Pacific—the sky above, the sea around, and nothing else! Weeks and weeks ago our fresh provisions were all exhausted; there is not a sweet potato left; not a single yam. Those glorious bunches of bananas which once decorated our stern and quarter-deck have, alas, disappeared! and the delicious oranges which hung suspended from our tops and stays—they, too, are gone! Yes, they are all departed, and there is nothing left us but salt-horse and sea-biscuit. Oh! for a refreshing glimpse of one blade of grass—for a snuff at the fragrance of a handful of the loamy earth!

There is no telling how this longing for the land grows and strengthens upon the sailor as day after day and week after week he looks around him upon the wide expanse of ocean. To be sure, there is a great deal of poetry in all this, but the warm reality is far more delightful. One of my shipmates used to say that the sight of a fair green meadow was worth more to him than a whole poem of Byron; an opinion in which I entirely coincided.

And this was not all. We had encountered a terrible storm in which the ship received much damage; and for some time afterwards we were obliged to lie to under a double-reefed foresail, in order to repair our rigging. My friend, the mate, was in a great hurry to get to the 'head' again; but the ship was now so leaky that this was impossible, and we were obliged to make for the nearest land—the island of Nukuheva, one of the Marquesas group.

As we drew near to the land, the sweet breath of the shore was wafted over the ocean, laden with the aromatic fragrance of a thousand strange flowers that made the sense swim. The island, swelling gradually from the sea, presented a broad surface of undulating hills, seamed with deep ravines, and covered with a dense mantle of vegetation. Here and there the land shot up into high peaks, bald and precipitous, while in other places the shores were skirted with long strips of verdant meadow-land that seemed to have been created expressly for the delight of the roving mariner.

It was early in the morning that we slowly glided into the bay of Nukuheva, with a gentle breeze that scarcely rippled the surface of the water. The bay is an expanse of little more than three leagues in circumference, encircled by a range of bold and verdant hills, which, sweeping down to the water's edge, form a beautiful and romantic basin. As we entered, we were saluted by the natives, who came off from the shore in their canoes, and paddled around us with lively gesticulations, evincing the greatest curiosity to see the strangers."

This passage from the opening chapter sets the stage for Melville's exploration of the allure and challenges of encountering a new and uncharted world."