Polynesian Trilogy: Taipe

Author: (American) Melville
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Typee is a work that is neither strictly a memoir nor entirely fictional, but rather a "blend of adventure, anecdotes, ethnology, and social criticism." On the surface, Typee does indeed resemble a travelogue, narrating some unforgettable experiences of the protagonist, Tommo. He and his companion Toby abandon the ship Dolby due to the monotonous drifting life and the brutal commands and abuse of the captain, venturing into the exotic Typee Valley. They discover that it is not as terrifying as the legends say, though there are also bad people here, just like in white society—Typee is a place with both kind and evil people. Their initial impression was this scene: "I felt truly wonderful! How can I describe everything before me? A long valley, winding like a huge framework of intersecting branches, picturesque, the more I walked forward, the more charming and enchanting the canyon seemed. In the distance, it appeared even broader, stretching into a valley far away." Tommo, filled with curiosity, was willing to risk his life to explore. He thought everything before him was so tempting that even if he were to be devoured by the natives, it would be worth a try. Thus, the funerals, dances, religious rituals, and tattoos of the natives all became Tommo's interests and what he wanted to understand about the "other." To his surprise, he and his companion were not eaten by the natives but were given extraordinary "respect" and "hospitality." Tommo could row with the native beauty Feiau, play freely, and live a life almost as good as that of a married couple.
The Polynesian Triangle is a work by Melville created in the 1840s: Typee, Omoo, and Mardi. They appear to describe the author's journey to the South Pacific and his experiences with the cannibalistic natives of the Marquesas Islands. However, if the reader pays a little attention, they can discover that Melville's early works are not merely adventure stories or narrative novels with strong biographical elements. Like any other literary masterpiece, they also shine with intellectual brilliance. Whether the observations Melville made during his drifting in the South Pacific were real or not, he at least experienced a society vastly different from his own time—the Polynesian colonial society. This book is the novel Typee, the longest of The Polynesian Triangle, written based on the author's life in the South Pacific. It depicts the thrilling experiences of the author among the cannibalistic Typee tribe on the Marquesas Islands, revealing the destruction capitalism brought to the simple lives of the local natives, which led to condemnation from the church. The work brought a new field and content to American literature and was widely popular among American readers, earning Melville the reputation of an oceanic writer.