Typee · Question
How does Typee develop the theme of Cannibalism and the Other?
Answer
Typee by Herman Melville develops Cannibalism and the Other across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The threat and eventual discovery of cannibalism among the Typees serves as the ultimate test of the narrator's romanticized view, forcing a confrontation with the savage reality that underlies the idyllic surface.
The Typees are feared as cannibals, and the narrator recounts stories of their alleged man-eating practices, though he suspects the bay's inhabitants are equally cannibalistic.
The narrator fears being eaten by Typee cannibals, reflecting colonial anxieties.
Toby's dark humor and the narrator's terror about being eaten reflect the Western fear of cannibalism as a marker of savagery.
Evidence in the book
- State of Affairs Aboard the Ship
The Typees are feared as cannibals, and the narrator recounts stories of their alleged man-eating practices, though he suspects the bay's inhabitants are equally cannibalistic.
- V
The narrator fears being eaten by Typee cannibals, reflecting colonial anxieties.
- Chapter XII
Toby's dark humor and the narrator's terror about being eaten reflect the Western fear of cannibalism as a marker of savagery.
- XIII
Kory-Kory's warnings about the Happars' cannibal practices reinforce the theme of 'the other' and the narrator's own fears.
- The Social Condition and General Character of the Typees
The narrator addresses cannibalism directly, arguing it is practiced only on slain enemies and that practitioners are otherwise 'humane and virtuous.'
- XXXII
The narrator's discovery of preserved human heads and his subsequent fears of being devoured highlight the central anxiety about Typee cannibalism and the 'othering' of Polynesian practices.
