# Cannibalism and the Other in Typee

> Theme guide for Typee by Herman Melville.

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.

## Where it surfaces

- [State of Affairs Aboard the Ship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/chapters/iv): 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/chapters/v): The narrator fears being eaten by Typee cannibals, reflecting colonial anxieties.
- [Chapter XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/chapters/xxvii): The narrator addresses cannibalism directly, arguing it is practiced only on slain enemies and that practitioners are otherwise 'humane and virtuous.'
- [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/chapters/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.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/themes/cannibalism_and_the_other
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/typee_se/themes