Typee

by Herman Melville

Overview

MORE than three years have elapsed since the occurrence of the events recorded in this volume. The interval, with the exception of the last few months, has been chiefly spent by the author tossing about on the wide ocean. Sailors are the only class of men who now-a-days see anything like stirring adventure; and many things which to fire-side people appear strange and romantic, to them seem as common-place as a jacket out at elbows. Yet, notwithstanding the familiarity of sailors with all sorts of curious adventure, the incidents recorded in the following pages have often served, when 'spun as a yarn,' not only to relieve the weariness of many a night-watch at sea, but to excite the warmest sympathies of the author's shipmates. He has been, therefore, led to think that his story could scarcely fail to interest those who are less familiar than the sailor with a life of adventure.

In his account of the singular and interesting people among whom he was thrown, it will be observed that he chiefly treats of their more obvious peculiarities; and, in describing their customs, refrains in most cases from entering into explanations concerning their origin and purposes. As writers of travels among barbarous communities are generally very diffuse on these subjects, he deems it right to advert to what may be considered a culpable omission. No one can be more sensible than the author of his deficiencies in this and many other respects; but when the very peculiar circumstances in which he was placed are understood, he feels assured that all these omissions will be excused.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780368369841
Publisher:	Blurb, Inc.
Publication date:	10/02/2019
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Herman Melville (1819-91) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. His novels include Moby-Dick, Omoo, and The Confidence-Man, all published in authoritative editions by Northwestern University Press.

Date of Birth:

August 1, 1819

Date of Death:

September 28, 1891

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Place of Death:

New York, New York

Education:

Attended the Albany Academy in Albany, New York, until age 15

Table of Contents

About This Series Introduction A Note on the Text I. Typee The Story of Toby: A Sequel to Typee II. Revising Typee Minor Changes in the Revised Edition The Draft Manuscript George Lillie Craik, From The New Zealanders (1830) III. Contexts and Comments Sex Georg H. Von Langsdorff, From Voyages and Travels in Various Parts of the World (1813) Hiram Bingham, From A Residence of Twenty-One Years in the Sandwich Islands (1847) Herman Melville, From Omoo; A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas (1847) David A. Chappell, From "Shipboard Relations between Pacific Island Women and Euroamerican Men, 1767-1887" (1992) Cannibalism A.W. Humphreys, "The King of the Cannibal Islands" (1830) Josiah Priest, From Slavery, as it Relates to the Negro, or African Race (1843) William H. Prescott, From History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) William Desborough Cooley, "Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders" (1840) Robert Thomson, From The Marquesas Islands: Their Description and Early History (1841) Gananath Obeyesekere, From "'British Cannibals': Contemplation of an Event in the Death and Resurrection of James Cook, Explorer" (1992) Tattooing John Coulter, From Adventures in the Pacific (1845) Herman Melville, From Omoo; A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas (1847) Nicholas Thomas, From "The Art of the Body" (1995) Tapu Mary Elizabeth Barker Parker, From "Journal" and "Intimate Notebook" (1833) Charles Stewart, From A Visit to the South Seas (1831) David Porter, From Journal of a Cruize Made to the Pacific Ocean (1815) Alex Calder, From "'The Thrice-Mysterious Taboo': Melville's Typee and the Perception of Culture" (1999) Works Cited