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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How comfortable is the hut the sailors build?

2. What is the narrator's name in "Typee"?

3. What does Tommo think is his and Toby's only chance for escape?

4. What do the French want to demonstrate to the natives at Nukuheva?

5. Who causes a scene when they arrive on the narrator's ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who comes to see the sailors on their first morning in the Typee village?

2. What do Toby and Tommo do when they can no longer descend the cliff by using vines and foot holds?

3. Why would it be dangerous for Tommo to desert from his ship, and how does he plan to avoid the danger?

4. Describe the French efforts to take over the harbor of Nukuheva.

5. What preparations do Toby and Tommo make, and what obstacles do they encounter when they escape?

6. What signs of civilization do Toby and Tommo see from the mountains?

7. Describe the island of Nukuheva.

8. What signs of native activity do Toby and Tommo see, and how do they ultimately meet the natives?

9. What communication do Toby and Tommo exchange with the natives?

10. What is Tommo's situation at the beginning of "Typee"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of fruit trees to Toby and Tommo? How is easily harvested fruit a change from what they have experienced? How is the idea of "fruit ripe for the picking" played out in the novel? How is it different from what Toby and Tommo ultimately find? What happens to their image of an easy life as their adventure proceeds?

Essay Topic 2

In what ways do the Typees live up to Tommo's original ideas about them? In what ways are they different from his early impressions? What conclusions does he ultimately draw about them? What changes his original ideas, if his original ideas change?

Essay Topic 3

What is Melville's relationship with his narrator? Are we as readers limited to the narrator's perspective, or does the author give us other perspectives, including his own (authorial) perspective? Describe the different lenses through which we see the action in "Typee".

(see the answer keys)

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