View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the natives do to the captain who shot birds in the Bay of Tior, in Tommo's recollection?

2. Why do the natives grow up to be good swimmers, in Tommo's experience?

3. What does Tommo notice about building practices?

4. What does Karky want to do to Tommo?

5. What do the natives keep asking Tommo to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Marnoo, and what is his interaction with Tommo?

2. Describe a typical day for Tommo.

3. How does Tommo describe the Typees' feelings about war?

4. Describe the Stonehenge-like site Tommo sees.

5. What does Tommo say about the native practice of tattooing?

6. Who is Moa Artua, and how is he treated?

7. What does Tommo say about the natives' fishing expedition?

8. How is the men's company different from the women's company for Tommo?

9. What does Tommo say about the Typees' different foods?

10. Describe Tommo's relationship with the women of Typee.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After arranging his escape, Tommo is largely passive, ostensibly because of his leg, but possibly because of his personality. In what ways does Tommo act, and how do his actions change over the course of the book? E.g. in the beginning of the book, he is plotting to escape from the ship, in the end he is plotting to escape from Typee. How are these actions similar or different?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

What role has Polynesia played in the American or Western imagination? What have the Pacific islands meant for white people? How was Melville trading on this impression? How did he resist it with his "peep" into Polynesian life? How did he reinforce the stereotypical views of Polynesia?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 916 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample