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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. Whom does Tommo ask Mehevi to take on the canoe?

2. How do the women dress for the feast?

3. What do the women use to lighten and soften their skin?

4. Why are the naked old women jumping up and down during the feast?

5. How big is a breadfruit?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the preparations for the feast of the calabashes.

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

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

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

5. What does Tommo say about the Typees as swimmers?

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

7. Describe the practice of taboos among the Typees.

8. What kinds of animal life does Tommo find on the island with the Typees?

9. How does Tommo entertain the Typee children?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a review of "Typee". What did the book set out to do, how did it set out to do it, and did it fulfill the promises it laid out in the opening chapters? How would you characterize the essence of this book? Melville's personality? Melville's literary interests and talents?

Essay Topic 2

In what ways is "Typee" an outgrowth of Melville's own experience? Research Melville's biography, and compare and contrast his shipboard experience with the experience he describes in "Typee".

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 688 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample