Theme of Ignorance
In class discussion, we touched the topic of ignorance. It is safe to assume that Tommo enjoyed the luxury of his days spent with the Typee tribe enough to ignore the terrifying idea that he might be subject to their cannibalistic rituals. It wasn’t until he was faced with the possibility of becoming a part of the tribe did he snap back into reality and realize that being a part of a “savage” civilization was not what he wanted. He compared the evils of American and European societies to that of the Typee, but when it comes down to it, the practice of cannibalism was much more terrifying to Americans than the other types of horrors that they might be used to, like public hangings and disembowelments.
Tommo also acknowledges his ignorance to certain things throughout the novel. He says that he does not know the language well, so he often doesn’t know what is being said in conversation nor what is happening around him. It seems that he doesn’t want to show that he knows more than he admits in fear of absorbing too much of the Typee culture. He fights the thoughts of possibly being eaten at any minute because he enjoys the easy way of life in the Typee culture. It is hard to say whether the Typee people are ignorant to the fact that their rituals are seen as wrong to most cultures because they desperately try to hide their cannibalism from Tommo at all costs, fearing that it would make him want to leave or escape.
While I do think that ignorance was bliss for Tommo on the island, I do not think that he intentionally repressed any thoughts he had of negatives of the Typee. In order to break his idealized view of the Typee, Tommo needed concrete visual proof that they were cannibals otherwise he would just rationalize and make excuses for their actions. Even while he was unaware of Toby’s whereabouts, Tommo was content to live amongst the Typee ignoring any common sense that was telling him something was wrong.