Typee: Moral and Civil Ambiguity
In Typee, much is made to the idea of the noble savage in the observation of the island locals in how the main character views and discusses them. To him, they are the embodiment of what is wrong in European and American society by demonstrating how “base” humans are and can be. The Typee are demonstrated to be startling examples of what most would consider “civility” today, in that they are not shown to be in conflict or argument with one another almost all throughout the novel and only come to conflict when in a new situation brought about by the visitor who had partially disturbed their way of life. They accepted him and let him partake in their world while treating him like a guest instead of just an outsider, even seeking to hide their cannibalistic practices from him for presumably his sake and his opinion of them just like a host may tidy things up to make their guest have a more favorable opinion of them. Seeing as how Europeans and Americans have a propensity for conflict over just about anything, and are willing to escalate it among one another to the point where blood is shed and who are distrustful of outsiders, it is interesting for the main character to observe the Typee and how their culture and ways are so different from the standards he has prior experience with.
This idea is brought to question though when the cannibalism of the tribe is revealed finally late in the novel. Does the ritualistic yet vile action invalidate every way in which the Typee are superior to the Europeans and Americans? This idea is quite important in discovering one’s own definition of what it means to be a civil culture. What is more civil and right, a culture where infighting is not common but cannibalism is an ingrained part, or a place that causes massive bloodshed over political, religious, and other issues that are created amongst those who live there? I cannot condone the savage practice of cannibalism, but perhaps we should not look down on the Typee as only “savages” despite their described practice which is.
I agree that not all of the good qualities of the Typee should be discredited by the one aspect of their culture (cannibalism). From an American standpoint it is hard to defend the practice of cannibalism because obviously it is not a normal practice of our culture. However, on the other hand, perhaps if the Typee came to America they would find things that we carry out to be equally offensive and disgusting. So it seems to be more of a matter of viewpoint and opinion.