A Mysterious Postscript
The final chapter of the book, as it's been published since the mid-nineteenth century, is "The Story of Toby," an account of what happened to Toby after he leaves the Typee Valley in an attempt to get help for the ailing Tommo and secure freedom for both of them. Of course, things don't go as planned, and Tommo ends up accidentally deserting his friend.
While much is made of the friendship between Tommo and Toby at the start of the book, stock in Toby understandably plummets after his departure. Our narrator is confused, hurt, and angry that his friend has totally ditched him.
This final chapter is an explanation, an excuse, or a vindication in Toby's solo-escape. It also provides us a reminder that things are not always what they seem. Or, in more nuanced terms: things are what they seem but they are also other things. Let us explain:
Just as Mehevi is a regal warrior who only seems like one of the guys, Toby's desertion was in fact a terrible accident, which we learn when Toby and Tommo run into each other years later. Toby is fantastically relieved that Tommo is alive and free. Learning this makes Toby's "heart all the lighter" (Toby.64)—aww.
Could Toby have found some way around Jimmy in order to actually stay in Nukuheva, recruited some help, and then found some way to get back to the valley and stage a rescue? What does it mean that Tommo, as narrator, doesn't seem to hold it against him?
Will the Real Toby Please Stand Up?
An author's note directly after Toby's chapter explains that Tommo believed Toby to be lost, just as Toby thought of Tommo. They run into each other, though, briefly after the book's first version is published. "It was related to the author by Toby himself," the note reads, "not ten days since" (Note.2).
Is this gospel truth or another machination by a master storyteller? We'd bet on it being some combination of the two. However, we're sorry to report that, though many readers were convinced that Toby was a real guy, Melville wasn't ready to confirm it.
So perhaps it was a compliment to Melville's literary prowess when his readership called out to learn the fate of dear buddy Toby, and that he decided to add it later. After all, everyone likes a happy ending.