Toby

Character Analysis

What We Know

The way Toby—Tommo's fellow sailor and escapee—functions in Typee is a little hard to pin down. We know even less about him than Tommo. What do we know? He's stronger and faster than our hero, and his agility helps loads as the two overland it from Nukuheva down into the valley: "I hobbling over the ground like some decrepit wretch, and Toby leaping forward like a greyhound," (10.6) jokes Tommo. By his actions and help, we're made to see that he's a trustworthy companion who acts in good-faith as the two begin their adventure.

What We Don't Know

What don't we know about dear Toby? Pretty much everything else. Often, this novel is so tightly told in Tommo's point of view that it's easy to simply see Toby as a function of the plot, rather than a character himself. The fact that he disappears a third of the way through, never to re-appear, doesn't help either. (To clarify, Toby disappears in the original edition. The "Story of Toby" addendum does serve to satisfy readers as to his fate. It was included in the American revised edition and afterward.) What we learn of the Typee, and the experience of being trapped there, though, is all from our pal Tommo.

So what is Toby doing there? Does his departure from the valley make Tommo feel even more marooned in a strange culture far from home? Toby's leaving certainly makes Tommo a more isolated character, heightening the effect of being stranded among the Typee.