Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
As much as Tommo adores comparing people to animals, he goes ga-ga comparing island life to "civilized" life even more. Tinor is like any mother a Western reader might recognize, "a doting mother petting a sickly urchin with tarts and sugar plums" (11.35). Mehevi demonstrates hospitality, with "all the warmth of hospitality evinced by an English squire," (44.12) while Kory-Kory, arranging himself, is "like a dandy at a ball-room door" (22.19).
While the animal comparisons may tell us more about the narrator, perhaps the Western culture comparisons have more to do with who the narrator expects he is talking to: not Polynesian islanders, but readers in major cities like London and New York.
How else might Tommo reveal his awareness of his audience? How do you think the telling of the story would change if he was relating it to Typee folk, or fellow sailors?