Mardi, and a Voyage Thither (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Herman Melville
- First Published: 1849
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Allegory
- Time of Work: Mid-nineteenth century
- Setting: Islands of the Western Pacific
- Principal Characters: The Narrator, Yillah, Hautia, Jarl, Samoa, Media, Yoomy, Babbalanja
- Genres: Long fiction, Sea story
- Subjects: Nineteenth century, Mistaken or secret identity, Islands, Kings, queens, or royalty, Legends, Gods or goddesses, Sailing or sailors, Pacific Ocean
- Locales: Islands, Pacific Ocean
The Story:
The narrator of the story, a young American sailor, was picked up at Ravavai, a Pacific island, by a whaling vessel, the Arcturion. The voyage of the Arcturion was not a successful one, and when the ship began to head for the cold climate of the Bay of Kamchatka, the young narrator and his special friend in the forecastle, Jarl, decided to leave the ship. Knowing the captain would not land them anywhere, they provisioned a small boat and in it escaped from the ship under cover of darkness.
Heading westward, the two men hoped to reach some...
[The entire page is 2498 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
