Mardi, and a Voyage Thither | Mardi, and a Voyage Thither

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 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.

Mardi, and a Voyage Thither | Mardi, and a Voyage Thither

At a glance:

The Story:

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