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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which New Bedford whaling ship is Herman Melville on when he meets Chase's son?
(a) Ann Alexander.
(b) Dartmouth.
(c) California.
(d) Acushnet.

2. Which one of the following is not done when Joy dies?
(a) A stone is tied to his feet.
(b) A letter from the men is placed inside his pocket.
(c) He is sewn up in his clothes.
(d) He is buried at sea.

3. How does Aaron Paddack respond to Pollard's story as Chapter 12 ends?
(a) He writes it down.
(b) He does not believe it.
(c) He only believes some of it.
(d) He ignores it.

4. How much money does each member of the Constellation give to the recovery of Chase, Nickerson, and Lawrence?
(a) One dollar.
(b) One dollar and fifty cents.
(c) Two dollars and fifty cents.
(d) Two dollars.

5. After realizing they are too far south to reach Easter Island, how far away is the next group of islands?
(a) Five hundred miles off the coast of Chile.
(b) Eight hundred miles off the coast of Chile.
(c) Five hundred miles off the coast of Peru.
(d) Eight hundred miles off the coast of Peru.

6. Which one of the following is not included in the museum's exhibit of the Essex?
(a) Twine.
(b) Signatures.
(c) A list of the crew.
(d) The ship's truck.

7. How many men choose to stay on the island at the end of Chapter 9?
(a) None.
(b) Three.
(c) One.
(d) Two.

8. Which direction is Chase's boat floating in Chapter 11?
(a) West.
(b) East.
(c) South.
(d) North.

9. What do the men on Henderson Island think the gunshot is when it is fired in Chapter 13?
(a) A falling tree.
(b) Thunder.
(c) An attack.
(d) A falling rock.

10. What happens to Chase before he dies?
(a) He is declared insane.
(b) He cannot remember the Essex.
(c) He moves from Nantucket.
(d) He reconnects with Pollard.

11. What island do the men initially think they have found in the beginning of Chapter 9?
(a) Pitcairn Island.
(b) Ducie Island.
(c) Oeno Island.
(d) Henderson Island.

12. Why does Joy request to be transferred to the captain's boat when he is close to dying?
(a) The captain's boat has more food.
(b) There is a doctor on the captain's boat.
(c) To die next to the captain.
(d) To die among Nantucketers.

13. What do the men do with Cole when he begins ranting incoherently?
(a) They knock him unconscious.
(b) They throw him overboard.
(c) They place him on a board.
(d) They attempt to reason with him.

14. How does Pollard initially respond to the suggestion of drawing a lot in Chapter 11?
(a) He refuses to listen to it.
(b) He is skeptical, but agrees to listen.
(c) He threatens the person that suggests it.
(d) He thinks that it is a good idea.

15. What animals are used as food to help the crew stay alive in Chapter 9?
(a) Only birds.
(b) Neither birds nor crabs.
(c) Only crabs.
(d) Birds and crabs.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Pollard do the night before leaving the island in Chapter 9?

2. What museum acquires the skeleton of the whale found in the Epilogue?

3. Due to starvation and lack of clothes, what illness are the men vulnerable to in the cold rain?

4. Which one of the following is not something that Chase does in order to guard the provisions?

5. Where do the men sleep during their first night on the island in Chapter 9?

(see the answer keys)

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