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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What food does Bartleby appear to eat exclusively?

2. What emotion does the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?" say he has never felt since the rooster died?

3. What does Melville believe the charities of London do for the poor?

4. Why does the Town-Ho's captain have to put the ship into port?

5. What happens to the rooster when the Merrymusk family dies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What stylistic devices does Melville use to give the reader the feeling of the rooster's crow in "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo"?

2. Why does Melville believe that American poor suffer more than European poor?

3. How does the narrator respond the first time Bartleby answers a request with, "I would prefer not to"?

4. How does the poet Blandmour feel about poverty in "Poor Man's Pudding"?

5. In "Rich Man's Crumbs," why is the narrator called a "graceless ragamuffin"?

6. How is the accuracy of copy verified by scriveners?

7. What does the captain decide to do with Steelkilt and those who followed him in insubordination?

8. What words does the narrator use to describe Bartleby when he first meets him?

9. What did Steelkilt's followers decide to do upon their release?

10. What superstition do sailors have about the tortoises in "The Encantadas"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Melville's purposes in writing are both artistic and moralistic. Select a story in which you see his purpose as basically one or the other, and give examples from the story in your essay that support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Setting is particularly important in Melville's stories. Select a story in which the setting is critical, such as the confinement of shipboard or the home as a center for domestic disputes. Analyze the use and power of the setting in the story you chose.

Essay Topic 3

Melville frequently reveals the character of a narrator through the narrator's observations and reactions to another character. "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "Benito Cereno" are examples of this technique. Select one of the stories in which the narrator reveals himself. Discuss how the character is revealed and the effectiveness of this technique for you as a reader.

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