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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. How does the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?" view the world?

2. What quality of Bartleby's induces the narrator to hire him?

3. How much does the uncle in "The Happy Failure" think his invention is worth?

4. What does Melville say is the most populous species on the island of Albermarle?

5. What is the narrator's condition when he goes to the theater in London?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator continue to accept Bartleby's refusals?

2. Why does Melville call Redondo the "aviary of the ocean"?

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

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

5. What does Steelkilt demand to prevent a mutiny?

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

7. Why is the direct route for an ocean voyage not always the fastest or best, according to Melville in "The Encantadas"?

8. What skills are necessary for a scrivener?

9. Why does Melville refer to Oberlus as "a creature whom it is religion to detest?"

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Melville uses brief sketches to address large issues of social justice. Select two of the stories that work together, such as "The Paradise of Bachelors" and "The Tartarus of Maids," or "The Two Temples," to analyze the social issues addressed in those comparisons.

Essay Topic 2

Melville's use of time, switching back and forth between present and past tenses in the same story, is an unusual method to bring the reader a sense of immediacy. Select a story such as "The Two Temples" to analyze the effectiveness of this technique.

Essay Topic 3

Melville's work is full of allusions to mythic characters and settings with which he expects his reader to be familiar. Select a story such as "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo" or "The Two Temples" to find the references to mythology. Look up the characters or locations and explain in your essay how these references strengthen the story.

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