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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do scholars speculate might have caused the whale to attack the Essex?
(a) The whale is territorial and protecting its waters.
(b) The boat's attack on other whales that are observed by the large whale.
(c) The clicking sound that Chase makes while repairing his boat.
(d) The yelling of the men while attempting to kill another whale.

2. How is the whale towed back to the ship after it is killed in Chapter 3?
(a) Tail first.
(b) On its side.
(c) Head first.
(d) On its back.

3. How many people live in Nantucket in 1819?
(a) Six thousand people.
(b) Five thousand people.
(c) Seven thousand people.
(d) Eight thousand people.

4. According to one naval architect, what might have helped the Essex withstand the whale's attack?
(a) If the boat was smaller.
(b) Nothing could have helped it.
(c) If the boat was bigger.
(d) If the boat was new.

5. What is the name of the newspaper that includes the article about the Marquesas before the ship sets sail from Nantucket?
(a) New Bedford Mercury.
(b) New Bedford Community News.
(c) New Bedford Standard Times.
(d) New Bedford Gazette.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long do the officers think it will take the crew to reach either Chile or Peru?

2. Which of the following is not included in the list of troubles that the bad weather causes for the Essex in Chapter 4?

3. How long is it in between whale sightings in Chapter 3?

4. In 1810, how many women over the age of twenty- three are widowed?

5. If the Essex returns with sufficient product, how much money is Thomas Nickerson expecting to make from the trip?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the Essex attacked by the whale and what happens to the ship as a result?

2. As stated in the Preface, when, where, and why are sperm whales hunted?

3. How successful is the Essex off the coast of Peru?

4. What is done to the Essex in order to prepare it for the trip?

5. How does Pollard's boat respond to being attacked by a whale in Chapter 7?

6. What does the Dauphin find in the Preface?

7. How is Nantucket described in Chapter 1?

8. How does Philbrick describe Pollard and his experience in Chapter 2?

9. What are some of the facts that Philbrick discloses about the sinking of the Essex in the Preface?

10. What is the process for "trying out" a whale?

(see the answer keys)

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