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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Ishmael decide to do about Queequeg?
(a) to convert him to Christianity.
(b) to keep his pistol loaded.
(c) to become his friend.
(d) to ask for another room.

2. What is Starbuck's disagreement with Ahab's purpose for the trip?
(a) the moral correctness of finding the white whale.
(b) the missed opportunities to capture other whales.
(c) the need to get oil and return to Nantucket quickly.
(d) the futility of vengeance against a whale.

3. What do Ishmael and Stubb discuss about captains and whaling?
(a) whether the captain should take the helm.
(b) whether captains should be harpooners.
(c) whether captains know enough about whales.
(d) whether the captain should go on the boats.

4. What is the encounter in the ocean that causes Ahab to come to the deck?
(a) they are chased by pirates.
(b) they hear strange musical sounds in the ocean.
(c) they see a huge pod of whales.
(d) they meet another whaling ship.

5. Why does Elijah challenge Ishmael to find the men he saw heading for the Pequod?
(a) they will not board with Captain Ahab.
(b) they are criminals sabotaging the Pequod.
(c) they are ghosts and not real men.
(d) they are figments of Ishmael's imagination.

6. What is the man called who stands on deck and holds the rope that secures Queequeg?
(a) the anchor.
(b) the cowboy.
(c) the door post.
(d) the monkey.

7. What has Ahab's vengeance done to him?
(a) He cannot sleep at night.
(b) He finds no pleasure in life.
(c) His hair has turned white.
(d) He has lost his appetite.

8. What do the men do for entertainment on board the Pequod?
(a) play cards.
(b) tell sea tales.
(c) sing and dance.
(d) gamble.

9. What story about a whale attack compares to the history of the Titanic?
(a) the ship struck an ice berg while chasing a whale.
(b) the ship was sunk on its maiden expedition.
(c) the whale looked like an ice berg.
(d) the ship was believed to be unsinkable.

10. How does Ishmael foreshadow Starbuck's behavior throughout the novel?
(a) He becomes fearful and mutinous.
(b) He remains the valiant and moral person he first appears to be.
(c) He changes into a madman.
(d) He loses all his moral values and tries to kill Ahab.

11. What is Ishmael's evidence that sperm whales have knowingly and maliciously been destructive to men and their ships?
(a) interviews with survivors of whale attacks.
(b) other ships that have had bad encounters with whales.
(c) stories printed in British and American newspapers.
(d) his own experience with whales while he was at sea.

12. What does Ishmael think is more remarkable than the whale's size and color?
(a) its ability to stay for days under water.
(b) its memory.
(c) its intelligence and cunning.
(d) its ability to destroy a large ship.

13. What is the speculation about Ahab's knowledge of the stowaways?
(a) that he is aware of them.
(b) that he will have them thrown overboard.
(c) that he knows why they are there.
(d) that he is playing a game with them.

14. How do Ishmael and Queequeg transport their baggage to the boat bound for Nantucket?
(a) in a taxi.
(b) in a wheelbarrow.
(c) on a hay cart.
(d) on their backs.

15. How does Ishmael digress after the first whales are spotted?
(a) by discussing the ideal weather for whatling.
(b) by giving a brief commentary on different kinds of whale.
(c) by giving a background on Captain Ahab.
(d) by defining the process of spotting whales.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which harpooner is chosen by Starbuck?

2. What accommodation is available for Ishmael at the inn in New Bedford?

3. What is Ahab aware of while he stands on the deck of the Pequod?

4. What type of whale are the men of the Pequod looking for?

5. Who are Peleg and Bildad?

(see the answer keys)

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