View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What habit of whales do the whaling ships use to find their prey?
(a) the way they head south in the winter.
(b) the way they follow certain routes to new feeding areas.
(c) they way they always go to the same place to spawn.
(d) the way they spout when finding schools of fish.

2. What characteristics does Ishmael assign to Starbuck, the chief mate?
(a) impetuousness and anger.
(b) elegance and sophistication.
(c) ignorance and brashness.
(d) common sense and intelligence.

3. What happens to the two men who turn on Steelkilt and come out of the locked scuttle?
(a) they are hanged.
(b) they walk the plank.
(c) they are flogged.
(d) they receive pardons.

4. What accommodation is available for Ishmael at the inn in New Bedford?
(a) a shared room with a harpooner.
(b) a closet.
(c) a bench in the dining room.
(d) a bunk in a communal room.

5. How does Ishmael recognize newcomers to whaling on the streets of New Bedford?
(a) They are carrying large carpetbags.
(b) They do not know how to dress.
(c) They look dazed.
(d) They have on new Macintoshes.

6. What is Ishmael's religious affiliation?
(a) Catholic.
(b) Quaker.
(c) Methodist.
(d) Presbyterian.

7. What type of whale is Moby Dick, the whale they are searching for?
(a) a folio whale.
(b) an octavo whale.
(c) a Greenland whale.
(d) a duodecimo whale.

8. After the first whaling experience, what does Ishmael decide to do?
(a) pray every day more urgently.
(b) resign and jump ship.
(c) lead a mutiny.
(d) make out his will.

9. What is Ishmael's profession before signing on the whaling ship?
(a) merchant marine.
(b) newspaper reporter.
(c) bank clerk.
(d) schoolmaster.

10. Who is the second mate on board the Pequod?
(a) Stubb.
(b) Flask.
(c) Dagoo.
(d) Pip.

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

12. What type of whale are the men of the Pequod looking for?
(a) the sperm whale.
(b) the octavo whale.
(c) the duodecimo whale.
(d) the albino whale.

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

14. What equipment does Ishmael discuss including their descriptions and uses?
(a) oars.
(b) harpoons.
(c) sails.
(d) ropes.

15. How does Ishmael introduce the story of Moby Dick?
(a) by suggesting the white whale is a myth.
(b) by Ahab's description of the white whale.
(c) in a dream he has about a white whale.
(d) with stories of the dangerous white whale.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Queequeg manage to sign on with the Pequod after first being turned down?

2. How does Ishmael digress after the first whales are spotted?

3. Where is Captain Ahab as the crew begins coming aboard the Pequod?

4. What do Peleg and Bildad do once the Pequod is in the Atlantic Ocean?

5. What do the plaques in the whaler's chapel remind Ishmael of?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 581 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample