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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 is the subject matter of the sermon in the chapel?
(a) preparing for death.
(b) Jonah and the whale.
(c) the creation of sea creatures.
(d) Balam and the ass.

2. Why does the rumor start that Moby Dick is stalking the Pequod?
(a) a whale spout is seen at night every so often.
(b) no large fish are spotted near the Pequod.
(c) something keeps bumping the Pequod.
(d) a whale spout is seen only once every afternoon.

3. What does Queequeg use to reach his food?
(a) his harpoon.
(b) a small lasso.
(c) a long stick.
(d) his long arms.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What strange thing does Ahab do looking at the head of the captured whale?

2. What is Ishmael's profession before signing on the whaling ship?

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

4. How does Ishmael foreshadow Starbuck's behavior throughout the novel?

5. How does Ishmael ultimately describe the whale?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ahab express his mission on this trip of the Pequod?

2. Describe the curious rumor about other fish and Moby Dick.

3. Explain the mistaken identity that causes Ahab to order lowering of the boats.

4. Why is the story of Radney and Steelkilt important to the story?

5. Explain the importance of Chapters 45 and 46 in understanding the enemy Captain Ahab is up against.

6. Why does Ishmael soon lose his astonishment over Queequeg in New Bedford?

7. What is the function of Charity, Bildad's sister, in the preparations for the Pequod's journey?

8. Under what circumstances do Peleg and Bildad leave the Pequod?

9. Detail the problems of holding a whale overnight tied to the side of the ship.

10. Describe how Ishmael becomes uneasy about Captain Ahab.

(see the answer keys)

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