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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 does Ahab do in an excited state after visiting the Samuel Enderby?
(a) twists and damages his ivory peg leg.
(b) dances a jig on the Pequod.
(c) passes out rum to the crew.
(d) goes to his cabin to sulk.

2. How does Stubb regain a dead whale from a French whaling boat?
(a) by stealing the dead whale at night.
(b) by playing poker.
(c) by using humor and intelligence.
(d) by threatening to blow up their boat.

3. What happens to Queequeg while he helps locate the oil leak?
(a) he becomes ill and almost dies.
(b) he gets into a fight with Tashtego.
(c) he falls into a cask of sperm whale oil.
(d) he slips on the oil and cracks open his head.

4. What does Ahab order the Pequod to do in violation of maritime tradition?
(a) play music and dance.
(b) ram the other ship.
(c) sail away before the burial at sea.
(d) make obscene gestures at the other crew.

5. What is the second objection the Sag Harbor man has for the veracity of the story of Jonah?
(a) the throat of the whale could not swallow a man.
(b) there is no oxygen inside a whale's stomach.
(c) the whale would bite and not swallow whole.
(d) the gastric juices of the whale would have killed Jonah.

Short Answer Questions

1. What occurs on the Pequod that sends Starbuck to see the captain?

2. What does Moby Dick do as he spots Ahab?

3. Why does Ahab order a basket to take him to the top of one of the masts?

4. What does Ahab discover the next morning after the storm?

5. What does Ishmael recount about the Samuel Enderby that occurs many years later?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain two instances that Starbuck interprets as signs that God does not support Ahab's revenge on Moby Dick.

2. What ironic thought does Ahab have while looking at Queequeg's coffin?

3. Explain why the Pequod sails in the wrong direction.

4. Why does Ahab transfer onto the Samuel Enderby to hear its captain's story?

5. How is Ahab killed?

6. What is the change in the crew as they head out in search of Moby Dick?

7. What is occupying the mind of the captain of the Rachel?

8. After killing the sperm whale, why does Ahab want them to capture and kill the less valuable Right Whale?

9. How does Ishmael show the further mental deterioration of Ahab?

10. What is foreshadowed by a dream on Ahab's whaling boat?

(see the answer keys)

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