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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Pip do when a whale is harpooned?

2. What is the next whaling ship the Pequod meets during the search for Moby Dick?

3. Besides the whales in the oceans, what else does Ishmael include in his discussion?

4. What does Ishmael say about why some captured whales float while others tend to sink?

5. When Pip is finally rescued after jumping the second time from the boat, what is his condition?

Short Essay Questions

1. What further insult does Ahab act out after meeting the Delight?

2. How does Starbuck try to take advantage of Ahab's tears?

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

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

5. What conundrum does Ishmael pose about the whale's biological system?

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

7. Why does the encounter with the Bachelor irritate Ahab?

8. What contest occurs between the Pequod and a German whaling ship?

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

10. Explain how Stubb uses his sense of humor to trick a French whaling ship into leaving a dead whale.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on Fearing the Unknown. Using the example of Ishmael's initial reaction to Queequeg, demonstrate in your essay how people tend to fear what is new or unexplained. Note how as Ishmael begins to learn Queequeg's ways, he becomes less fearful and soon they bond as friends. End your essay with a statement about how eliminating prejudicial fear would make the world a better place.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on respect. Use the example of Starbuck who disagrees with Ahab's vendetta against a whale but always follows orders, even when he thinks they are wrong. Define why respect for the captain and the crew is necessary to maintain order on a ship.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on the literary use of personification. Begin with how Ahab assigns human characteristics to Moby Dick, believing that the whale is a mortal enemy, conscious of a vendetta against him. Then go to children's stories where animal characters think and talk like humans. Discuss personification as a device to explain relationships between humans and animals.

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