Chapter 107 - The Carpenter Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 107 - The Carpenter

How does Melville describe mankind "in mass" at the beginning of Chapter 107?

  • A brotherhood of noble souls united by purpose
  • A mob of unnecessary duplicates, both contemporary and hereditary
  • A chain of laborers forging civilization link by link
  • A wilderness of competing individuals striving for mastery

Where is the carpenter's vice-bench located on the Pequod?

  • In the forecastle below the main deck
  • Lashed athwartships against the rear of the Try-works
  • Bolted to the quarterdeck near the helm
  • Mounted portside beside the main mast

What does the carpenter build for a stray bird that lands on the ship?

  • A nest of woven sailcloth and tarred rope
  • A pagoda-looking cage from whale bone and sperm whale ivory
  • A simple wooden box with holes drilled for ventilation
  • A perch carved from a spare belaying pin

What does Stubb ask the carpenter to paint on his oars?

  • His initials and the ship's name in black ink
  • Vermillion stars on the blade of every oar
  • Blue waves along the shaft of each oar
  • The Pequod's whaling flag in miniature on each handle

How does the carpenter deal with a sailor who flinches during a tooth extraction?

  • He gives the sailor rum to dull the pain first
  • He clamps the sailor's jaw in his wooden vice to hold it still
  • He refuses to continue and sends the sailor to the captain
  • He ties the tooth to a doorknob and slams it shut

What does the carpenter consider men's teeth to be?

  • Signs of age and experience in a sailor
  • Bits of ivory, no different from his materials
  • Sacred objects not to be tampered with lightly
  • Trophies to be collected from willing sailors

What term does Melville use to describe the carpenter's remarkable emotional blankness?

  • Calculated indifference toward human suffering
  • Impersonal stolidity that merged with the world's own blankness
  • Philosophical detachment born of deep contemplation
  • Deliberate coldness adopted as a survival mechanism

What does Melville mean by calling the carpenter a "pure manipulater"?

  • He cunningly manipulates the crew for personal advantage
  • His intelligence lives entirely in his hands and fingers
  • He handles materials with unmatched artistic sensitivity
  • He controls situations through subtle psychological tactics

To what common object does Melville compare the carpenter?

  • A grandfather clock with countless hidden gears
  • A Sheffield pocket knife containing many tools in one
  • A compass that always points true north without error
  • A lantern that illuminates without consuming itself

What Latin phrase does Melville use to describe the carpenter's all-in-one nature?

  • Carpe diem (seize the day)
  • Multum in parvo (much in little)
  • Tabula rasa (blank slate)
  • Deus ex machina (god from the machine)

Despite being described as machine-like, what does Melville say the carpenter is NOT?

  • A skilled tradesman worthy of his station aboard ship
  • A mere machine or automaton devoid of all inner life
  • A man capable of understanding complex instructions
  • A reliable craftsman who can complete tasks independently

What does the carpenter do constantly because of his mysterious inner life-principle?

  • He carves small figurines during his idle moments
  • He soliloquizes, talking to himself like a humming wheel
  • He whistles old sea shanties from port to port
  • He sketches blueprints of inventions he will never build

What metaphor does Melville use for the carpenter's body in relation to his soliloquizing?

  • A ship adrift on an ocean of unconscious thought
  • A sentry-box housing a guard who talks to stay awake
  • A furnace that burns fuel without producing useful heat
  • A hollow drum that echoes with every passing vibration

Approximately how old is the Pequod's carpenter?

  • About thirty years old, a young but skilled craftsman
  • About forty-five, in the prime of his working years
  • About sixty years old or more, a lifelong wanderer
  • About seventy-five, the eldest member of the crew

What kind of humor does Melville attribute to the carpenter?

  • Sharp, satirical wit aimed at the ship's officers
  • Antediluvian, wheezing humorousness suited to Noah's ark
  • Gentle, warm-hearted joking that puts crewmates at ease
  • Dark, gallows humor reflecting years of dangerous voyages

Comprehension Quiz

Question 1 of 0
Score: 0 / 0
Read Chapter
← Previous Next →