Chapter 110 - Queequeg in His Coffin Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 110 - Queequeg in His Coffin
Why are the crew members emptying the hold at the beginning of Chapter 110?
- They are preparing to beach the ship for repairs
- They are searching for the source of a leak
- They are reorganizing supplies for the return voyage
- They are making room for newly harvested whale oil
How does Queequeg catch his fever?
- He is injured during a whale hunt and the wound becomes infected
- He catches a chill while working in the damp, cold hold of the ship
- He contracts a tropical disease from the last island they visited
- He becomes ill after eating spoiled provisions from the hold
What role do harpooneers play besides hunting whales, according to this chapter?
- They serve as navigators during storms at sea
- They act as "holders" who stow casks in the ship's hold
- They repair damaged sails and rigging after hunts
- They serve as translators for the multinational crew
What happens to Queequeg's eyes as his body wastes away from fever?
- They grow dim and clouded, reflecting his approaching death
- They become bloodshot and wild with delirium from the fever
- They grow fuller and more luminous, rounding like the rings of Eternity
- They close permanently as he slips into an extended coma
Why does Queequeg want a coffin-canoe rather than a standard sea burial?
- He wants his body returned to Nantucket for a Christian ceremony
- His people place dead warriors in canoes and set them adrift toward the stars
- He believes a hammock burial would anger the whale gods of the sea
- He wants the coffin to serve as a memorial carved with the ship's history
What wood is used to build Queequeg's coffin?
- Fresh oak planks cut from the ship's spare timber
- Dark lumber from the Lackaday Islands taken aboard on a previous voyage
- Driftwood collected from the sea during the current voyage
- Teak imported from Queequeg's native island of Rokovoko
What does Queequeg say after testing his coffin for the first time?
- "It lacks the warmth of a warrior's canoe"
- "Rarmai" (it will do; it is easy)
- "Build it wider so my harpoon may rest beside me"
- "Now I am ready for the starry archipelagoes"
What does Pip ask Queequeg to do if he reaches the "sweet Antilles"?
- Bring back spices and medicines to cure the crew
- Find a lost version of Pip and comfort him there
- Tell Pip's mother that her son died bravely at sea
- Search for the lost treasure of a sunken whaling ship
How does Pip characterize his own death compared to Queequeg's?
- He says they are equally noble and courageous deaths
- He says Queequeg "dies game" while Pip "died a coward" who jumped from a whale-boat
- He says Pip will outlive everyone aboard the Pequod
- He says both will be forgotten by history and the sea
What reason does Queequeg give for his sudden recovery?
- He credits Yojo with healing him through spiritual power
- He says the carpenter's coffin was so poorly made it angered him into living
- He recalled a duty ashore left undone and decided he could not die yet
- He says Pip's tambourine playing lifted his spirits and restored his will
According to Queequeg, what can kill a man who has decided to live?
- Only divine punishment or acts of the gods can end such a life
- Nothing at all; a determined man is completely immortal and invincible
- Only a whale, a gale, or some violent unintelligent destroyer
- Only betrayal by a trusted friend or crewmate aboard the ship
What does Queequeg carve onto his coffin lid after recovering?
- A map of the Pequod's voyage across the Pacific Ocean
- The names of all crew members who cared for him during illness
- Hieroglyphic figures copied from the tattoos on his body
- Scenes of whale hunts from his years aboard the Pequod
What do Queequeg's tattoos supposedly contain?
- A record of every whale he has killed during his career
- A complete theory of the heavens and earth, and a treatise on attaining truth
- A genealogy of his royal family going back twenty generations
- A navigational chart of the seas surrounding his home island
What is Ahab's reaction upon seeing the tattooed Queequeg?
- He orders Queequeg to explain the meaning of each tattoo
- He exclaims "Oh, devilish tantalization of the gods!"
- He commissions the carpenter to make a copy of the tattoos
- He dismisses the tattoos as meaningless savage decoration
How does Melville compare the recovery rates of "savage" and "civilized" men?
- He says civilized men recover faster due to superior medical knowledge
- He says both recover at the same rate when given proper rest and care
- He says a sick civilized man convalesces six months while a savage is half-well in a day
- He says savages never fully recover but simply ignore their symptoms
Comprehension Quiz
Question 1 of 0
Score: 0 / 0