Chapter 116 - The Dying Whale Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 116 - The Dying Whale

What ship did the Pequod encounter the day before the events of Chapter 116?

  • The Rachel, searching for lost crewmen
  • The Bachelor, a cheerful homeward-bound whaler
  • The Jeroboam, plagued by a mad prophet
  • The Delight, recently damaged by Moby Dick

How many whales were killed the day described in Chapter 116?

  • One, killed by Ahab alone
  • Two, one by Ahab and one by Stubb
  • Four, one of them by Ahab
  • Six, with Ahab killing the largest

What "strange spectacle" does Melville say is observable in all dying sperm whales?

  • They breach one final time before sinking
  • They emit a mournful cry heard for miles
  • They turn their heads toward the sun before expiring
  • They swim in circles until they lose consciousness

How does Ahab interpret the dying whale's sunward turn?

  • As a sign the whale is trying to escape the ship
  • As an act of fire worship, calling the whale a vassal of the sun
  • As proof that whales are intelligent enough to appreciate beauty
  • As evidence that Moby Dick is nearby and calling to it

Which of these events actually occurs in Chapter 116?

  • Ahab delivers a soliloquy about fire worship and the sea
  • Starbuck confronts Ahab about turning back
  • The crew sights Moby Dick for the first time
  • Queequeg carves symbols on his coffin

In the chapter, what does the word "orisons" mean?

  • Ocean currents that circle near the equator
  • Prayers or devout petitions
  • Decorative carvings on a ship's hull
  • Evening stars visible from the tropics

What does Ahab address as the "dark Hindoo half of nature"?

  • The whale he has just killed, sinking into darkness
  • The destructive, annihilating force of the sea and death
  • The nighttime sky replacing the setting sun
  • Moby Dick, lurking somewhere in the deep ocean

What happens to the whale's corpse immediately after death, according to Ahab?

  • It sinks rapidly to the ocean floor
  • It floats peacefully in the direction of the sun
  • Death whirls it around so it heads some other way
  • It is devoured by sharks within minutes

What does "vassal" mean as Ahab uses it to describe the whale?

  • A large container used to hold whale oil
  • A feudal subordinate who pledges loyalty to a lord
  • A type of ceremonial weapon from ancient Persia
  • A navigator who charts courses by the stars

What does Ahab say the sun "only calls forth" but cannot give again?

  • Courage in the face of danger
  • Faith in a benevolent creator
  • Life itself
  • The will to worship and obey

What is the Spanish land-breeze from the Manila isles compared to in the chapter?

  • A violent storm approaching the Pequod
  • Vesper hymns carried on the evening air
  • The whale's dying breath rising from the water
  • A signal from another whaling vessel nearby

How does Ahab describe his emotional state at the opening of his meditation?

  • Elated and triumphant after the successful hunt
  • Soothed again, but only soothed to deeper gloom
  • Terrified by a premonition of his own death
  • Indifferent and emotionally numb from exhaustion

What relationship to the sea does Ahab declare at the end of Chapter 116?

  • He curses the sea as his eternal enemy and prison
  • He calls himself born of earth but suckled by the sea, with billows as foster-brothers
  • He vows to leave the sea forever after killing Moby Dick
  • He declares the sea belongs to him by divine right

Comprehension Quiz

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