Chapter 117 - The Whale Watch Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 117 - The Whale Watch
How many whales were killed on the evening described in Chapter 117?
Four whales were slain that evening.
Why does Ahab's boat stay out all night?
The windward whale could not be reached by the ship until morning, so Ahab's boat lay by its side all night.
What is thrust into the dead whale's spout-hole?
The waif-pole, with a lantern hanging from its top, casting a flickering glare on the water.
Who is the only person awake during the night watch?
The Parsee (Fedallah), who crouches in the bow watching sharks circle the whale.
What biblical allusion describes the moaning sound in the air?
The moaning in squadrons over Asphaltites (the Dead Sea) of unforgiven ghosts of Gomorrah.
What has Ahab dreamed about again?
Hearses. He tells the Parsee, "I have dreamed it again."
What is the first condition of Fedallah's prophecy about Ahab's death?
Ahab must see two hearses on the sea before he can die: the first not made by mortal hands, and the second made of American-grown wood.
What does Fedallah mean when he says he will "go before" Ahab?
Fedallah prophesies that he will die before Ahab and still appear as his pilot, meaning Ahab must see Fedallah's body again before he himself can die.
What is Fedallah's third pledge about how Ahab can be killed?
"Hemp only can kill thee" — meaning only hemp rope can cause Ahab's death.
How does Ahab interpret "hemp only can kill thee"?
Ahab takes it to mean the gallows (a hemp noose), concluding he is immortal at sea since there are no gallows on the ocean.
What does Ahab cry out after hearing all three conditions?
"Immortal on land and on sea!" — he laughs in derision, believing the conditions cannot be met.
What Shakespearean play uses a similar equivocal prophecy device?
Macbeth, in which the witches' prophecies seem to guarantee invincibility but are fulfilled through unexpected literal meanings.
What do the sharks circling the dead whale symbolize?
Death and predation, mirroring the novel's themes of mortality and foreshadowing the destruction that awaits Ahab.
How does Melville describe Ahab and the Parsee when Ahab awakens?
"Hooped round by the gloom of the night they seemed the last men in a flooded world."
What happens at the end of the chapter?
The grey dawn comes, the crew awakes, and by noon the dead whale is brought to the ship.