Chapter 123 - The Musket Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 123 - The Musket
What weather event has just ended as Chapter 123 opens?
The Typhoon. It has abated enough for the crew to replace damaged sails and resume course.
Which two mates lead the effort to repair the sails after the storm?
Starbuck (forward) and Stubb (aft). They cut the shattered remnants of the jib and topsails free.
What direction is the Pequod's new course after the storm?
East-south-east.
Why does the crew sing joyfully when the wind shifts?
The foul breeze becomes fair, seeming to falsify the evil portents of the storm. They sing "Ho! the fair wind!"
Why does Starbuck go below to Ahab's cabin?
To comply with standing orders to report any decided change in deck affairs. He comes to report the fair wind.
What does Starbuck notice in the cabin that triggers his moral crisis?
The loaded muskets in the rack, including the very musket Ahab once pointed at him.
What identifying feature does Starbuck recognize on Ahab's musket?
The studded lock. He says, "that one with the studded lock."
Is the musket loaded when Starbuck picks it up?
Yes. Starbuck checks and finds it loaded with powder in the pan.
What alternatives to killing Ahab does Starbuck consider?
Making Ahab a prisoner and taking him home, or pinioning him with ropes and chaining him to the cabin floor.
Why does Starbuck reject the idea of imprisoning Ahab?
He believes Ahab would be "more hideous than a caged tiger" and that his howlings would drive Starbuck mad on the long voyage home.
What family members does Starbuck think of during his crisis?
His wife Mary and his boy (son). He cries, "Oh Mary! Mary!- boy! boy! boy!"
What does Ahab cry out in his sleep?
"Stern all! Oh Moby Dick, I clutch thy heart at last!" revealing that even in sleep he dreams of killing the White Whale.
What biblical image does Melville use to describe Starbuck's inner struggle?
Jacob wrestling with an angel. "Starbuck seemed wrestling with an angel."
What does Starbuck do with the musket after deciding not to shoot?
He places "the death-tube" back in its rack and leaves.
Who does Starbuck ask to deliver the weather report to Ahab instead?
Stubb. Starbuck tells him, "go thou down, and wake him, and tell him."
What does Melville call the musket when Starbuck replaces it?
The "death-tube," emphasizing its lethal potential.
How does Melville describe the musket shaking in Starbuck's hands?
"The yet levelled musket shook like a drunkard's arm against the panel."
What is ironic about the "fair wind" in this chapter?
It is fair only for pursuing Moby Dick, meaning it carries them toward death and doom rather than safety.
What Shakespearean tragedy does this chapter most closely parallel?
Hamlet. Starbuck's deliberation over killing sleeping Ahab mirrors Hamlet's hesitation over killing Claudius at prayer.
What does Starbuck mean by "Is heaven a murderer when its lightning strikes a would-be murderer in his bed"?
He is trying to justify killing Ahab by comparing it to divine justice striking down a dangerous man.