Chapter 123 - The Musket Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 123 - The Musket

Why does Starbuck go below to Ahab's cabin?

  • To confront Ahab about his reckless leadership during the storm
  • To comply with standing orders to report any decided change on deck
  • To check on Ahab's health after the violent Typhoon
  • To retrieve navigational charts needed for the new course

What triggers Starbuck's temptation to kill Ahab?

  • Ahab's threatening words spoken through the cabin door
  • A direct order from Ahab to steer toward Moby Dick
  • The sight of the loaded muskets in the rack against the bulkhead
  • A letter from his wife begging him to come home safely

What specific detail helps Starbuck identify the musket Ahab once aimed at him?

  • Its unusually long barrel, the longest among the rack
  • The studded lock that distinguished it from the others
  • Starbuck's own initials carved into the wooden stock
  • A notch Starbuck had cut into it after the confrontation

What does Starbuck discover when he checks the musket?

  • The musket is unloaded and there is no ammunition nearby
  • The barrel is rusted shut from exposure to sea air
  • The musket is loaded with powder in the pan, ready to fire
  • The firing mechanism has been deliberately disabled by Ahab

Which of Ahab's reckless actions does Starbuck NOT mention in his soliloquy?

  • Destroying his navigational quadrant in a fit of rage
  • Refusing to install lightning rods during the Typhoon
  • Melting down the crew's harpoons to forge a special weapon
  • Refusing to strike his spars to any gale that might come

Why does Starbuck reject the idea of making Ahab a prisoner?

  • The crew would mutiny against Starbuck for defying the captain
  • Ahab would be like a caged tiger whose howlings would be unendurable
  • Maritime law explicitly forbids imprisoning a ship's captain at sea
  • There are no secure spaces on the Pequod to hold a prisoner

What biblical comparison does Melville draw for Starbuck's inner struggle?

  • David standing before the giant Goliath with only a sling
  • Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar
  • Jacob wrestling with an angel through the night
  • Moses confronting Pharaoh and demanding freedom for his people

What does Ahab cry out in his sleep?

  • "Starbuck! Is that thee? Come no closer with that musket!"
  • "Stern all! Oh Moby Dick, I clutch thy heart at last!"
  • "The whale! The whale! Lower all boats and give chase!"
  • "Mary, forgive me! I shall never see Nantucket again!"

What does the phrase "the death-tube" refer to?

  • The ship's cannon mounted on the foredeck for defense
  • The loaded musket that Starbuck replaces in its rack
  • Ahab's ivory leg, which conceals a hidden weapon
  • The harpoon specially forged from razors for killing Moby Dick

Who does Starbuck ask to deliver the weather report to Ahab?

  • Flask, the third mate, who is on deck at the time
  • Queequeg, the harpooneer who serves under Starbuck
  • Stubb, the second mate, with the words "Thou know'st what to say"
  • Pip, the cabin boy who has access to Ahab's quarters

What is ironic about the "fair wind" in this chapter?

  • It actually drives the ship off course into uncharted waters
  • It is fair only for pursuing Moby Dick, carrying the crew toward doom
  • The wind is not actually fair; the compass has been damaged by the storm
  • It brings warm weather that causes the whale oil cargo to spoil

How many men does Starbuck say Ahab would effectively murder if the ship is destroyed?

  • Twenty men, the size of the watch crew on deck
  • Thirty men and more, the full ship's company
  • Forty-five men, including the harpooneers and mates
  • The number is unspecified; Starbuck says only "all hands"

What does Starbuck mean when he says he stands "alone here upon an open sea, with two oceans and a whole continent between me and law"?

  • He is lost and does not know the ship's position after the storm
  • He is emphasizing that there is no legal authority to restrain Ahab at sea
  • He fears that the crew will testify against him if he acts
  • He is contemplating abandoning ship in one of the whaleboats

What does the compass behavior during the Typhoon suggest?

  • The ship is caught in a whirlpool that spins it in circles
  • Ahab has secretly tampered with the navigational instruments
  • The violence of the storm causes the needles to spin wildly on the cards
  • The compass is broken beyond repair and must be replaced

What Shakespearean scene does Starbuck's dilemma most closely parallel?

  • Macbeth debating whether to murder King Duncan in his sleep
  • Hamlet hesitating to kill Claudius while Claudius prays
  • Brutus deliberating over the assassination of Julius Caesar
  • Othello standing over the sleeping Desdemona before smothering her

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