Chapter 129 - The Cabin Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 129 - The Cabin
What is Pip doing as Chapter 129 opens?
He catches Ahab by the hand as Ahab moves to go on deck, trying to follow the captain.
Why does Ahab say Pip must not follow him?
Because Pip's devotion and innocence feel "too curing to my malady" -- they threaten to dissolve the obsessive madness Ahab needs for the hunt.
What does Ahab mean by "my malady becomes my most desired health"?
His monomania (his "malady") is what drives him to pursue Moby Dick, so for the purpose of the hunt, his obsession is the very thing he needs most.
Where does Ahab tell Pip to sit while he is gone?
In Ahab's own screwed-down chair in the cabin, telling Pip to be treated "as if thou wert the captain."
What does Pip offer to serve as for Ahab?
A replacement for Ahab's lost leg: "do ye but use poor me for your one lost leg; only tread upon me, sir."
What does Ahab say Pip's fidelity makes him?
"A bigot in the fadeless fidelity of man!" -- a believer in humanity's capacity for unwavering loyalty.
What principle does Ahab invoke with the phrase "like cures like"?
The homeopathic idea that similar things cure each other. Pip's madness cures Ahab's, and conversely, their bond seems to be restoring Pip's sanity.
How does Pip reference his earlier abandonment at sea?
He speaks of himself in the third person, saying "Stubb did once desert poor little Pip, whose drowned bones now show white, for all the blackness of his living skin."
What does Pip vow regarding Ahab?
He vows he will never desert Ahab as Stubb deserted him: "I will never desert ye, sir."
What warning does Ahab give Pip about weeping?
"Weep so, and I will murder thee! have a care, for Ahab too is mad." -- Pip's tears threaten to break Ahab's obsessive resolve.
What does Ahab tell Pip to listen for as proof he is still near?
The sound of Ahab's ivory (prosthetic) foot on the deck above.
How does Ahab describe Pip's faithfulness as he departs?
"True art thou, lad, as the circumference to its centre" -- Pip is as faithful to Ahab as a circle's edge is inseparable from its center point.
Why can Pip not open the cabin door after Ahab leaves?
There is no lock, bolt, or bar, but Pip believes it must be "the spell" of Ahab's command that keeps it shut.
What fantasy does Pip have while sitting in Ahab's chair?
He imagines hosting a banquet for white officers with gold epaulets, serving as their host and asking if they have seen "one Pip."
How does Pip describe the "missing" Pip he searches for?
"A little negro lad, five feet high, hang-dog look, and cowardly! Jumped from a whale-boat once."
What toast does Pip propose at his imaginary banquet?
"Let's drink shame upon all cowards!" -- ironically, since he considers himself a coward for jumping from the whale-boat.
What Shakespearean parallel does Pip's role echo?
The Fool in King Lear -- a loyal, mad companion who speaks truth to an aging, obsessed ruler who ultimately abandons him.
What does Pip say when he hears Ahab's ivory leg overhead?
"Oh, master! master! I am indeed down-hearted when you walk over me."
What does Pip vow at the very end of the chapter?
That he will stay in the chair even if the ship strikes rocks and the hull is breached: "But here I'll stay, though this stern strikes rocks; and they bulge through."
What is the dramatic format of Chapter 129?
It is written as a stage play, with parenthetical stage directions and dialogue rather than conventional prose narration.