Chapter 129 - The Cabin Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 129 - The Cabin

What is Pip doing when Chapter 129 opens?

  • Sleeping in a hammock below deck, unaware Ahab has left the cabin
  • Catching Ahab by the hand and trying to follow him on deck
  • Sitting alone in the captain's chair, muttering to himself quietly
  • Standing at the mast-head, scanning the horizon for the White Whale

Why does Ahab tell Pip he must stay behind in the cabin?

  • Ahab fears Pip will fall overboard again, since the seas are rough
  • Pip's devotion threatens to cure Ahab's monomania, which he needs for the hunt
  • Starbuck has ordered that no one besides officers may come on deck
  • Ahab believes Pip will distract the harpooneers during the whale chase

What does Ahab tell Pip to do in the cabin while he is gone?

  • Keep watch at the stern windows and report any sightings of whales
  • Sit in the captain's own screwed chair and be treated as if he were captain
  • Guard the navigation instruments and log book from tampering by the crew
  • Prepare the cabin for a council of war among the ship's officers

What does Pip offer to serve as for Ahab?

  • His personal steward, keeping the cabin clean and meals prepared
  • A replacement for Ahab's lost leg, asking only to be tread upon
  • His lookout and spy among the crew, reporting any signs of mutiny
  • A messenger to carry Ahab's orders between the deck and the cabin

What does Ahab say Pip's loyalty makes him believe in?

  • The possibility that Moby Dick can be defeated by human courage
  • The fadeless fidelity of man, making him a zealous believer in loyalty
  • The existence of divine providence watching over the Pequod's voyage
  • The importance of turning the ship around to save the remaining crew

How does Pip reference his earlier abandonment at sea?

  • He blames Ahab for giving the order that led Stubb to leave him behind
  • He speaks of himself in the third person, saying Stubb deserted "poor little Pip"
  • He refuses to discuss it and changes the subject to avoid painful memories
  • He says the experience made him stronger and more determined to serve Ahab

What does Ahab mean when he says "Ahab's purpose keels up in him"?

  • His determination to hunt the whale is growing stronger with every hour
  • His obsessive resolve is capsizing -- Pip's words are undoing his purpose
  • The ship's keel is damaged and Ahab fears the Pequod may not survive
  • He is preparing to take the ship's wheel and steer toward Moby Dick

What threat does Ahab make when Pip begins weeping?

  • He threatens to have Pip locked in the hold for the rest of the voyage
  • He threatens to send Pip away on the next ship they encounter at sea
  • He threatens to murder Pip, warning that Ahab himself is also mad
  • He threatens to revoke Pip's right to sit in the captain's chair

How does Ahab describe Pip's faithfulness as he says goodbye?

  • As steady as the North Star that guides sailors through the darkest nights
  • As true as the circumference to its centre, inseparable and constant
  • As strong as the oak timbers that hold the Pequod together at sea
  • As dependable as the trade winds that carry ships across the oceans

Why can't Pip open the cabin door after Ahab leaves?

  • Ahab locked it from the outside with a key to ensure Pip's safety
  • The door has swollen shut from moisture and humidity below deck
  • There is no lock or bolt, but Pip believes Ahab's command is a spell
  • Crew members are holding the door shut on the other side as a prank

What does Pip imagine while sitting in Ahab's screwed chair?

  • A violent storm that will destroy the ship and end the hunt forever
  • Hosting a banquet for white officers with gold epaulets on their coats
  • A rescue ship arriving to take him home to his family in Alabama
  • Swimming alone in the open ocean the way he did when Stubb left him

How does Pip describe the "missing" Pip he asks his imaginary guests about?

  • A brave young sailor who climbed the mast higher than any man aboard
  • A little negro lad, five feet high, with a hang-dog look, who is cowardly
  • A skilled harpooner who could strike a whale from thirty yards distance
  • An innocent child stolen from his home and forced to work on a whaler

What toast does Pip propose at his imaginary banquet?

  • A toast to Captain Ahab and the destruction of the White Whale at last
  • A toast to Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo, the bravest men on the ship
  • A toast of shame upon all cowards, while naming no specific names
  • A toast to safe homecoming and the families waiting in Nantucket harbor

What does Pip hear at the end of the chapter that connects him to Ahab?

  • Ahab's voice shouting orders to lower the whale-boats for the chase
  • The sound of Ahab's ivory (prosthetic) foot walking on the deck above
  • A knock on the cabin door as Ahab returns to check on his young friend
  • The crew singing a sea shanty that Ahab had taught them weeks before

What literary form does Melville use for Chapter 129?

  • An epistolary chapter, written as a letter from Pip to his family
  • A dramatic scene with stage directions and dialogue, like a play
  • A traditional prose narrative told from Ishmael's first-person perspective
  • A series of encyclopedia-style entries about cabin construction on whale ships

Comprehension Quiz

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