Chapter 21 - Going Aboard Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 21 - Going Aboard

What time of day do Ishmael and Queequeg arrive at the wharf?

  • Midnight
  • Nearly six o'clock in the predawn
  • Mid-morning after breakfast
  • Late afternoon before sunset

Who intercepts Ishmael and Queequeg as they approach the Pequod?

  • Captain Ahab
  • Starbuck
  • Elijah
  • The old rigger

What does Elijah ask Ishmael about seeing near the ship?

  • Whether he saw Captain Ahab on deck
  • Whether he saw anything "looking like men" going toward the ship
  • Whether he noticed the ship's damaged hull
  • Whether he saw whales in the harbor

How many shadowy figures does Ishmael think he saw near the Pequod?

  • Two or three
  • Four or five
  • Seven or eight
  • About a dozen

What does Ishmael call Elijah after his strange behavior?

  • A prophet
  • A madman
  • Cracked
  • Dangerous

What is the condition of the Pequod when Ishmael and Queequeg first board?

  • Bustling with crew activity
  • In profound quiet with not a soul moving
  • Under repair with carpenters working
  • Partially submerged and listing to one side

Where do Ishmael and Queequeg find the sleeping rigger?

  • On the main deck near the mast
  • In Captain Ahab's cabin
  • In the forecastle, lying on two chests
  • In the galley next to the stove

What does Queequeg do when he sees the sleeping rigger?

  • He shakes the man awake
  • He lies down on a nearby chest
  • He sits on the sleeping man
  • He covers the man with a blanket

What custom does Queequeg describe from his homeland to explain sitting on the rigger?

  • Warriors must always sit higher than common people
  • Chiefs use fattened lower-ranking people as living furniture
  • Sleeping people are considered sacred seats
  • All seating must be tested before a chief may use it

What dual function does Queequeg's tomahawk-pipe serve?

  • Cooking and lighting
  • Fighting and smoking
  • Cutting rope and starting fires
  • Signaling and navigation

What wakes the sleeping rigger?

  • Queequeg shaking him
  • The noise of crew arriving
  • The strong tobacco vapor from Queequeg's pipe
  • Ishmael calling out to him

What important news does the rigger share when he wakes?

  • The voyage has been cancelled
  • Captain Ahab came aboard last night and the ship sails today
  • The ship needs major repairs before sailing
  • A storm is approaching and departure is delayed

How does the rigger describe the chief mate Starbuck?

  • Cruel and tyrannical
  • Lively, good, and pious
  • Quiet and mysterious
  • Young and inexperienced

Where is Captain Ahab at the end of Chapter 21?

  • On the quarterdeck giving orders
  • Ashore making final purchases
  • Invisibly enshrined within his cabin
  • At the masthead watching the horizon

What is the biblical significance of Elijah's name in the novel?

  • Elijah was a king who conquered many nations
  • The prophet Elijah foretold the destruction of the biblical King Ahab
  • Elijah was a sailor in the Book of Jonah
  • Elijah built the first great ship in the Bible

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