Chapter 30 - The Pipe Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

What does Ahab ask a sailor to bring him at the start of the chapter?

• His harpoon and rope
• His ivory stool and pipe
• A lantern and compass
• His logbook and quill

Where does Ahab light his pipe?

• At the galley stove
• At the binnacle lamp
• With a tinderbox
• At the forecastle fire

To what historical tradition does Melville compare Ahab's ivory stool?

• Roman emperor thrones of marble
• Norse Danish kings' thrones of narwhal tusks
• Egyptian pharaoh seats of gold
• Greek philosopher chairs of olive wood

What title does the narrator NOT use to describe Ahab in this chapter?

• A Khan of the plank
• A king of the sea
• A great lord of Leviathans
• The emperor of the deep

To what does Ahab compare his nervous puffs of pipe smoke?

• Storm clouds gathering on the horizon
• The final jets of a dying whale
• Steam rising from a volcanic vent
• The breath of a caged animal

What does Ahab say the pipe is "meant for"?

• Celebration after a successful hunt
• Sereneness, to send up mild white vapors among mild white hairs
• Signaling to other ships at sea
• Warming the hands on cold watches

What happens when Ahab's pipe hits the water?

• It floats and drifts away
• The fire hisses in the waves and it sinks
• A whale surfaces near the spot
• Nothing notable; the chapter ends immediately

Ahab smokes his pipe peacefully for several hours before tossing it overboard.

Ahab delivers a soliloquy about how smoking no longer comforts him.

What is a "binnacle" as used in this chapter?

• A type of whale harpoon
• A stand housing the ship's compass and lamp
• The captain's personal quarters
• A storage chest for tobacco

What does "soliloquized" mean in the context of this chapter?

• Whispered secretly to a crewmate
• Sang a sea shanty
• Spoke his thoughts aloud to himself
• Wrote in his private journal

What are "bulwarks" in a nautical context?

• The sails at the top of the mast
• The sides of a ship above the upper deck
• Anchors used in storms
• Wooden barrels for storing water