Chapter 39 - First Night-Watch Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 39 - First Night-Watch

What is Stubb doing at the beginning of Chapter 39?

  • Steering the ship
  • Mending a brace
  • Sharpening a harpoon
  • Writing in a journal

What does Stubb declare is the wisest answer to all that is queer?

  • Prayer
  • A laugh
  • Silence
  • Obedience

What belief gives Stubb comfort about the voyage ahead?

  • That Starbuck will protect the crew
  • That Moby Dick can be defeated
  • That everything is predestinated
  • That they will return home soon

What nickname does Stubb use for Captain Ahab?

  • The old Mogul
  • The sea king
  • Old Thunder
  • The mad captain

According to Stubb, what has Ahab done to Starbuck?

  • Promoted him
  • Fixed him (bent him to his will)
  • Threatened to kill him
  • Sent him below deck

How did Stubb realize that Ahab had affected Starbuck?

  • Starbuck told him directly
  • Starbuck looked the way Stubb had previously felt
  • Flask reported it to him
  • He overheard Starbuck crying

What self-title does Stubb give himself in the soliloquy?

  • Brave Stubb
  • Wise Stubb
  • Lucky Stubb
  • Jolly Stubb

What does Stubb affectionately call his wife at home?

  • My sweet dove
  • My juicy little pear
  • My darling rose
  • My little sparrow

What does Stubb imagine his wife might be doing?

  • Sleeping peacefully
  • Working at a market
  • Either crying or giving a party
  • Writing him a letter

What is the subject of the song Stubb sings?

  • The dangers of the sea
  • Fleeting love compared to bubbles
  • A prayer for safe return
  • The glory of whale hunting

Who calls Stubb at the end of the chapter?

  • Captain Ahab
  • Mr. Starbuck
  • Flask
  • Queequeg

What literary form does Chapter 39 take?

  • A letter home
  • A dramatic soliloquy
  • A dialogue between two characters
  • A third-person narrative

In the sequence of Chapters 37-39, which character speaks in each soliloquy?

  • Ishmael, Queequeg, Stubb
  • Ahab, Starbuck, Stubb
  • Starbuck, Stubb, Flask
  • Ahab, Stubb, Starbuck

What does the word "solus" in the stage direction mean?

  • Sleeping
  • Singing
  • Alone
  • Standing

What does Stubb’s aside about Starbuck reveal?

  • That Stubb wants to be captain
  • That Starbuck is planning a mutiny
  • That the chain of command is rigid and each man answers to a superior
  • That Starbuck is afraid of Stubb

Comprehension Quiz

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