Chapter 40 - Midnight, Forecastle Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 40 - Midnight, Forecastle
What literary form does Melville use for Chapter 40?
A dramatic playlet, with stage directions, character labels, and dialogue—no narrator.
What song are the sailors singing when the chapter opens?
"Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish ladies!"—a traditional sea shanty.
What does the 1st Nantucket Sailor replace the sentimental song with?
A whaling ballad about harpooneers striking whales: "So, be cheery, my lads!"
What signal marks the change of the watch?
Eight bells, called from the quarter-deck by the Mate.
What does the Dutch Sailor credit for the crew's revelry?
"Our old Mogul's wine"—the drink Ahab served during the quarter-deck oath ceremony.
Who is asked to play the tambourine for the dancing?
Pip, the young Black boy from Alabama.
How does Pip initially respond when asked for his tambourine?
Sulkily and sleepily: "Don't know where it is."
Which sailor declines to dance because he is used to ice-floors?
The Iceland Sailor.
What does Tashtego do while the others dance?
He sits quietly smoking and observes, "That's a white man; he calls that fun: humph! I save my sweat."
What somber reminder does the Old Manx Sailor give the dancers?
He reminds them they are dancing over the sea's watery graves: "I'll dance over your grave, I will."
Which sailor makes a racist remark that provokes Daggoo?
The Spanish Sailor, who calls Daggoo's race "the undeniable dark side of mankind."
How does Daggoo respond to the Spanish Sailor's insult?
He springs at him, shouting "Swallow thine, mannikin! White skin, white liver!"
What stops the knife fight between Daggoo and the Spanish Sailor?
A sudden squall forces the mate to call all hands to reef the topsails.
What biblical reference does the Old Manx Sailor make about the fighting ring?
"In that ring Cain struck Abel"—linking the sailors' brawl to primordial violence.
What does Tashtego say about the simultaneous storm and fight?
"A row a'low, and a row aloft—Gods and men—both brawlers!"
Where does Pip hide during the squall?
Under the windlass on the forecastle.
What connection does Pip draw in his closing soliloquy?
He connects "white squalls" to the "white whale," recognizing the danger of Ahab's obsession.
What does Pip call Ahab in his soliloquy?
"That anaconda of an old man"—comparing Ahab to a constricting serpent.
To whom does Pip pray at the end of the chapter?
The "big white God aloft there somewhere in yon darkness," asking for mercy on "this small black boy."
What literary device is the rising storm an example of?
Pathetic fallacy—nature mirroring and amplifying human conflict.
What does the Tahitian Sailor nostalgically recall?
The "Heeva-Heeva" dances and the holy nakedness of Tahitian dancing girls, and his woven mat from home.
What order does Ahab give about handling squalls, according to the 4th Nantucket Sailor?
To always kill a squall by firing the ship right into it, like bursting a waterspout with a pistol.
What does the Old Manx Sailor say about the three pines (masts)?
That pines are the hardest trees to live when shifted to other soil, and here the only soil is the crew's cursed clay.