Chapter 45 - The Affidavit Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 45 - The Affidavit
Why does Ishmael title this chapter "The Affidavit"?
Because he presents his evidence as though swearing a legal oath, providing sworn testimony to prove the plausibility of the White Whale story.
What does Ishmael fear readers will think about Moby Dick?
That they will dismiss the White Whale as "a monstrous fable, or still worse and more detestable, a hideous and intolerable allegory."
How many instances does Ishmael personally know of whales being re-struck by the same whaler?
Three instances. In two he saw the whales struck; in the three-year instance he was in the boat both times.
How were re-struck whales identified as the same individual?
By harpoon irons still embedded in the whale, marked with the same private cypher (personal mark) of the whaler.
What identifying feature did Ishmael recognize on a whale after three years?
A peculiar sort of huge mole under the whale's eye.
Name the four famous whales Ishmael lists by name.
Timor Tom, New Zealand Jack, Morquan (King of Japan), and Don Miguel (the Chilean whale).
What was distinctive about Morquan's spout?
His lofty jet at times assumed the semblance of a snow-white cross against the sky.
What marked Don Miguel's back?
Mystic hieroglyphics, like an old tortoise.
What happened to New Zealand Tom and Don Miguel?
They were systematically hunted out, chased, and killed by valiant whaling captains who set out specifically to destroy them.
What ship was sunk by a whale in 1820?
The Essex, a Nantucket whaler commanded by Captain Pollard.
Who was Owen Chase?
The chief mate of the Essex who wrote a firsthand narrative of the whale attack. Melville met his son and read the account.
How did the whale sink the Essex?
It bore directly down upon the ship and dashed its forehead against the hull, staving it in so that it settled and fell over in less than ten minutes.
What happened to Captain Pollard after the Essex sinking?
He commanded another ship but was shipwrecked again on unknown rocks. He forswore the sea and became a permanent resident of Nantucket.
What ship was lost off the Azores in 1807?
The ship Union, also of Nantucket, was totally lost in a similar whale attack.
What happened to the skeptical naval Commodore?
After denying that any whale could damage his sloop-of-war, a sperm whale struck his ship so hard he had to make for the nearest port with all pumps going.
Who was Captain D'Wolf and what was his relation to Melville?
A New England sea captain mentioned in Langsdorff's Voyages whose ship was lifted out of the water by a whale. He was Melville's uncle.
What did Langsdorff describe a whale doing to a ship?
Setting up its back and raising the ship three feet out of the water, causing the masts to reel and the sails to fall.
Who was Procopius and what did he record?
A sixth-century Byzantine Christian magistrate who recorded a great sea-monster that destroyed vessels in the Sea of Marmora for over fifty years during Justinian's reign.
What kind of whale does Ishmael believe Procopius's sea-monster was?
A sperm whale, because it destroyed ships and because sperm whales have been found in the Mediterranean in modern times.
What three main claims does Ishmael seek to prove in this chapter?
(1) Individual whales can be recognized and re-encountered; (2) certain whales become famous; (3) sperm whales can deliberately destroy large ships.
What Biblical figure does Ishmael compare the Commodore's conversion to?
Saul of Tarsus, who was converted from unbelief by a similar fright.
What Solomon quotation does Ishmael invoke at the end of the chapter?
"Verily there is nothing new under the sun," suggesting whale attacks are repetitions of ancient events.
According to Ishmael, why do most whale-related deaths go unreported?
Because "the mails are very irregular between here and New Guinea"—whalers die in remote seas far from newspapers and public record.
What plea does Ishmael make about lamps and candles?
"Be economical with your lamps and candles! not a gallon you burn, but at least one drop of man's blood was spilled for it."