Chapter 47 - The Mat-Maker Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 47 - The Mat-Maker
What practical task are Ishmael and Queequeg performing at the start of Chapter 47?
- Scrubbing the deck of the Pequod
- Weaving a sword-mat for their whaleboat
- Repairing a torn sail on the mainmast
- Sharpening harpoons for the coming hunt
In Ishmael's allegory, what do the fixed warp threads of the loom represent?
- Free will, the power to choose one's path
- Chance, the unpredictable force in life
- Necessity, the unalterable course of fate
- Memory, the unchanging record of the past
What does Ishmael's shuttle represent in the Loom of Time metaphor?
- Chance, the random force that shapes events
- Necessity, the fixed and immovable threads
- Free will, the ability to choose between threads
- Time, the steady progression of the universe
What does Queequeg's sword represent in Ishmael's weaving metaphor?
- Fate, the predetermined design of life
- Free will, directed by personal desire
- Chance, the unpredictable force shaping outcomes
- Justice, the moral order of the universe
According to Melville, which force ultimately "has the last featuring blow at events"?
- Necessity, which cannot be altered or defied
- Free will, which determines human choices
- Chance, though constrained by necessity and free will
- Divine providence, which governs all creation
Who first spots the school of sperm whales?
- Starbuck, the first mate on deck duty
- Ishmael, looking up from his mat-weaving
- Tashtego, stationed at the masthead cross-trees
- Ahab, watching from his cabin window
How does Ishmael describe the sound of Tashtego's whale-sighting cry?
- Sharp, commanding, and military in its precision
- Strange, long drawn, musically wild and unearthly
- Hoarse, guttural, and almost animal-like
- Calm, measured, and matter-of-fact in delivery
How far away are the whales when they are first spotted?
- Half a mile off the starboard bow
- About two miles off on the lee-beam
- Five miles ahead, directly in the ship's path
- Just under one mile to the windward side
What unique characteristic of sperm whales does the narrator mention?
- They breach higher than any other whale species
- They blow as regularly as a clock ticks
- They always travel in pairs rather than schools
- They can hold their breath longer than blue whales
What "deceitfulness" of the sperm whale does the narrator describe?
- Pretending to be dead to lure whalers close
- Sounding in one direction then swimming off in another
- Hiding among pods of other whale species
- Diving beneath ships to capsize them from below
What does Melville compare the three whaleboats to as they are swung over the sea?
- Three eagles poised over a mountain cliff
- Three samphire baskets over high cliffs
- Three birds suspended from invisible threads
- Three coffins lowered into open graves
What startling event occurs at the very end of Chapter 47?
- The whales attack the ship before boats are launched
- Starbuck refuses Ahab's order to lower the boats
- Five dusky phantoms appear around Captain Ahab
- A massive storm forces the crew to abandon the chase
What is Ishmael's role in the mat-weaving activity?
- He holds the loom steady for Queequeg to work
- He serves as Queequeg's attendant, using his hand as the shuttle
- He supervises the work while Queequeg does all the weaving
- He cuts the finished mat sections to the proper length
What mood pervades the ship before Tashtego's cry?
- Anxious tension as the crew anticipates danger
- Dreamy stillness, as if under a spell of enchantment
- Rowdy celebration after a successful previous hunt
- Bitter conflict between Ahab and the crew members
What does Ishmael compare Tashtego to as he peers from the masthead?
- A hunting hawk surveying the ocean for prey
- A prophet or seer beholding the shadows of Fate
- A lonely castaway searching for signs of rescue
- A Greek god watching over the mortal world below
Comprehension Quiz
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