Chapter 49 - The Hyena Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 49 - The Hyena
What event has just occurred before Chapter 49 opens?
Ishmael's whaleboat was swamped during a squall while chasing a whale, and Ishmael was the last man dragged aboard the Pequod.
What mood does Ishmael describe at the opening of the chapter?
A mood in which the entire universe seems like a vast practical joke, and nothing seems worth disputing—a genial, desperado philosophy bred by extreme tribulation.
What metaphor does Ishmael use for someone who accepts all hardships without complaint?
An ostrich of potent digestion that gobbles down bullets and gun flints.
What does Queequeg say when Ishmael asks if capsizings happen often?
He confirms without much emotion that such things do often happen.
What does Ishmael ask Stubb about Starbuck's prudence?
He asks if sailing directly at a whale in a foggy squall represents the height of a careful whaleman's discretion.
What is Stubb's response about dangerous whaling?
He says he has lowered for whales from a leaking ship in a gale off Cape Horn, implying Starbuck's actions are tame by comparison.
What does Flask confirm about the oarsmen's role?
That it is an unalterable law of the fishery for an oarsman to row backwards (back-foremost) into death's jaws.
What nickname does Ishmael use for Flask?
King-Post, referring to Flask's short, solid stature.
What does Ishmael decide to do after hearing his crewmates' testimonies?
He decides to go below and make a rough draft of his will.
What three roles does Ishmael ask Queequeg to fill?
Lawyer, executor, and legatee.
How many times has Ishmael made a will in his nautical career?
Four times, including this occasion.
What biblical figure does Ishmael compare himself to after writing his will?
Lazarus, who lived again after his resurrection—Ishmael feels his remaining days are a supplementary clean gain.
What does Ishmael mean by saying 'I survived myself'?
He means that by writing his will and accepting his mortality, he has symbolically already died; his death and burial are locked up in his chest.
How does Ishmael feel after completing his will?
He feels relieved, as though a stone was rolled away from his heart, and describes himself as a quiet ghost with a clean conscience in a snug family vault.
What is the 'genial, desperado philosophy' Ishmael describes?
A free and easy attitude bred by the perils of whaling, in which one accepts death with humor and indifference rather than fear.
Why does the chapter's title reference a hyena?
The hyena suggests wild, reckless laughter in the face of danger—the dark humor Ishmael adopts when he views the universe as a practical joke.
What does Ishmael say about death in his desperado mood?
Death itself seems only a sly, good-natured hit and a jolly punch in the side bestowed by an unseen and unaccountable old joker.
What is Ishmael's final resolution at the end of the chapter?
He rolls up his sleeves and declares 'here goes for a cool, collected dive at death and destruction, and the devil fetch the hindmost.'
Who does Ishmael blame for the particular disaster to his boat?
He imputes it chiefly to Starbuck's driving on to the whale almost in the teeth of a squall.
What irony does Ishmael note about Starbuck?
That Starbuck is famous for his great heedfulness in the fishery, yet it was his reckless decision to chase in a squall that nearly killed them.