Chapter 62 - The Dart Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 62 - The Dart
What is the standard position of the harpooneer before the whale is struck?
The harpooneer pulls the foremost oar (the harpooneer-oar) while the headsman serves as temporary steersman at the stern.
What is a "long dart" in whaling terminology?
A harpoon throw made from a distance of twenty or thirty feet, requiring the heavy implement to be flung rather than thrust.
What must the harpooneer do besides row during the whale chase?
He must shout loud and intrepid exclamations to motivate the rest of the crew, setting an example of superhuman activity.
What command signals the harpooneer to throw?
"Stand up, and give it to him!" — at which point the exhausted harpooneer must drop his oar, turn around, and hurl the harpoon.
How many successful darts does Ishmael estimate occur out of fifty fair chances?
Fewer than five out of fifty — less than a ten percent success rate across the whole fleet of whalemen.
What physical harm does Ishmael say some harpooneers suffer?
Some harpooneers actually burst their blood vessels in the boat from the extreme exertion of rowing and then throwing.
What happens to harpooneers who miss their throws?
They are "madly cursed and disrated" — publicly berated and demoted from their position.
What economic consequence does Ishmael link to the harpooneer system?
Some sperm whalemen are absent four years with only four barrels of oil, and many ship owners find whaling a losing concern.
What does Ishmael mean when he says "it is the harpooneer that makes the voyage"?
The success or failure of an entire whaling expedition depends on the harpooneer landing his throw, so exhausting him beforehand undermines the whole venture.
What happens when the dart is successful and the whale starts to run?
The headsman and harpooneer must swap positions while the boat is in motion — the headsman moves to the bow and the harpooneer takes the steering oar.
Why is the position swap during the whale run dangerous?
They must run fore and aft past each other "to the imminent jeopardy of themselves and every one else" while the whale is pulling the boat.
What is the headsman's proper role once he reaches the bow?
He is the chief officer of the whale-boat who takes his station in the bows to lance and kill the whale.
What reform does Ishmael propose for whale-boat procedure?
The headsman should stay in the bows from first to last, darting both the harpoon and the lance, with no rowing expected of him.
What trade-off does Ishmael acknowledge in his proposed reform?
It would sometimes involve a slight loss of speed in the chase, since one fewer man would be rowing.
According to Ishmael, what is the main cause of failure in the fishery?
Not the speed of the whale, but the exhaustion of the harpooneer — the man is spent before the crucial moment.
What does the chapter's final aphorism say about efficiency?
"To insure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooneers of this world must start to their feet from out of idleness, and not from out of toil."
What does "nervous arm" mean in the context of this chapter?
A strong, sinewy arm — "nervous" here uses the archaic meaning of muscular or vigorous, not anxious.
What is a "crotch" in whaling terminology as used here?
A forked rest or notched bracket in the bow of the whale-boat that holds the harpoon ready for use.
What tone does Ishmael adopt in this chapter?
A practical, argumentative, and reformist tone — he speaks from personal experience and advocates for a specific change in whaling procedure.
How does Chapter 62 connect to the previous chapter?
It opens by explaining "an incident in the last chapter," providing context for why the headsman and harpooneer had to change places during the whale chase.