Chapter 67 - Cutting In Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 67 - Cutting In

On what day does the cutting in process take place aboard the Pequod?

  • A weekday evening, with the crew working by lantern light through the night
  • A Saturday night extending into the Sabbath, making the whalemen Sabbath breakers
  • A Monday morning, immediately after the whale was first sighted and killed
  • A Friday afternoon, with the work completed before the traditional day of rest

What does Ishmael compare the Pequod to during the cutting in process?

  • A forge or ironworks, with sparks flying and metal clanging on the deck
  • A hospital ward, with the mates performing surgery on the whale's carcass
  • A shamble or slaughterhouse, with every sailor turned into a butcher
  • A cathedral, with the crew performing a sacred ritual over the dead whale

Where is the main block of the cutting tackles lashed aboard the ship?

  • To the bowsprit, extending out over the water where the whale floats alongside
  • To the capstan on the main deck, providing a central anchor for the tackle
  • To the lower mast-head at the main-top, the strongest point above the deck
  • To the stern rail, allowing the whale to be stripped from behind the ship

Approximately how much does the great blubber hook weigh?

  • About twenty-five pounds, light enough for one man to handle with effort
  • Roughly fifty pounds, requiring two men to maneuver it into position
  • Some one hundred pounds, too heavy for casual handling by the crew
  • Over two hundred pounds, needing the windlass just to move the hook itself

Which two officers cut the blubber with long spades while suspended over the side?

  • Ahab and Flask, the captain and third mate working together on the task
  • Starbuck and Stubb, the first and second mates armed with long spades
  • Queequeg and Tashtego, the experienced harpooneers wielding their spades
  • Stubb and Flask, the second and third mates directing the operation

What happens to the Pequod when the crew first begins heaving at the windlass?

  • The ship surges forward, dragged by the weight of the whale still in the water
  • The ship careens over on her side, every bolt starts, and the mast-heads tremble
  • The ship settles lower in the water as the blubber weight transfers to the deck
  • The ship spins slowly in place, pivoting around the whale tied alongside

To what fruit does Ishmael compare the whale when describing how the blubber is removed?

  • A coconut, with the blubber cracked off in hard, irregular pieces from the body
  • A banana, with the blubber pulled away in long strips from stem to stern
  • An orange, with the blubber stripped off by spiralizing it like peeling rind
  • A watermelon, with the blubber sliced away in thick, heavy wedges

What is the "scarf" in the context of this chapter's whaling process?

  • A cloth tied around the mates' faces to protect them from the whale's blood
  • The line along which the blubber uniformly peels off, cut by the mates' spades
  • A knot used to secure the blubber hook to the lower block of the tackle
  • The initial incision made near the whale's tail to begin the stripping process

What danger does the hoisted mass of blubber pose to the crew on deck?

  • It may catch fire from the nearby try-works, engulfing the deck in flames
  • It may snap the mast from the sheer weight pulling downward on the rigging
  • It may swing and box a man's ears and pitch him headlong overboard
  • It may split open and flood the deck with oil, making the surface treacherous

What weapon does the harpooneer use to sever the blubber strip?

  • A long-handled cutting spade, the same tool used by the mates for scarfing
  • A standard harpoon, repurposed for slicing through the thick blubber mass
  • A boarding-sword, described as a long, keen weapon wielded with precision
  • A broad-bladed flensing knife, traditionally used in Arctic whaling operations

What is a "blanket-piece" in the cutting in process?

  • The first thin layer of blubber closest to the whale's skin, peeled off separately
  • The long upper strip of blubber that is severed and swung clear for lowering
  • A protective covering placed over the hatchway to keep oil from spilling below
  • The final piece of blubber cut from near the whale's tail at the end of the process

What is the blubber-room, and what happens there?

  • A room on the upper deck where blubber is minced into thin slices for the try-pots
  • An unfurnished parlor below the main hatchway where hands coil the blanket-piece
  • A storage hold at the ship's bow where barrels of rendered oil are kept sealed
  • A heated compartment near the try-works where blubber is softened before boiling

What simile does Ishmael use to describe the blanket-piece being coiled in the blubber-room?

  • Like a great anchor chain being wound around the capstan drum below decks
  • Like a bolt of heavy sailcloth being rolled for storage in the ship's hold
  • Like a great live mass of plaited serpents being coiled by nimble hands
  • Like a thick hempen rope being stowed in neat flemish coils on the deck

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