Chapter 70 - The Sphynx Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 70 - The Sphynx

Why is beheading a sperm whale described as a "scientific anatomical feat"?

  • The whale's head is protected by an armored skull plate
  • The whale has no proper neck and the thickest part is where head and body join
  • The head must be removed underwater by divers
  • The whale's blood is toxic and must be avoided

How long does Stubb claim it takes him to behead a sperm whale?

  • Five minutes
  • Ten minutes
  • Twenty minutes
  • One hour

Approximately what fraction of a sperm whale's bulk does its head comprise?

  • One fifth
  • One quarter
  • One third
  • One half

To what biblical figure does Melville compare the whale head hanging from the Pequod?

  • Goliath
  • Holofernes
  • John the Baptist
  • Samson

What is the weather like when Ahab emerges on deck?

  • A violent storm
  • An intense copper calm
  • A freezing fog
  • A steady rain

What tool does Ahab use to lean over the whale head?

  • A harpoon
  • A boat hook
  • Stubb's long spade
  • A whaling lance

Ahab compares the whale's head to which mythological figure?

  • Medusa
  • The Sphinx
  • The Cyclops
  • The Minotaur

True or False: The whale head answers Ahab's command to speak.

  • True
  • False

According to Ahab, what has the whale head witnessed at the ocean's depths?

  • Undersea volcanic eruptions
  • Sunken navies, drowned sailors, and lovers who sank together
  • The white whale Moby Dick sleeping
  • Ancient sea monsters from mythology

What does Ahab say the head has seen enough to do?

  • "Sink a thousand ships"
  • "Split the planets and make an infidel of Abraham"
  • "Drown every sailor on the seven seas"
  • "Silence the voice of God himself"

What interrupts Ahab's soliloquy?

  • A sudden storm
  • Starbuck calling him to dinner
  • A cry of "Sail ho!" from the masthead
  • The whale head falling into the sea

How does Ahab react to the cry of "Sail ho!"?

  • He ignores it and continues his soliloquy
  • He becomes energized and says it "might almost convert a better man"
  • He angrily orders the crew to ignore the ship
  • He retreats to his cabin

Which saint does Ahab wish would come along the approaching ship's way?

  • St. Peter
  • St. Paul
  • St. Elmo
  • St. Francis

What philosophical idea does Ahab express at the chapter's end about Nature and the soul?

  • Nature is indifferent to human suffering
  • Every atom in matter has its "cunning duplicate in mind"
  • The soul dies with the body
  • God speaks through natural phenomena

Ahab's address to the whale head is an example of which literary device?

  • Metaphor
  • Apostrophe
  • Foreshadowing
  • Alliteration

Comprehension Quiz

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