Chapter 73 - Stubb and Flask Kill a Right Whale and Then Have a Talk Over Him Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 73 - Stubb and Flask Kill a Right Whale and Then Have a Talk Over Him
Why does Ahab order the capture of a Right Whale?
So its head can be mounted opposite the Sperm Whale's head, which Fedallah claims will prevent the ship from capsizing.
Which two mates lead the boats to kill the Right Whale?
Stubb and Flask.
What superstition does Flask attribute to Fedallah?
A ship with a Sperm Whale's head on the starboard and a Right Whale's head on the larboard can never capsize.
What does Stubb believe Fedallah really is?
The devil in disguise.
What evidence does Stubb cite for Fedallah being the devil?
His snake-carved tusk, sleeping coiled in rigging instead of a hammock, and stuffing oakum in his boot-toes to hide a tail.
What "bargain" does Stubb think Fedallah is trying to make with Ahab?
That Ahab will trade his soul or silver watch in exchange for Fedallah helping him kill Moby Dick.
What story does Stubb tell about the devil and a man named John?
The devil asked a governor for John, was given permission, and afflicted John with Asiatic cholera.
What literary allusion does the Ahab-Fedallah relationship evoke?
The Faustian bargain—selling one's soul to the devil in exchange for worldly gain.
What happens when the Right Whale's head is hoisted opposite the Sperm Whale's?
The Pequod regains her even keel, though she is sorely strained.
What two philosophers does Melville reference in the balancing analogy?
John Locke (empiricism) and Immanuel Kant (idealism).
What advice does Melville give about the "thunder-heads"?
"Throw all these thunder-heads overboard, and then you will float light and right."
What is Fedallah doing at the close of the chapter?
Studying the wrinkles in the Right Whale's head and comparing them to the lines in his own palm, as if fortune-telling.
What symbolic image closes Chapter 73?
Fedallah's shadow blends with and lengthens Ahab's shadow, symbolizing their intertwined fates.
What does Stubb say he would do with Fedallah's tail if he grabbed it?
Sell it for an ox whip when they get home.
To what does Melville compare the ship carrying both whale heads?
A mule carrying a pair of overburdening panniers.
What biblical simile describes the sharks feeding on the Right Whale's blood?
They drank "as the eager Israelites did at the new bursting fountains that poured from the smitten rock."
What is "brit" as mentioned in the chapter?
Patches of yellow plankton or krill that signal the vicinity of Right Whales.
On which side of the ship is the Sperm Whale's head hoisted?
The starboard (right) side.
On which side is the Right Whale's head hoisted?
The larboard (port/left) side.
What does Flask say Stubb will "soon see" at the end of the hunt?
The Right Whale's head hoisted up opposite the Sperm Whale's ("parmacety's").