Chapter 75 - The Right Whale's Head - Contrasted View Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 75 - The Right Whale's Head - Contrasted View

What does Ishmael compare the general shape of the Right Whale's head to?

  • A Roman war-chariot with a broadly rounded front, suggesting power and grandeur
  • A gigantic galliot-toed shoe, described as bearing a rather inelegant resemblance
  • An enormous bass viol with apertures in its sounding-board for the spout-holes
  • The trunk of a huge oak tree with a bird's nest settled in its crotch

What is the "crown" or "bonnet" on the Right Whale's head?

  • A smooth, polished dome of bone that gives the whale a regal profile when surfacing
  • A green, barnacled, comb-like incrustation on top of the head where live crabs nestle
  • A ridge of hardened skin that the whale uses to ram predators and rival males
  • A fatty deposit that stores nutrients for the whale during its long annual migrations

How large is the Right Whale's lower lip according to Ishmael's measurements?

  • About ten feet long and three feet deep, yielding roughly 200 gallons of oil
  • About twenty feet long and five feet deep, yielding roughly 500 gallons of oil
  • About thirty feet long and eight feet deep, yielding roughly 800 gallons of oil
  • About fifteen feet long and four feet deep, yielding roughly 350 gallons of oil

What biblical figure does Ishmael reference when entering the Right Whale's mouth?

  • Noah, wondering if this was the kind of vessel that survived the great flood
  • Jonah, asking "is this the road that Jonah went?" upon sliding through the lip
  • David, comparing the whale's mouth to the giant Goliath's fearsome jaws
  • Moses, likening the parted baleen plates to the parting of the Red Sea

What does Ishmael call the baleen plates inside the Right Whale's mouth?

  • "Ivory curtains" because of their white color and the way they hang in rows
  • "Venetian blinds" because of their slatted arrangement hanging from the upper jaw
  • "Cathedral arches" because of how they curve symmetrically to form the mouth roof
  • "Prison bars" because they trap the small fish that the whale feeds upon

How do some whalemen calculate the Right Whale's age?

  • By measuring the overall length of the whale from nose to tail against standard charts
  • By counting curious marks, curves, and ridges in the central baleen plates, like tree rings
  • By examining the wear patterns on the whale's teeth and the thickness of its gums
  • By weighing the blubber yield and comparing it to known age-weight correlations

During which historical period was whalebone most fashionable, according to Ishmael?

  • During the Elizabethan era, when ruffs and elaborate collars required stiff supports
  • During Queen Anne's time, when the farthingale was the height of fashion
  • During the Victorian era, when tightly laced corsets demanded the strongest materials
  • During the Renaissance, when sculptural bodices required flexible yet rigid framing

What modern item does Ishmael say is made from the same whalebone as corsets?

  • Walking canes, which require a flexible yet sturdy material for their shafts
  • The umbrella, described as "a tent spread over the same bone" used in fashion
  • Fishing rods, which benefit from the natural spring and flexibility of baleen
  • Eyeglass frames, which need a lightweight material that holds its shape firmly

What does the Right Whale's mouth interior remind Ishmael of when he sees the rows of baleen?

  • The interior of a Gothic cathedral with its ribbed vaulting and soaring stone columns
  • The inside of the great Haarlem organ, with its thousand pipes methodically arranged
  • A Roman colosseum with its tiered seating rising symmetrically on every side
  • A ship's hull turned upside down, with the ribs of the vessel arching overhead

How many external spout-holes does the Right Whale have compared to the Sperm Whale?

  • Both whales have a single spout-hole, but the Right Whale's is significantly larger
  • The Right Whale has two external spout-holes, while the Sperm Whale has only one
  • The Right Whale has one spout-hole, while the Sperm Whale has two smaller ones
  • Both whales have two spout-holes, but they are positioned differently on each head

Which anatomical feature does the Right Whale LACK that the Sperm Whale possesses?

  • A huge hanging lower lip that measures approximately twenty feet in length
  • Ivory teeth and a great well of sperm (spermaceti) inside the head cavity
  • Baleen plates arranged like Venetian blinds along both sides of the upper jaw
  • Two f-shaped external spout-holes on the summit of the head

How does Ishmael describe the Sperm Whale's expression in death?

  • Full of fierce defiance, as if still ready to charge any vessel that approaches
  • Full of "prairie-like placidity" and "speculative indifference as to death"
  • Showing "enormous practical resolution" as if grimly determined to face its end
  • Appearing deeply sorrowful, with wrinkles that suggest years of oceanic suffering

What philosophical labels does Ishmael assign to the two whales at the chapter's end?

  • The Right Whale is an Epicurean devoted to pleasure; the Sperm Whale is an Aristotelian naturalist
  • The Right Whale is a Stoic; the Sperm Whale is a Platonian who might have taken up Spinoza
  • The Right Whale is a Cynic rejecting society; the Sperm Whale is a Pythagorean mystic
  • The Right Whale is a Skeptic doubting all knowledge; the Sperm Whale is a Socratic questioner

What does Ishmael compare the Right Whale's tongue to?

  • A massive slab of marble covering the floor of an ancient Greek temple
  • A carpet of "the softest Turkey" rug, glued to the floor of the mouth
  • A thick mattress of sea-foam that cushions the whale's feeding mechanism
  • A slippery slide of blubber that helps the whale swallow large prey whole

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