Chapter 77 - The Great Heidelburgh Tun Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 77 - The Great Heidelburgh Tun

What is the "Case" in the sperm whale's head?

  • The bony structure forming the cranium and jaws
  • The upper subdivision of the boneless mass that contains spermaceti
  • The lower honeycomb of oil called the junk
  • The thick tendinous wall separating the two halves

What famous object does Melville compare the whale's Case to?

  • The Colossus of Rhodes, a giant bronze statue
  • The Great Heidelburgh Tun, an enormous wine cask in Germany
  • Noah's Ark, the biblical vessel of great dimensions
  • The Rosetta Stone, a celebrated historical artifact

According to Melville, what does the junk resemble?

  • A solid block of ivory throughout its interior
  • One immense honeycomb of oil formed by tough elastic fibres
  • A spongy membrane filled with blood and water
  • A series of hollow chambers connected by cartilage

How many gallons of spermaceti does a large whale's Case typically yield?

  • About fifty gallons of pure liquid spermaceti
  • About one hundred gallons, with very little lost
  • About five hundred gallons, though much is lost in extraction
  • About one thousand gallons when properly harvested

What happens to spermaceti when exposed to air after the whale dies?

  • It evaporates quickly and must be collected immediately
  • It begins to solidify, forming beautiful crystalline shoots
  • It turns dark brown and develops a foul odor
  • It separates into oil and water and becomes useless

What fraction of the whale's total body length does the head occupy?

  • One quarter of the creature's total length
  • One third of the creature's total length
  • One half of the creature's total length
  • Two fifths of the creature's total length

What does Melville compare the inner lining of the Case to?

  • A coat of smooth dark leather with a waxy sheen
  • A silken pearl-colored membrane like the lining of a pelisse
  • A rough canvas that protects the spermaceti from leaking
  • A thin translucent skin like the membrane of a drum

What is a "quoin" as defined in Melville's footnote?

  • A cylindrical tube used to drain oil from the whale
  • A wedge-shaped solid with one steeply inclined side
  • A type of harpoon designed for cutting bone precisely
  • A nautical knot used to secure the whale head to the ship

Why must the whale operator be "uncommonly heedful" during decapitation?

  • Because the whale may still be alive and could thrash violently
  • Because the ropes might snap under the enormous weight of the head
  • Because a careless cut could breach the spermaceti reservoir and waste its contents
  • Because the crew members below might be struck by falling bone

In what state does spermaceti exist while the whale is still alive?

  • As a thick, waxy paste distributed evenly
  • As a perfectly fluid liquid substance
  • As hard crystalline chunks suspended in oil
  • As a gas-like vapor under high pressure

What does the real Heidelburgh Tun contain, according to the chapter?

  • The most excellent wines of the Rhenish valleys
  • Dark Bavarian beer brewed for the royal court
  • Pure spring water from the Black Forest region
  • Mead and honey wine from northern Germany

What does the chapter's final sentence foreshadow?

  • The discovery of ambergris inside the whale's body
  • A marvellous and almost fatal operation to tap the Case
  • The Pequod's first sighting of Moby Dick in the distance
  • A storm that nearly capsizes the ship during processing

How deep is the Case when hoisted lengthwise against the ship, for an eighty-foot whale?

  • About twelve feet in total measured depth
  • More than twenty-six feet from top to bottom
  • Approximately forty feet along the ship's hull
  • Roughly eight feet, barely reaching the rail

Where in the whale is pure spermaceti found, according to Melville?

  • Throughout the blubber layer beneath the skin
  • Exclusively in the Case of the whale's head
  • In both the junk and the Case in equal amounts
  • In the whale's intestinal tract and stomach lining

What makes the "hempen combinations" of the cutting tackles remarkable?

  • They are woven from rare imported Asian hemp fibers
  • They create "quite a wilderness of ropes" in that quarter of the ship
  • They can lift over ten thousand pounds without breaking
  • They are specially treated with whale oil to prevent fraying

Comprehension Quiz

Question 1 of 0
Score: 0 / 0
Read Chapter
← Previous Next →