Chapter 79 - The Prairie Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 79 - The Prairie
What two pseudo-sciences does Ishmael attempt to apply to the Sperm Whale in Chapter 79?
Physiognomy (reading character from facial features) and phrenology (reading character from skull bumps).
Who is Lavater, and how does Ishmael reference him?
Johann Kaspar Lavater was a Swiss physiognomist. Ishmael notes Lavater studied faces of horses, birds, serpents, and fish, justifying his own attempt on the whale.
Who are Gall and Spurzheim?
Franz Joseph Gall founded phrenology, and Johann Gaspar Spurzheim was his disciple. They "threw out some hints touching the phrenological characteristics of other beings than man."
What comparison does Ishmael use to show the absurdity of reading the whale's face?
He compares it to Lavater scrutinizing the wrinkles on the Rock of Gibraltar and Gall mounting a ladder to manipulate the dome of the Pantheon.
What is "anomalous" about the Sperm Whale's face, according to Ishmael?
The whale has no proper nose, and since the nose is the central and most conspicuous facial feature, its absence makes the whale physiognomically anomalous.
What analogy does Ishmael use for a face without a nose?
A landscape without a spire, cupola, monument, or tower — or dashing the nose from Phidias's marble Jove, leaving "a sorry remainder."
Why does Ishmael say a nose on the whale would be "impertinent"?
Because the whale's proportions are so stately and magnificent that a nose would be an undignified, unnecessary addition rather than a missing feature.
What humorous observation does Ishmael make about sailing around the whale's head?
"Your noble conceptions of him are never insulted by the reflection that he has a nose to be pulled."
What single word does Ishmael use to describe the front view of the Sperm Whale's head?
"Sublime" — "This aspect is sublime."
What three animals' brows does Ishmael compare before discussing the whale?
The human brow ("like the East when troubled with the morning"), the bull's curled brow, and the elephant's majestic brow pushing cannon up mountains.
Which two famous humans does Ishmael cite for having exceptionally high foreheads?
Shakespeare and Melancthon (Philip Melanchthon, the German reformer), whose foreheads "rise so high, and descend so low" that their eyes seem like "eternal, tideless mountain lakes."
What does Ishmael see in the front view of the whale's forehead?
"One broad firmament of a forehead, pleated with riddles; dumbly lowering with the doom of boats, and ships, and men."
What mark does the whale bear in profile, according to Lavater?
A horizontal, semi-crescentic depression in the forehead's middle, which Lavater considered "the mark of genius."
How does Ishmael define the whale's genius?
"His great genius is declared in his doing nothing particular to prove it. It is moreover declared in his pyramidical silence."
What does "pyramidical silence" suggest about the whale?
A monumental, ancient, inscrutable quietness — like the pyramids of Egypt — that conveys grandeur without speech or action.
Why does Ishmael say ancient peoples would have deified the whale?
Because they deified the tongueless crocodile of the Nile, and the Sperm Whale is likewise tongueless (or nearly so), silent, and majestic.
Who is Champollion, and why does Ishmael reference him?
Jean-François Champollion deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics. Ishmael says there is no equivalent Champollion who can decode "the Egypt of every man's and every being's face."
Who is Sir William Jones in the chapter?
A famous British polyglot who could read thirty languages. Ishmael argues that even Jones "could not read the simplest peasant's face in its profounder and more subtle meanings."
What does Ishmael conclude about physiognomy?
"Physiognomy, like every other human science, is but a passing fable."
What is the "awful Chaldee of the Sperm Whale's brow"?
A metaphor comparing the whale's forehead wrinkles to ancient Chaldean script — a language so old and mysterious that no one can decipher it.
What is the chapter's final line, and what does it mean?
"I but put that brow before you. Read it if you can." Ishmael surrenders interpretation to the reader, implying the whale's meaning — and the text itself — may be beyond full comprehension.
Why is this chapter titled "The Prairie"?
The title metaphorically describes the whale's broad, flat, vast forehead — an open expanse like the American prairie.
What does Phidias refer to in the chapter?
The ancient Greek sculptor who created the famous statue of Zeus (Jove) at Olympia. Ishmael imagines dashing the nose from this statue to illustrate what a face looks like without one.