Chapter 79 - The Prairie Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 79 - The Prairie
What two pseudo-sciences does Ishmael attempt to apply to the Sperm Whale in Chapter 79?
- Astronomy and astrology, using the whale's position in the sea to chart celestial movements
- Physiognomy and phrenology, reading character from facial features and skull shape respectively
- Anatomy and taxonomy, classifying the whale by its internal organs and skeletal structure
- Geology and paleontology, comparing the whale's form to ancient fossils and rock formations
To what does Ishmael compare the task of examining the whale's face?
- A sailor trying to navigate by the stars during a hurricane with no compass or chart
- A painter attempting to capture the ocean in a single brushstroke on a tiny canvas
- Lavater scrutinizing the Rock of Gibraltar and Gall manipulating the dome of the Pantheon
- An architect designing a cathedral without any knowledge of stone, wood, or engineering
What facial feature does Ishmael note is entirely absent from the Sperm Whale?
- Eyes, which are hidden so deep in the skull that they are invisible from the outside
- Ears, which have been sealed over by evolution to protect against deep-sea pressure
- A proper nose, which is normally the central and most conspicuous feature of a face
- A mouth, which is concealed beneath the lower jaw and cannot be seen from the front
How does Ishmael characterize the whale's lack of a nose?
- As a tragic deformity that makes the whale pitiable and diminished in the eyes of observers
- As "an added grandeur" — a nose would be "impertinent" on a creature of such stately proportions
- As proof that the whale is an inferior creature incapable of the dignity possessed by humans
- As a mystery of evolution that future scientists may one day be able to explain fully
Which famous sculptor's statue of Jove does Ishmael reference when discussing the whale's missing nose?
- Michelangelo's, the Renaissance master who sculpted David and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling
- Praxiteles', the ancient Greek sculptor renowned for his naturalistic marble figures of deities
- Phidias', the ancient Greek sculptor whose marble Jove would be ruined without its nose
- Bernini's, the Baroque sculptor whose dramatic works include the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
What word does Ishmael use to describe the full front view of the Sperm Whale's head?
- Grotesque, suggesting something distorted and monstrous that repels the observer with dread
- Picturesque, evoking a visually charming scene like a landscape painting of natural beauty
- Sublime, indicating awe-inspiring grandeur that transcends ordinary aesthetic experience
- Melancholy, conveying a deep sadness inherent in the whale's featureless, blank expression
Which two historical figures does Ishmael cite as having exceptionally impressive foreheads?
- Homer and Virgil, the ancient epic poets whose works defined Western literary tradition
- Napoleon and Caesar, military conquerors whose broad brows signified strategic brilliance
- Shakespeare and Melancthon, whose foreheads rise so high their eyes seem like mountain lakes
- Plato and Aristotle, the Greek philosophers whose intellectual foreheads embodied pure reason
What does Ishmael say one feels when gazing at the full front of the whale's forehead?
- A sense of pity and compassion for the creature's lonely existence in the vast ocean depths
- The Deity and the dread powers more forcibly than in beholding any other living object
- An overwhelming desire to hunt and conquer the beast to prove humanity's dominance over nature
- Scientific curiosity and the urge to measure, classify, and catalog every ridge and wrinkle
What does the horizontal depression in the whale's forehead signify, according to Lavater?
- A sign of dangerous aggression and violent temperament that should warn approaching vessels
- Evidence of extreme age, with each groove representing decades of the whale's long life
- The mark of genius, which in a man indicates extraordinary intellectual ability
- A structural weakness in the skull that makes the whale vulnerable to harpoon strikes
How does Ishmael define the Sperm Whale's genius?
- Through its ability to communicate with other whales across vast distances using complex songs
- Through its cunning ability to evade whalers and destroy their boats with calculated strikes
- Through doing nothing particular to prove it and through its "pyramidical silence"
- Through its migration patterns, which demonstrate sophisticated navigational intelligence
Why does Ishmael say ancient civilizations would have deified the Sperm Whale?
- Because they worshipped the tongueless crocodile of the Nile, and the whale is likewise tongueless
- Because the whale's size exceeds any animal the ancient world had ever documented or described
- Because the whale's white color would have matched their conception of divine purity and light
- Because ancient peoples believed all sea creatures were manifestations of ocean deities
Who is Champollion, and why does Ishmael reference him?
- A French whaler who claimed to understand whale behavior but was ultimately proven wrong
- A French scholar who deciphered hieroglyphics, invoked to say no one can similarly decipher faces
- A Greek philosopher who argued that animals possess souls equal in complexity to human souls
- An Egyptian priest who was said to communicate with sacred crocodiles through silent meditation
What is Ishmael's ultimate conclusion about physiognomy in this chapter?
- It is a valid science that works for humans but simply cannot be applied to whales due to their size
- It is a promising field that needs more research before it can be applied to marine animals
- It is "but a passing fable" — a temporary human illusion, no more reliable than any other science
- It is the most effective method for understanding animals but fails when applied to humans
What does the chapter's final line — "I but put that brow before you. Read it if you can" — challenge the reader to do?
- Travel to see a real Sperm Whale in person and attempt the physiognomical reading Ishmael abandoned
- Interpret the whale's brow and, by extension, the deeper meaning of the novel Ishmael is narrating
- Study the works of Lavater and Gall so they can succeed where Ishmael has admittedly failed
- Accept that whales are merely animals with no deeper significance beyond their physical existence
Comprehension Quiz
Question 1 of 0
Score: 0 / 0