Chapter 83 - Jonah Historically Regarded Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 83 - Jonah Historically Regarded
What biblical story does Chapter 83 examine?
The story of Jonah and the whale, investigating its historical plausibility from a skeptical perspective.
Who is the main skeptic in Chapter 83?
An old Sag-Harbor whaleman who raises practical objections to the Jonah story based on his whaling experience.
What ancient skeptics does Ishmael compare the Nantucketers to?
Skeptical Greeks and Romans who doubted the stories of Hercules and the whale, and Arion and the dolphin.
What feature in Sag-Harbor's old Bible illustration leads to his first objection?
The illustration shows Jonah's whale with two spouts in its head, a feature only true of the Right Whale.
Why does the Right Whale's anatomy make swallowing Jonah implausible?
The Right Whale's swallow is so small that fishermen say "a penny roll would choke him."
What is Bishop Jebb's counter-argument about Jonah and the whale?
That Jonah was not swallowed but was "temporarily lodged in some part of his mouth."
How large does Ishmael say a Right Whale's mouth is?
Large enough to accommodate a couple of whist-tables and comfortably seat all the players.
Could Jonah have hidden in the whale's hollow tooth?
No. Ishmael considers this possibility but notes that "the Right Whale is toothless."
What is Sag-Harbor's second objection to the Jonah story?
That the whale's gastric juices would have destroyed Jonah's body during his incarceration.
What does the German exegetist suggest about Jonah?
That Jonah took refuge in the floating body of a dead whale, like French soldiers who crawled into dead horses during the Russian campaign.
What alternative explanations do "continental commentators" offer for the whale?
That Jonah escaped to another vessel with a whale for a figurehead, or that the biblical "whale" merely meant a life-preserver—an inflated bag of wind.
What is Sag-Harbor's geographical objection about the Jonah story?
Jonah was swallowed in the Mediterranean but vomited up within three days' journey of Nineveh, a city on the Tigris far from any coast.
What route does a Portuguese priest suggest the whale took?
Around the Cape of Good Hope, circumnavigating all of Africa to reach Nineveh via the Persian Gulf.
Why does Melville say the Cape of Good Hope route would "make modern history a liar"?
It would wrest the honor of discovering the Cape from Bartholomew Diaz, its reputed discoverer.
What does Ishmael blame Sag-Harbor's skepticism on?
His "foolish pride of reason" and "abominable, devilish rebellion against the reverend clergy."
What is ironic about Ishmael's condemnation of Sag-Harbor?
Ishmael uses the language of orthodox piety to defend increasingly absurd counter-arguments, suggesting he actually sides with the skeptic.
What do the "highly enlightened Turks" believe, according to the chapter?
They devoutly believe in the historical story of Jonah and have built a mosque in his honor.
What miraculous detail is associated with the Turkish mosque honoring Jonah?
It contains a miraculous lamp that burns without any oil.
What is an "exegetist" as used in the chapter?
A scholar who interprets or explains texts, particularly religious scriptures like the Bible.
What literary technique dominates Chapter 83?
Sustained irony and satire, using mock-serious defense of absurd arguments to critique biblical literalism.
How does Chapter 83 connect to Moby-Dick's cetological project?
It uses real whale anatomy (the Right Whale's small throat, toothless mouth, large oral cavity) to test the plausibility of a biblical narrative.