Chapter 88 - Schools and Schoolmasters Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

by Herman Melville

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 88 - Schools and Schoolmasters

What are the two types of whale schools described in Chapter 88?

  • Harem schools and bachelor schools
  • Harem schools and all-male (Forty-barrel-bull) schools
  • Nursing schools and hunting schools
  • Migratory schools and stationary schools

What title is given to the dominant male leading a harem school?

  • The Grand Turk
  • The Bashaw
  • The Schoolmaster
  • The Ottoman

How large are female sperm whales compared to males, according to Ishmael?

  • About half the size
  • About one-third the bulk
  • About two-thirds the bulk
  • Nearly equal in size

To what type of ruler does Melville compare the schoolmaster whale?

  • A Roman emperor
  • An Ottoman sultan
  • A medieval European king
  • A Polynesian chief

What biblical figure is the schoolmaster compared to?

  • David
  • Moses
  • Solomon
  • Samson

Why do whalers rarely pursue Grand Turk schoolmaster whales?

  • They are too fast to catch
  • They are too dangerous to approach
  • They yield little oil because they expend too much energy
  • They are protected by the harem

What happens to the schoolmaster whale as he ages?

  • He is killed by a younger male
  • He disbands his harem and becomes a solitary whale
  • He joins an all-male school
  • He leads an even larger harem

To what American frontiersman does Ishmael compare the solitary aged whale?

  • Davy Crockett
  • Daniel Boone
  • Kit Carson
  • Meriwether Lewis

What comparison does Ishmael use for the Forty-barrel-bull schools?

  • A troop of soldiers
  • A mob of young collegians at Yale or Harvard
  • A pack of wolves
  • A fleet of pirate ships

What do the Forty-barrel-bulls do when they are about three-fourths grown?

  • They challenge the nearest schoolmaster
  • They migrate to the Arctic
  • They break up and individually seek harems
  • They form permanent bachelor pods

What happens when a male from a Forty-barrel-bull school is struck by whalers?

  • His companions attack the ship
  • His companions swim around him protectively
  • All his comrades immediately abandon him
  • The entire school dives deep

What happens when a female from a harem school is struck?

  • The schoolmaster attacks the ship
  • Her companions flee immediately
  • Her companions linger around her protectively, sometimes becoming prey themselves
  • The school sounds and disappears

Who is Vidocq, mentioned in this chapter?

  • A famous Dutch whaler
  • A French criminal turned detective who was once a schoolmaster
  • A Turkish sultan
  • A character from the Bible

Comprehension Quiz

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