Chapter 93 - The Castaway Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 93 - The Castaway
What is Pip's full name?
Pippin, nicknamed Pip.
Where is Pip originally from?
Tolland County, Connecticut.
What instrument does Pip play aboard the Pequod?
A tambourine.
Why is Pip placed in Stubb's whaleboat?
Stubb's regular after-oarsman sprains his hand during the ambergris affair, and Pip is put in as a temporary replacement.
What causes Pip to jump out of the boat the first time?
A harpooned whale raps the bottom of the boat directly beneath Pip's seat, terrifying him.
What happens when Pip jumps the first time?
He becomes entangled in the whale line around his chest and neck, and the crew must cut the line to save him, losing the whale.
Who asks "Cut?" when Pip is tangled in the whale line?
Tashtego, who stands in the bows with the boat-knife.
What does Stubb tell Pip a whale is worth compared to him?
Stubb says a whale would sell for thirty times what Pip would bring in Alabama.
What is the significance of Stubb's reference to "Alabama"?
It is a chilling allusion to the slave trade, reducing Pip's human worth to a market price.
What does Stubb threaten will happen if Pip jumps again?
He threatens not to pick Pip up, saying "Stick to the boat, Pip, or by the Lord, I won't pick you up if you jump."
What happens when Pip jumps the second time?
Stubb keeps his word and leaves Pip behind on the open sea. Pip is described as "like a hurried traveller's trunk."
Did Stubb actually intend to abandon Pip permanently?
No. He assumed the two boats following in his wake would quickly rescue Pip, but they turned to chase whales and never saw him.
How is Pip eventually rescued?
By the merest chance, the Pequod itself rescues him.
What happens to Pip after his rescue?
He goes about the deck as an idiot, according to his shipmates. His soul has been transformed by the experience.
What does Melville say the sea did to Pip's soul?
The sea "kept his finite body up, but drowned the infinite of his soul" and carried it down to wondrous depths.
What does Pip see in the depths, according to Melville?
He sees "God's foot upon the treadle of the loom" and the coral insects that heave the colossal orbs out of the firmament of waters.
What does Melville mean by "man's insanity is heaven's sense"?
That what appears as madness to human reason may actually be divine understanding or celestial truth.
What metaphor does Melville use to describe Pip's brightness being revealed through suffering?
The diamond metaphor: a jeweler places a diamond against a gloomy background and lights it with unnatural gases to reveal its most impressive lustre.
What are "shipkeepers" on a whale ship?
Crew members reserved to work the vessel while the boats are out pursuing whales, often the weakest or most timid sailors.
How does Melville compare Pip and Dough-Boy?
They match in outer aspect "like a black pony and a white one, of equal developments, though of dissimilar color," but Dough-Boy is dull while Pip is bright.
What whaling motto does Stubb share with Pip?
"Stick to the boat" is the true motto in whaling, though sometimes "Leap from the boat" is better.
How does Pip's madness contrast with Ahab's?
Ahab's madness is one of prideful excess of self; Pip's is a madness of total loss of self and dissolution into cosmic awareness.
What does Melville describe Pip's head looking like as he bobs in the ocean?
"Pip's ebon head showed like a head of cloves."