Moby Dick Study Guide

1. In which inn does Ishmael stay while in New Bedford?

• The Swordfish
• The Crossed Harpoons
• The Trap
• The Spouter

2. Which character does Ishmael describe as "neither caterpillar nor butterfly"?

• Ahab
• Moby Dick
• Starbuck
• Queequeg

3. What is Ishmael's reason for signing up for a whaling voyage?

• He has lost his wife and has no reason to stay on land.
• He wishes to study cetology.
• He thinks that going to sea provides fresh exercise.
• He has debts that he must quickly repay.

4. To which historical person does Ishmael compare Queequeg?

• Julius Caesar
• Thomas Jefferson
• George Washington
• Oliver Cromwell

5. What happens after Ahab kicks Stubb in the leg?

• Ahab pulls a gun on Stubb.
• Ahab demotes Stubb from second mate to third.
• Stubb has a strange dream about the incident.
• Stubb breaks Ahabs' ivory leg.

6. Why is the hawk considered an ill omen?

• The hawk replicates the story of Tarquin.
• The hawk falls from the sky after stealing the hat.
• The hawk does not return Ahab's hat.
• The hawk foreshadows a mutiny on the Pequod.

7. Which character is not properly matched with his ethnicity?

• Fedallah: Persian
• Daggoo: African
• Tashtego: American Indian
• Queequeg: Australian Aboriginal

8. Which character chooses to rob the Rosebud of their whales for their ambergris?

• Fedallah
• Flask
• Stubb
• Starbuck

9. When Ahab receives his harpoon, which of the following does he not do?

• Claims that he wants it tempered with the blood of Daggoo, Tashtego and Queequeg
• Speaks in Latin
• Baptizes it "in the name of the father"
• Howls

10. Which of the following ships is a British whaling ship?

• The Virgin
• The Rosebud
• The Samuel Enderby
• The Rachel