Moby-Dick quiz

More questions about Moby-Dick

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   How does Ahab die?

   Answer: Caught in the harpoon line

   Why: Ahab is yanked out of his small whaleboat, so he does not go down aboard the sinking Pequod.

2. 2 Medium

   What does Ahab nail to the mast as a reward?

   Answer: A gold coin

   Why: Minted in Ecuador, the gold doubloon is stamped with three Andes peaks under an arch of zodiac signs.

3. 3 Hard

   Who falls into a whale's head and is saved by Queequeg?

   Answer: Tashtego

   Why: Queequeg turns Tashtego around inside the head so he comes out head first, just like a baby being delivered.

4. 4 Easy

   What keeps Ishmael afloat after the Pequod sinks?

   Answer: A coffin

   Why: Built for Queequeg during a fever he survived, the coffin first served him as a sea chest.

5. 5 Medium

   What is Ahab's false leg made of?

   Answer: Whale jawbone

   Why: The novel calls it an ivory leg, but that ivory is polished sperm whale jawbone, not an elephant's tusk.

6. 6 Hard

   How big a share of the profits is Ishmael promised?

   Answer: 1/300

   Why: Bildad first proposed a mere 777th share, until his partner Peleg pushed Ishmael's cut up to the 300th.