Moby Dick Reading Packet (2)
Chapters 17 and 18
abased – embarrassed
apoplectic – brought on by a stroke
appellative – a name
blandishments – coaxings
bulwarks – defensive walls
inordinate – excessive
ruminated – gave though
1. Why does Ishmael avoid returning to the room after signing on to the Pequod?
2. Why does Ishmael break the innkeeper’s bolt, and what does he find is wrong with
Queequeg?
3. Why does Captain Peleg argue that Queequeg should be hired?
Chapters 19 and 20
confluent – blended together
derisive – insulting
ineffable – beyond description
traps – belonging
1. What does the stranger say about Ahab?
2. Why does the stranger’s name affect Ishmael strongly?
3. What does Ishmael do with the stranger’s advice?
Chapters 21 and 22
benevolent – kind
capstan – a rotating cylinder
impertinent – insolent
imperturbable – unable to be annoyed
impudence – rude behavior
insinuating – edging oneself in
marquee – a large tent
ottomans – footstools
1. Who, besides Ishmael and Queequeg, sees the five vanishing sailors board the ship?
What subtle warning does he give?
2. How does Ishmael explain Ahab’s continued absence on deck?
3. What can be inferred by the last sentence in the chapter? (Think about fate)
Chapters 23 and 24
apotheosis – glorified ideal
carrion – decaying flesh
craven – cowardly
emulation – copying the nature of
epitaphs – inscriptions on cemetery
stones
intrepid – fearless
leeward – the sheltered side
plaudits – praise
puissant – powerful
succor – aid, comfort
vindictive – spiteful
1. What is Bulkington’s job aboard ship?
2. What job does Ishmael most closely associate with the professional whaler?
3. What good things does Ishmael list in defense of whaling?
Chapters 25 and 26
abasement – disgrace; belittlement
chronometer – timepiece
fain – gladly
ignominious – humiliating
palpably – able to be felt
substantiated – proved
superfluousness – the quality of being
overdone
vicissitudes – natural changes
1. What is Ishmael’s final interesting point in defense of the whaling industry?
2. Starbuck says, “I will have no man in my boat,...who is not afraid of a whale”.
What does Ishmael think of this?
3. What makes Starbuck “...as careful a man as you’ll find anywhere in this fishery”?
Chapters 27 and 28
conjunctures – a combination of events
fortitude – strength
peremptory – ending all argument
perturbation – agitation
preternatural – out of the natural
pugnacious – eager to quarrel
unvitiated – unspoiled
waggish – playful
1. How do each of these men view the whale and go about their jobs: Flask, Stubb,
and Starbuck?
2. Who is Pip?
3. What is Captain Ahab’s most prominent facial feature? What caused it? What
impression does Ishmael get of Ahab?
4. What, in Ishmael’s opinion, brings Ahab out from his cabin?
Chapters 29, 30, and 31
confoundedly – in a confused manner
cudgeling – beating
deprecate – belittle, disapprove
haughty – snobbish
sentinelled – kept watch
soliloquized – talked to oneself
taffrail – rail around stern end of boat
winsome – charming
1. What prompts Stubb to approach Ahab? What is Ahab’s reaction?
2. Why does Ahab toss his pipe into the ocean? What does this show us about him?
3. Who does Stubb tell about his encounter with Ahab, which he calls a “dream”?
What does the other man feel about Ahab’s reprimand to Stubb?
4. Stub decided to view the whole conflict as a dream; what piece of wisdom does
Stubb take from his dream?
Chapters 32 and 33
abridged – limited
covenant – an agreement
impenetrable – unable to be entered
moot – questionable
subalterns – low-ranking workers
surmise – a guess
vigilance – constant watchfulness
1. Why does Ishmael discredit the work of more than half of his listed experts on
Cetology?
2. Why does Ishmael discount Captain Scoresby?
3. According to Ishmael’s system of classification, what type of animal is a whale?
4. Which type of whale, according to Ishmael, is the most profitable to hunt?
5. What, according to Ishmael, is the “grand distinction” between officers and
seamen?
Chapters 34 and 35
expatiate – to speak at length
inclement – severe
languor – laziness
portentous – foreboding
progenitors – ancestors
serene – calm
sleight – skill
tabernacle – an honored dwelling place
tumult – confusion
1. Describe their dinner procedures.
2. What does it mean when a sailor “stood his mast head”?
3. What about the Glacier separates it from other whaling ships?
4. In your opinion, why does Ishmael react as he does to the idea of the crow’s-nest?
5. What advice does Ishmael give to ship owners looking to hire sailors?