The Spirit Spout
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Introduction |
More mysticism and ambiguity. |
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Questions |
Pick one of the following questions |
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Ahab is said to walk on both life and death. How is this so? How is the spirit spout described? is it like all of nature (or the sea from chapter 1? Explain. How does Ishmael personify the sea near the Cape of Good Hope? |
The Albatross
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Introduction |
A strange chapter, as two boats pass each other |
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Questions |
Answer one of the following questions •What does the ship look like as it passes? •Why doesn’t Ishmael look forward to going around the world? Why has his opinion changed? |
The Gam
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Introduction |
This is a great old word, looking for a use in the nineties. |
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Questions |
Answer one of the following questions •What is a Gam? Why should Ahab stop? •Why don’t other ships do it? Why do Whaleships? •Why won’t the captain sit or stagger? |
The Town-Ho’s Story
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Introeduction |
This is a long and very strange tale in the center of the story. It is almost a joke Melville is playing. |
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Questions |
Answer one of the following questions |
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•How are the two men’s (Steelkit and Radney) appearances different from their natures? •What should the Captain have done with the mutineers? • What is the point of this story? Why is it included? •Why might the church be accented so clearly? Does Ishmael have religion? |
Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales
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Introduction |
This chapter also goes off on a tangent, but it has a clear focus by the end. |
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Questions |
Answer one of the following questions •Why are the pictures of the whales wrong? •How does the chapter support the idea that whales are "inscrutable"? |