Moby Dick Further Study Questions - Macmillan Readers

Further Study Questions Answer key Upper
The Rose-bud
The captain of the Rose-bud is inexperienced and doesn’t realise that dead whales don’t contain any
useful supplies of oil. He is insisting that the men put up with the terrible smell and try to extract oil
just the same. The seamen are sick of the smell and want to get rid of the whale, but the captain will
not listen to reason (in this way he is similar to Ahab, an unreasonable captain that pushes his crew
into suffering conditions they are not happy with).
a The encounter teaches us a lot about the products of whaling, about the competitive nature of the
job and about how important experience is.
b The French sailors have not heard of Moby Dick and no information is exchanged.
The Samuel Enderby
The captain of the Samuel Enderby contrasts strongly with Ahab. Both men have lost limbs because of
the white whale, but their attitude to their loss is completely different. The Englishman doesn’t want
revenge, he is glad that he escaped with his life and is not interested in hunting Moby Dick any more.
He thinks that Ahab is mad to go after him.
a The encounter doesn’t really teach us anything new about whaling ships, except that it is a hard
life, with ships’ doctors treating patients in extreme circumstances.
b The English captain describes Moby Dick as an enormous whale, bigger than any other whale he’s
ever seen, strong and impossible to catch as well as dangerous to hunt. He says that Moby Dick
plans his attacks on ships. The story adds to the myth growing around the figure of the whale.
The Bachelor
The crew of the Bachelor, including the captain, are all celebrating their good luck. They are singing
and dancing and drinking. Their journey has been very successful and they will soon be home. This is
how life could be for the seamen on the Pequod if their captain was not so obsessed with chasing the
white whale. This is the happy return home that they will never see.
a We learn about the importance of taking home as much sperm oil as possible, the custom of picking
up islanders from Polynesia and the festive atmosphere of a successful journey.
b The captain has heard of the white whale but he has not seen him, and doesn’t want to. This
attitude may be part of the ship’s good luck. They are not interested in myth or superstition, only in
finishing their job and getting home to celebrate.
The Rachel
The Rachel has seen Moby Dick the day before. The crew need Ahab’s help, but he is too obsessed with
the idea of chasing Moby Dick to stop.
a More details about the dangerous work of whaling, of how ships get lost and the story of the
captain’s boy shows us how this hard, dangerous life is shared by boys as young as 12 years old.
b The whale is getting nearer and more real, and so is the danger. The boat that chased Moby Dick
has been lost. There’s no clue as to what might have happened to it. The suspense and thrill of the
chase, and the general sense of urgency, is growing.
Macmillan Readers Moby Dick 4
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