How do you explain the contrast between the officers’ meal and the harpooners’? Why does Ishmael describe Flask’s change in …

What does this chapter add to the meaning of the book? What would the book lack if this were missing? …

What new impression of Ahab do you get in this chapter? For what reason did he smoke and what does …

How does Melville soften our opinion of  Ahab in this chapter? How, then, does he immediately undermine that softening? What …

What are the most striking features of Ahab’s appearance? What do they suggest about his personality? Explain what those features …

Explain the meaning of the chapter title. Summarize your impressions of Stubb, Flask, Tashtego, and Dagoo. What do you notice …

What example does Melville use to further the idea he asserts in the previous chapter? Summarize your impressions of Starbuck …

To what sort of land profession does Melville compare whaling? How does this comparison make that profession seem? Explain thoroughly …

Literally, why is the shore a dangerous thing in a storm? What sort of danger does the shore represent in …

What does this chapter change in your impressions of Bildad and Peleg? Why? Describe the weather as the Pequod heads …