Moby-Dick discussion questions Chapter 97 “The Lamp” and Chapter 98 “Stowing Down and Clearing Up”
- To what is whale oil compared at the end of the chapter? What do the whalers do with it? What does that suggest about them?
- Describe the tone of the first paragraph.
- What does Ishmael refer to, and what does he mean when he says, “Oh! my friends, but this is man-killing! Yet this is life.”?
- With what idea about existence does the chapter conclude? How does the reference to Pythagoras relate? What does it add to the chapter?
