What is the tone of the chapter beginning? How does it change? What does the weather signify in this chapter? …

How might this chapter title also by symbolic? How might it relate to its immediate predecessor? What do you learn …

According to Ahab’s first sentence in the chapter, what does he leave behind him? How does that relate to Moby-Dick? …

This is the first of several chapters presented in dramatic (play-like) style. What does Melville accomplish by changing this way? …

What is the mast-head? Is it different on various sorts of ships? To what landed things does Ishmael compare the …

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 …