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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does the captain decide not to flog Steelkilt?
(a) Steelkilt makes an inaudible threat.
(b) He suddenly feels the menace of the rest of the crew.
(c) He suddenly feels ashamed of his own behavior.
(d) He suddenly feels sorry for Steelkilt.

2. How much does the uncle in "The Happy Failure" think his invention is worth?
(a) More than gold.
(b) More than his house.
(c) More than a life's work.
(d) More than silver.

3. With what weapon does Radney threaten Steelkilt?
(a) A gun.
(b) A rope.
(c) A hammer.
(d) A knife.

4. Of what does the onstage action in the London theater remind the narrator?
(a) His own childhood.
(b) The theater at home on Broadway.
(c) The church service he had watched from the bell tower.
(d) The curmudgeonly landlady at his boarding house.

5. Whose job is it to normally sweep the deck of a ship?
(a) All members of the work gangs.
(b) The boys on board.
(c) The lowest seaman.
(d) The men on watch.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is the narrator punished for sneaking into the church?

2. What good qualities does Bartleby have as an employee?

3. What do Steelkilt and his men demand in return for obeying orders?

4. What does Melville say is the most populous species on the island of Albermarle?

5. How does the narrator accommodate the weakness of his oldest scrivener?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was disrespectful about Radney asking Steelkilt to sweep the deck?

2. What does the captain decide to do with Steelkilt and those who followed him in insubordination?

3. Why does Melville refer to Oberlus as "a creature whom it is religion to detest?"

4. What superstition do sailors have about the tortoises in "The Encantadas"?

5. What is Nippers's shortcoming as a scrivener?

6. What do the sailors in "The Encantadas" do with tortoises?

7. What purpose does the circle of listeners serve in "The Town-Ho's Story"?

8. How does the narrator respond the first time Bartleby answers a request with, "I would prefer not to"?

9. How does the creditor in "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo" torment the narrator?

10. Why did the first seven of Steelkilt's men come out of their imprisonment?

(see the answer keys)

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