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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Radney dislike Steelkilt?

2. Why does the captain fear to shoot Steelkilt for his insubordination?

3. What do the Peruvian listeners force the storyteller to do to prove his story is true?

4. In which of Melville's novels is "The Town-Ho's Story" included?

5. Who are Pedro and Sebastian in The Town-Ho's Story?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Melville come to believe that some buccaneers on the isle of Albermarle must have been gentlemen?

2. What does the author of "Poor Man's Pudding" and "Rich Man's Crumbs" pray that Heaven will save him from?

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

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

5. In "The Happy Failure," what is the uncle's great invention?

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

7. Why does Melville call Redondo the "aviary of the ocean"?

8. What skills are necessary for a scrivener?

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

10. What are Turkey's shortcomings as a scrivener?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Setting is particularly important in Melville's stories. Select a story in which the setting is critical, such as the confinement of shipboard or the home as a center for domestic disputes. Analyze the use and power of the setting in the story you chose.

Essay Topic 2

Melville's work is full of allusions to mythic characters and settings with which he expects his reader to be familiar. Select a story such as "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo" or "The Two Temples" to find the references to mythology. Look up the characters or locations and explain in your essay how these references strengthen the story.

Essay Topic 3

Melville frequently reveals the character of a narrator through the narrator's observations and reactions to another character. "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "Benito Cereno" are examples of this technique. Select one of the stories in which the narrator reveals himself. Discuss how the character is revealed and the effectiveness of this technique for you as a reader.

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