Study Questions
1. What is cetology?

2. What whales are in the first category of large whales?

3. What did the term “specksynder” mean originally and what has it come to mean?

4. In what ways does Ahab observe the traditions of his rank?

5. What is the atmosphere of the captain and his mates’
dinner?

6. Why does Flask frequently go hungry?

7. What is the atmosphere of the harpooners’ dinner?

8. How many masts are kept manned?

9. Upon what do the watches on the mastheads stand?

10. Why does Ishmael keep such a “sorry guard” when he stands the masthead watch?

Answers
1. Cetology is the study of whales.

2. Sperm whales and right whales are among the largest.

3. The specksynder originally was the “fat cutter,” but has come to mean chief harpooner.

4. Ahab dines with his officers and demands obedience.

5. Their dinner is silent and constrained.

6. Flask is the last called to dinner, and because the others finish before him, etiquette demands that he stop eating, too.

7. The harpooners fill their bellies, make a lot of commotion, and tease Dough-Boy mercilessly.

8. Three masts are manned.

9. The watches stand on “thin sticks” called gallant cross-trees.

10. Ishmael gets lost in thought and fails to keep a good lookout for whales and squalls.