Question

12th grade pre-assessment
our winterscape it was, that, after turning repeatedly silent like seas as a thoughtful senior, i should now take it into my head to go on a whaling voyage, ? this the invisible agent of the fates, who has the constant surveillance of me, and secretly dogs me, and influences me in some unaccountable way – he can better answer than anyone else.

5 though i cannot tell why it was exactly that those stage managers, the fates, put me down for this shabby part of a whaling voyage, when others were set down for magnificent parts in high tragedies, and short and easy parts in genteel comedies, and jolly parts in farces – though i cannot tell why this was exactly, yet, now that i recall all the circumstances, i think i can see a little into the springs and motives which being cunningly presented to me under various disguises, induced me to set about performing the part i did, besides cajoling me into the delusion that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment.

chief among these motives was the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself. such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity. then the wild and distant seas where he rolled his island bulk; the undeliverable, nameless perils of the whale; these, with all the attending marvels of a thousand patagonian sights and sounds, helped to sway me to my wish. with other men, perhaps, such things would not have been inducements; but as for me, i am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. i love to sail forbidden seas and land on barbarous coasts. not ignoring what is good, i am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it – would they let me – since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the occupants of the place one lodges in.

by reason of these things, then, the whaling voyage was welcome; the great flood-gates of the wonder world swung open, and in the wild concerts that swayed me to my purpose, two and two there floated into my inmost soul, endless processions of the whale, and, mid most of them all, one grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air.

assessment questions
11 out of 34 answered

question 12
how does the author’s decision to end the passage with the following quotation contribute to the passage’s overall meaning?
“two and two there floated into my inmost soul, endless processions of the whale, and, mid most of them all, one grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air” (paragraph 7)

a. it shows that the narrator trusts the fates to protect his voyage.
b. it suggests that the whale is a product of the narrator’s imagination.
c. it shows how the narrator’s commitment to his goal will lead to success.
d. it develops a sense of foreboding around the narrator’s pursuit of the whale.

Explanation:

• Option A: The passage doesn't show the narrator trusting the Fates to protect the voyage. The focus is on the narrator's motives and the whale, not Fate's protection. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The whale is presented as a real, mysterious creature that rouses the narrator's curiosity, not just a product of imagination. The description of the whale and the seas implies it's a real target. Eliminate B.
• Option C: The passage doesn't discuss success in the whaling voyage. It focuses on the narrator's motives and the sense of the whale as a grand, mysterious, and perhaps ominous figure. There's no indication of success. Eliminate C.
• Option D: The description of the whale as a "grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air" and "endless processions" creates a sense of foreboding. The whale is presented as a mysterious and potentially threatening figure, which builds tension around the narrator's pursuit. This matches the tone and content of the quotation.

Answer:

D. It develops a sense of foreboding around the narrator’s pursuit of the whale.