UNIVERSAL ANSWER

Novel - Moby Dick

MORAL VALUES / LESSONS / MESSAGES We must be brave, compassionate and trustworthy

THEMES bravery, compassion and trustworthiness

CHARACTER (POSITIVE) Starbuck because he is brave, compassionate and trustworthy

CONTENT 1 bravery / we must be brave

TEXTUAL EVIDENCES

#1

#2

#3

He dares to stand up to his autocratic and enraged captain, Captain Ahab.

He questions Captain Ahab’s motives for changing their mission from getting oil

to killing Moby Dick. Whenever Captain Ahab insists on hunting Moby Dick,

Starbuck boldly reminds him that it took his leg.

He also reminds his captain that they came to hunt whales for their oil and money

and not to satisfy his desire to revenge.

CONTENT 2 compassion / we must be compassionate

TEXTUAL EVIDENCES

#1

#2

#3

He risks his life and speaks up for all the other whalers and their safety.

When he notices some oil leaking, he wants Captain Ahab to stop the ship to

change them but Captain Ahab refuses he wants to hunt Moby Dick.

He reminds Captain Ahab that they need money from the oil to support their

families.

CONTENT 3 trustworthiness / we must be trustworthy

TEXTUAL EVIDENCES

#1

#2

#3

Tashtego does not want to cut the harpoon rope after Pip falls into the ocean.

However, when Starbuck orders him to cut it, Tastego immediately obeys him

although Stubb wants the whale.

All the whalers silently wish Starbuck were their captain. They are all terrified of

Captain Ahab. They know that under Captain Ahab’s command, the Pequod’s

voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that Starbuck would shoot and kill

Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequod’s captain.

Even Ahab himself trusts and leaves Starbuck to take charge of the ship on the last

three days of the fight when he goes to attack Moby Dick.

#Caution! Please be reminded that the universal answer shown above is not applicable to questions asking for theme, moral value,

lesson and message. All the best in your PT3!!

QUESTION 1

Write about the themes you learn from the novel that you have studied in Form 3.

Sample answer #1

In the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, Ahab is the captain of the Pequod which is a whaling ship that

hunts whales for their oil. However, he wants to take revenge on one specific huge white whale which caused him to

lose one of his legs. That is why he has a whalebone leg. I learned a lot of themes from the novel. The most

significant themes for me are bravery, compassion and trustworthiness. These three themes are portrayed by

Starbuck.

Firstly, Starbuck is a brave person. He dares to stand up to his autocratic and enraged captain, Captain Ahab.

He questions Captain Ahab’s motives for changing their mission from getting oil to killing Moby Dick. Whenever

Captain Ahab insists on hunting Moby Dick, Starbuck boldly reminds him that it took his leg. He also reminds his

captain that they came to hunt whales for their oil and money and not to satisfy his desire to revenge.

Moreover, Starbuck portrays that he is compassionate. He risks his life and speaks up for all the other

whalers and their safety. When he notices some oil leaking, he wants Captain Ahab to stop the ship to change them

but Captain Ahab refuses he wants to hunt Moby Dick. He reminds Captain Ahab that they need money from the oil

to support their families.

Lastly, Starbuck is also trustworthy. In the story, Tashtego does not want to cut the harpoon rope after Pip

falls into the ocean. However, when Starbuck orders him to cut it, Tastego immediately obeys him although Stubb

wants the whale. All the whalers silently wish Starbuck were their captain. They are all terrified of Captain Ahab.

They know that under Captain Ahab’s command, the Pequod’s voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that

Starbuck would shoot and kill Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequod’s captain. Even Ahab himself

trusts and leaves Starbuck to take charge of the ship on the last three days of the fight when he goes to attack Moby

Dick.

In a nutshell, it is clear that Starbuck has the qualities of bravery, compassion and trustworthiness. It makes

the novel more interesting.

QUESTION 2

Write about the moral values you learn from the novel that you have studied in Form 3.

Sample answer #2

In the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, Ahab is the captain of the Pequod which is a whaling ship that

hunts whales for their oil. However, he wants to take revenge on one specific huge white whale which caused him to

lose one of his legs. That is why he has a whalebone leg. I learned a lot of moral values from the novel. The most

significant moral values for me are we must be brave, compassionate and trustworthy. These three moral

values are portrayed by Starbuck.

Firstly, Starbuck is a brave person. He dares to stand up to his autocratic and enraged captain, Captain Ahab.

He questions Captain Ahab’s motives for changing their mission from getting oil to killing Moby Dick. Whenever

Captain Ahab insists on hunting Moby Dick, Starbuck boldly reminds him that it took his leg. He also reminds his

captain that they came to hunt whales for their oil and money and not to satisfy his desire to revenge.

Moreover, Starbuck portrays that he is compassionate. He risks his life and speaks up for all the other

whalers and their safety. When he notices some oil leaking, he wants Captain Ahab to stop the ship to change them

but Captain Ahab refuses he wants to hunt Moby Dick. He reminds Captain Ahab that they need money from the oil

to support their families.

Lastly, Starbuck is also trustworthy. In the story, Tashtego does not want to cut the harpoon rope after Pip

falls into the ocean. However, when Starbuck orders him to cut it, Tastego immediately obeys him although Stubb

wants the whale. All the whalers silently wish Starbuck were their captain. They are all terrified of Captain Ahab.

They know that under Captain Ahab’s command, the Pequod’s voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that

Starbuck would shoot and kill Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequod’s captain. Even Ahab himself

trusts and leaves Starbuck to take charge of the ship on the last three days of the fight when he goes to attack Moby

Dick.

In a nutshell, it is clear that Starbuck has the qualities of bravery, compassion and trustworthiness. It makes

the novel more interesting.

QUESTION 3

Write about your favourite character from the novel that you have studied in Form 3.

Sample answer #3

In the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, Ahab is the captain of the Pequod which is a whaling ship that

hunts whales for their oil. However, he wants to take revenge on one specific huge white whale which caused him to

lose one of his legs. That is why he has a whalebone leg. There are a lot of characters from the novel. My

favourite character is Starbuck.

Firstly, Starbuck is a brave person. He dares to stand up to his autocratic and enraged captain, Captain Ahab.

He questions Captain Ahab’s motives for changing their mission from getting oil to killing Moby Dick. Whenever

Captain Ahab insists on hunting Moby Dick, Starbuck boldly reminds him that it took his leg. He also reminds his

captain that they came to hunt whales for their oil and money and not to satisfy his desire to revenge.

Moreover, Starbuck portrays that he is compassionate. He risks his life and speaks up for all the other

whalers and their safety. When he notices some oil leaking, he wants Captain Ahab to stop the ship to change them

but Captain Ahab refuses he wants to hunt Moby Dick. He reminds Captain Ahab that they need money from the oil

to support their families.

Lastly, Starbuck is also trustworthy. In the story, Tashtego does not want to cut the harpoon rope after Pip

falls into the ocean. However, when Starbuck orders him to cut it, Tastego immediately obeys him although Stubb

wants the whale. All the whalers silently wish Starbuck were their captain. They are all terrified of Captain Ahab.

They know that under Captain Ahab’s command, the Pequod’s voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that

Starbuck would shoot and kill Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequod’s captain. Even Ahab himself

trusts and leaves Starbuck to take charge of the ship on the last three days of the fight when he goes to attack Moby

Dick.

In a nutshell, it is clear that Starbuck has the qualities of bravery, compassion and trustworthiness. It makes

the novel more interesting.