Read the excerpt from Chapter 28 of Moby-Dick . It was one of those less lowering, but still grey and gloomy enough mornings of the transition, when with a fair wind the ship was rushing through the water with a vindictive sort of leaping and melancholy rapidity, that as I mounted to the deck at the call of the forenoon watch, so soon as I leveled my glance towards the taffrail, foreboding shivers ran over me. Reality outran apprehension; Captain Ahab stood upon his quarter-deck. Which of the novel’s themes is best developed in this excerpt from Chapter 28 of Moby Dick?
Answer
A
a person’s inability to alter fate
B
a person’s ability to outsmart fate
C
a person’s control over nature
D
a person’s harmony with nature
Explanation
Ishmael feels foreboding shivers before seeing Ahab, and then reality confirms his apprehension when Ahab appears on deck. The gloomy weather and ominous mood suggest that events are unfolding in a way Ishmael cannot prevent or control. This best develops the theme of a person’s inability to alter fate, rather than control over or harmony with nature.
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.