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
#1 He dares to stand up to his autocratic and enraged captain, Captain Ahab.
#2 He questions Captain Ahabs motives for changing their mission from getting oil
to killing Moby Dick. Whenever Captain Ahab insists on hunting Moby Dick,
TEXTUAL EVIDENCES
Starbuck boldly reminds him that it took his leg.
#3 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
#1 He risks his life and speaks up for all the other whalers and their safety.
#2 When he notices some oil leaking, he wants Captain Ahab to stop the ship to
TEXTUAL EVIDENCES change them but Captain Ahab refuses he wants to hunt Moby Dick.
#3 He reminds Captain Ahab that they need money from the oil to support their
families.
CONTENT 3 trustworthiness / we must be trustworthy
#1 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.
#2 All the whalers silently wish Starbuck were their captain. They are all terrified of
TEXTUAL EVIDENCES Captain Ahab. They know that under Captain Ahabs command, the Pequods
voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that Starbuck would shoot and kill
Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequods captain.
#3 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 Ahabs 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 Ahabs command, the Pequods voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that
Starbuck would shoot and kill Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequods 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 Ahabs 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 Ahabs command, the Pequods voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that
Starbuck would shoot and kill Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequods 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 Ahabs 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 Ahabs command, the Pequods voyage is a voyage of death. Ishmael wishes that
Starbuck would shoot and kill Captain Ahab because he wants him as the Pequods 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.