EXTEND – The whiteness of the whale #639548 - Prove ed esercizi Zanichelli

STEP 2 Focus on Melville's method

Select the statements that best describe how the argument is constructed.

A:

The repetition of 'though' clauses creates a cumulative rhetorical effect.

B:

The passage moves from celebration to destabilisation.

C:

The catalogue of examples simplifies the symbolic meaning of whiteness.

D:

Blood imagery is introduced to show that red has more unsettling connotations that white.

E:

The animal imagery functions as concrete evidence of the abstract claim.

Extend

Scelta multipla

STEP 1 Skim for gist and find out more about whiteness

Read the passage and choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

1 In the first part of the passage, the accumulation of cultural and religious examples serves to show that whiteness ________.
2 The narrator suggests that the disturbing quality of whiteness emerges particularly ________.
3 The white bear and the white shark are fearsome ________.
4 The comparison with the tiger implies that ________.

Extend

Completamento chiuso

STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: the symbolism of whiteness

Read the text which explores how Melville approaches whiteness. Decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts below and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

- Refer to STEP 4 to explain how Ishmael's perception of the colour white challenges notions of whiteness.
- Refer to 'All about Herman Melville and Moby Dick' in your textbook and, in particular, to the box 'Style,' to say which technique is used in the text, and why.

A:

Melville shifts from a scientific perspective to a more philosophical exploration of the whale.

B:

Melville uses the cetology chapters to explain the uniqueness of Moby Dick.

C:

Lists and comparisons convey the impression of Ishmael's argument spiralling, rather than resolving the question of whiteness.

D:

The author suggests that the haunting aspect of whiteness is due to the absence of colour.

E:

The central message of the passage is that whiteness fascinates and frightens Ishmael because it escapes every classification.

Extend

Vero o falso

STEP 4 Racial perception

Ishmael's references to 'whiteness' can be interpreted as carrying racial connotations. Read the text and complete it with the words given.

The passage shows that Ishmael is ________ with whiteness. He begins by presenting whiteness as a sign of beauty, nobility, and moral and spiritual superiority, something that ideologically aligns him with European ________. Yet, these associations are always ________ by the word 'though', which prepares readers for a more ________ perspective. By drawing attention to the unsettling ________ of the colour white, Ishmael may also be suggesting that whiteness itself can induce ________. The name 'Ishmael' could also explain the narrator's ambivalent ideology, as it is historically recorded as a name often given to men of African ________ in America. Ishmael's speech, as well as his ambiguous ________, emphasise the ________ nature of racial assumptions in the novel.

Extend

Posizionamento

STEP 3 Recognise the key themes

Match each theme to the sentence that best illustrates it.

1 Authority of symbolism      ________
2 Psychological tension created by ambiguity      ________
3 Fear of the unknown      ________

A Whiteness can provoke fear when associated with objects that are inherently threatening.
B Cultural and historical contexts shape the way colours carry symbolic power.
C Nature's extremes can produce both fascination and horror in the observer.

Extend

Completamento aperto