# Flask — Moby-Dick character guide > Flask in Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Mr. Flask, Little Flask, hilarious little Flask, flaxen-haired Flask **First appearance:** 0030-xxvii-knights-and-squires ## Snapshot The Pequod's third mate, a flaxen-haired little brawler who sees whales as nothing grander than oversized game to be killed. ## Who they are Flask is short, pugnacious, and utterly without awe, and he rides to the masthead on the shoulders of the gigantic harpooner Daggoo as if the man were furniture. The image says everything: the noble bearer looks nobler than the rider, yet Flask stamps with impatience and never notices. His cheerful bloodthirstiness strips the whale of mystery, and his pairing with Daggoo quietly exposes the racial and moral hierarchies the ship carries to sea. ## Relationships ### [Stubb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/stubb) _professional_ Flask is the third mate and Stubb is the second mate, serving as colleagues in the ship's hierarchy under Ahab's command. ### [Captain Ahab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/captain_ahab) _professional_ Ahab is the captain and Flask is the third mate, a junior officer who follows orders in the pursuit of the whale. ### [Stubb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/stubb) _professional_ Flask is the third mate and Stubb is the second mate, serving as colleagues in the ship's hierarchy under Ahab's command. ### [Stubb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/stubb) _professional_ Flask is the third mate and Stubb is the second mate, serving as colleagues in the ship's hierarchy under Ahab's command. ### [Captain Ahab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/captain_ahab) _professional_ Ahab is the captain and Flask is the third mate, a junior officer who follows orders in the pursuit of the whale. ### [Captain Ahab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/captain_ahab) _professional_ Ahab is the captain and Flask is the third mate, a junior officer who follows orders in the pursuit of the whale. ## In the story ### [Knights and Squires](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xxvii-knights-and-squires) The pugnacious third mate from Martha's Vineyard, who views whales as personally affronting him. He is fearless to the point of seeing them as oversized rodents, making whaling a 'jolly joke.' ### [Ahab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xxviii-ahab) Implied among the mates who show uneasy consciousness of being under Ahab's 'troubled master-eye' and who command vicariously in his absence. ### [Queen Mab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xxxi-queen-mab) Listens to Stubb's dream but finds it foolish; serves as the audience for Stubb's new philosophy of obedience. ### [XXXIII: The Specksnyder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xxxiii-the-specksnyder) As a mate, implied to have his quarters with the captain, part of the officer hierarchy discussed. ### [The Cabin-Table](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-cabin-table) The third mate, who performs a rebellious hornpipe on deck but becomes 'Abjectus, or the Slave' before Ahab. He is perpetually hungry due to his low rank in the dining sequence and dares not help himself. ### [XLIII: Hark!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xliii-hark) Mentioned as the recipient of Stubb's remarks about a suspected hidden presence on the ship. ### [XLVIII: The First Lowering](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xlviii-the-first-lowering) Recklessly stands on the loggerhead, then on Daggoo's shoulders; shouts wildly to his crew; his ambition and impatience are vividly displayed. ### [XLIX: The Hyena](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xlix-the-hyena) Dismissively confirms to Ishmael that it is an unalterable law for an oarsman to 'pull himself back-foremost into death's jaws' during a whale hunt. ### [Ahab’s Boat and Crew. Fedallah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/l-ahab-s-boat-and-crew-fedallah) Engages in a pragmatic debate with Stubb about Ahab's physical capability to serve in a whaleboat, reflecting the crew's practical concerns. ### [LIX: Squid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lix-squid) Asks Starbuck what the apparition was, receiving the explanation that it is the great live squid. ### [LXXIII: Stubb and Flask Kill a Right Whale; and Then Have a Talk Over Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lxxiii-stubb-and-flask-kill-a-right-whale-and-then-have-a-talk-over-him) Assists Stubb in killing the right whale; questions Stubb about the purpose of the hunt and the nature of Fedallah, showing a mix of curiosity and apprehension about the mysterious harpooneer. ### [LXXV: The Right Whale’s Head—Contrasted View](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lxxv-the-right-whale-s-head-contrasted-view) Implied presence as the mate who assisted in capturing the Right Whale, referenced in the context of the whale kill. ### [LXXXI: The Pequod Meets the Virgin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lxxxi-the-pequod-meets-the-virgin) Identifies Derick's lamp-feeder, taunts the wounded whale, and participates in the hunt. ### [LXXXII: The Honor and Glory of Whaling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lxxxii-the-honor-and-glory-of-whaling) Another representative of the common whaleman whose profession Ishmael is elevating to mythic status. ### [LXXXVII: The Grand Armada](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lxxxvii-the-grand-armada) Kills and waifs a whale during the aftermath of the chase. ### [The Pequod Meets the Rose-Bud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xci-the-pequod-meets-the-rose-bud) Not explicitly mentioned in the provided excerpts. ### [XCVIII: Stowing Down and Clearing Up](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xcviii-stowing-down-and-clearing-up) Implied as part of the crew performing the described labors. The collective effort of 'almost the entire ship's company' encompasses the junior mate and his division. ### [XCIX: The Doubloon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xcix-the-doubloon) Sees the doubloon in purely practical, monetary terms: it's worth sixteen dollars, which translates to 960 cigars. He dismisses the profound staring of others and focuses on the material reward. ### [The Fossil Whale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/civ-the-fossil-whale) Not present in this chapter's excerpts. ### [CVI: Ahab’s Leg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cvi-ahab-s-leg) Implied as one of the mates directed to supply the carpenter with materials. ### [CXV: The Pequod Meets the Bachelor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxv-the-pequod-meets-the-bachelor) Implied to be among the crew; the Bachelor's material success and full holds contrast with the Pequod's singular, non-commercial purpose. ### [CXVI: The Dying Whale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxvi-the-dying-whale) Implied to be part of the crew during the day's successful whaling activities that set the scene. ### [The Candles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxix-the-candles) Works with Stubb to direct the men in securing the boats during the typhoon before the appearance of the corpusants. ### [CXXI: Midnight.—The Forecastle Bulwarks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxxi-midnight-the-forecastle-bulwarks) Challenges Stubb's inconsistent opinions on Ahab's danger, displaying a more literal and skeptical mindset. He is the straight man to Stubb's rambling logic. ### [CXXIV: The Needle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxxiv-the-needle) Like Stubb, quietly follows orders while sharing in the tense atmosphere. ### [CXXVI: The Life-Buoy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxxvi-the-life-buoy) Leads the watch startled by the cries; recounts the event to Ahab; pragmatically suggests using the coffin as a life-buoy. ### [CXXXIV: The Chase—Second Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxxxiv-the-chase-second-day) His boat is destroyed alongside Stubb's; he is seen bobbing in the water 'like an empty vial,' trying to escape sharks. ### [CXXXV: The Chase—Third Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/cxxxv-the-chase-third-day) In the final moments, responds to Stubb's desperate cry for cherries with a pragmatic thought about his mother receiving his part-pay. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters/flask - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moby_dick_se/characters