# First Night-Watch explained — Moby-Dick

> Chapter companion for Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

## What happens

Stubb, alone on the foretop mending a brace, reflects on Ahab's influence and the nature of existence. He concludes that laughter is the wisest response to life's strangeness, as everything is predestined. He muses on Starbuck's similar disquiet, dismisses his own fears with a song, and is interrupted by Starbuck's call.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fate, Free Will, and Predestination

Stubb explicitly states his belief that all events are predestinated, using it as a comfort and justification for his carefree, laughing attitude.

## Character check-ins

### Stubb

Soliloquizes on the foretop, expressing his philosophy of laughter and predestination in response to Ahab's disturbing influence.

### Starbuck

Mentioned by Stubb as having been visibly affected by Ahab, and calls out to Stubb at the chapter's end.

### Captain Ahab

Referred to indirectly as 'the old Mogul' whose fixed will has impacted Starbuck and, by implication, the ship's mood.

## Key lines

> I’ve been thinking over it ever since, and that ha, ha’s the final consequence. Why so? Because a laugh’s the wisest, easiest answer to all that’s queer; and come what will, one comfort’s always left—that unfailing comfort is, it’s all predestinated.

After contemplation, Stubb decides laughter is the best reaction to unsettling things, bolstered by the belief that everything is fated to happen.

_Core expression of Stubb's philosophical stance._

> I heard not all his talk with Starbuck; but to my poor eye Starbuck then looked something as I the other evening felt. Be sure the old Mogul has fixed him, too.

Stubb didn't hear the full conversation but observed that Starbuck appeared as troubled as Stubb himself once felt, concluding Ahab has also gotten to him.

_Shows the spreading psychological effect of Ahab's obsession on the crew._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/xxxix-first-night-watch
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/moby_dick_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters