The title character Moby Dick was inspired by an article from a magazine entitled “Mocha Dick or the great whale of the Pacific”. The author of this article described vicious attacks on ships by a giant sperm whale. The whale was named after Mocha Islands and “Dick” was used because it was a common male name.
When we think about a novel we think about a work of fiction, but “Moby Dick” is a novel where are large chunks that have been taken from existing non fictional published works as well as from his own experience. There also are certain chapters that could be classified as play as there is dramatis personae and the pages are set as for a play.
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