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In addition to Herman Melville's own experience on the whaling ship Acushnet, two real events served as the genesis for his <i>Moby Dick</i>. One was the sinking of the Nantucket ship <i>Essex</i> in 1820, after a sperm whale rammed her 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the western coast of South America.<br/><br/> The other event was the alleged killing in the late 1830s of the albino sperm whale Mocha Dick, in the waters off the Chilean island of Mocha. Mocha Dick was rumored to have 20 or so harpoons in his back from other whalers, and appeared to attack ships with premeditated ferocity.
Colonel James Skinner CB (1778 – 4 December 1841) was an Anglo-Indian military adventurer in India, who became known as Sikandar Sahib later in life, and is best known for two cavalry regiments he raised for the British, later known as 1st Skinner's Horse and 3rd Skinner's Horse (formerly 2nd Skinner's Horse) at Hansi in 1803, which still form a part of the Indian Army.<br/><br/> The son of Hercules Skinner, a Scottish soldier and the daughter of a Rajput landowner, Skinner initially took service with the Marathas. Later he fought for the British. His chief wife was Muslim. He was a fluent writer in Persian, the court and intellectual language of India in his day, and wrote several books in Persian, including 'Kitab-i tasrih al-aqvam' (History of the Origin and Distinguishing Marks of the Different Castes of India).
Jeremiah N Reynolds (1799–1858) was an American newspaper editor, lecturer, explorer and author who became an influential advocate for scientific expeditions. His lectures on the possibility of a hollow earth appear to have influenced Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) and his 1839 account of the whale Mocha Dick, 'Mocha Dick, or the White Whale of the Pacific', influenced Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851).
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. His best known works include <i>Typee</i> (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel <i>Moby Dick</i> (1851). His work was almost forgotten during his last thirty years. <br/><br/> His writing draws on his experience at sea as a common sailor, exploration of literature and philosophy, and engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change. He developed a complex, baroque style: the vocabulary is rich and original, a strong sense of rhythm infuses the elaborate sentences, the imagery is often mystical or ironic, and the abundance of allusion extends to scripture, myth, philosophy, literature, and the visual arts.
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. His best known works include <i>Typee</i> (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel <i>Moby Dick</i> (1851). His work was almost forgotten during his last thirty years. <br/><br/> His writing draws on his experience at sea as a common sailor, exploration of literature and philosophy, and engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change. He developed a complex, baroque style: the vocabulary is rich and original, a strong sense of rhythm infuses the elaborate sentences, the imagery is often mystical or ironic, and the abundance of allusion extends to scripture, myth, philosophy, literature, and the visual arts.
In addition to Herman Melville's own experience on the whaling ship Acushnet, two real events served as the genesis for his <i>Moby Dick</i>. One was the sinking of the Nantucket ship <i>Essex</i> in 1820, after a sperm whale rammed her 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the western coast of South America.<br/><br/> The other event was the alleged killing in the late 1830s of the albino sperm whale Mocha Dick, in the waters off the Chilean island of Mocha. Mocha Dick was rumored to have 20 or so harpoons in his back from other whalers, and appeared to attack ships with premeditated ferocity.