The whale was named as such after the Mocha Islands, the area where the whale was commonly sighted ("Dick" was used simply because it was a common male name). The title character of Moby Dick was inspired by an article in Knickerbocker magazine in May 1839 entitled "Mocha Dick: or the White Whale of the Pacific." The author of this article, Jeremiah Reynolds, detailed the capture of a giant sperm whale legendary among whalers for its vicious attacks on ships. The story of the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, the novel draws at least partially from the experiences of its author while a sailor and a harpooner on whaling ships before settling in New England as a writer. The novel Moby Dick was the sixth novel published by Herman Melville, a landmark of American literature that mixed a number of literary styles including a fictional adventure story, historical detail and even scientific discussion.
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