I have been long wondering who gave the name Moby Dick to the white whale.I am not asking who wrote the novel.What I mean is that in the novel,why everybody knows the whale's name?Whales cannot talk.He cannot tell the people what his name is.But they know his name is Moby Dick.Can you imagine that?What if one whale swims in front of you and says"Hello,my name is Moby Dick."?
Who gave the whale the name?God?Or the people just call him like that?
I heard it was based on the story of a real whale, Mocha Dick. Don't know who named the real whale.
shareAccording to the book - and film - many of the nasty hermetic whales were given names such as New Zealand Tom , Don Miguel "stout gentleman of the Pacific" and Morquan, "king of the Japan seas."
Here's a website the tells of the legend of Mocha Dick and his exploits and ultimate death.
http://www.melville.org/mobyname.htm
"According to the book - and film - many of the nasty hermetic whales were given names such as New Zealand Tom , Don Miguel "stout gentleman of the Pacific" and Morquan, "king of the Japan seas." "
It's not the same thing as a whale, but during WWII, and for years slightly afterward, there was a very large hammerhead shark that roamed the Gulf of Mexico. When German submarines torpedoed America merchantman ships, this shark would make himself a nice meal out of the America Sailors that went into the water. He soon made a habit of following ships. The sailors named the hammerhead "Old Hitler."
Thank you all for your answers!
shareIt was Mrs. Dick who named her first son after her paternal grandfather, Moby Choby (1784-1806), the biggest albino whale ever to roam the North Atlantic.
share"It was Mrs. Dick who named her first son after her paternal grandfather, Moby Choby (1784-1806), the biggest albino whale ever to roam the North Atlantic."
Bull sperm whales do not reach their full size until they are forty or fifty years old. So a 22-year-old bull would hardly be the largest in the Atlantic.
Of course modern science could possibly be wrong about how long it takes bull sperm whales to reach their full size. About 1950 many believed that sperm whales only lived ten years, while old-time whalers believed it would take over a century for a bull sperm whale to reach his full size.
Since bull sperm whales supposedly take forty or fifty years to reach their full size, Moby Dick, active an unknown span of time before 1851, might have been born at the same time or even earlier than his alleged great grandfather.
shareNot sure of the exact origin, but it's a derivative from Old English, "moby" meaning large, enormous, and "dick" meaning white. Hard to pin down, because sailors, New England whalers particularly, have their own language, almost.
shareNow that is really an interesting insight. This site is a font of knowledge.
Thanks for the info.
Moby Dick is also supposed to be based on Mocha Dick a famous real life great white whale.
shareI have to call "BS" on this. "Dick" doesn't mean "white" in any language I've heard of, including Old English. As for 'Moby," I'm guessing that "mobe pearl" (pronounced "mobee") has something to do with it. "Mocha" is not white.
share"Mocha" is an island in the Pacific Ocean near Chile. That's supposedly where Mocha Dick was most often spotted. The notorious whales referred to in the film and novel are named after the areas they roamed: "Timor Tom" and "New Zealand Jack," for example. Others like "Don Miguel" (a spotted whale) "Morquan," king of the Japan Seas, had great reputations, but had simple names. While "Moby Dick" is based on the legend of Mocha Dick, it seems "Moby" is a name that Herman Melville simply made up.
sharehttp://ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/nam/1998/00000046/00000004/art00003
Although "Mocha Dick" was supposedly white, I was pointing out why Melville might prefer "Mobe/Moby" to "Mocha." The article offers another possiblity.
I'm not sure who named "Moby Dick" but my Uncle Willie had a pet whale he named "Schnoodle." Whenever Uncle Willie would call him, Scnhoodle would scamper across the lawn on his huge furry flippers and bark. Schnoodle loved to play Frisbee and Twister with us kids and pinochle or mah johngg with the adults. We all cried when Schnoodle went to whale heaven after a year-long bout with constipation. When I die I want to go to whale heaven too.
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