Inspired by his whaling experiences on the South Seas, Herman Melville penned Moby-Dick, the now famed tale of a deranged whaling captain's obsessive voyage to find and destroy the great white whale to whom he lost his leg. The novel is at once an exciting sea story, a sociological critique of American prejudices, a repository of information about whaling, and a philosophical inquiry into the nature of good and evil. What may have inspired Melville to name his whale Moby-Dick? Discuss (http://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst69733_Melville-s--i-Moby-Dick--i--Published-in-the-US--1851-.aspx)