Melville got the ending for Moby Dick from the sinking of the whale ship Essex in 1822. She was rammed twice by a big sperm whale bull, and sank. Melville got a copy of the book written by Owen Chase, 1st mate on Essex, from Chases’ son.
If you ever read about the
Essex, it was horrifying and true.
Of the many fascinating and magically written scenarios by Melville and “observed” by the school teacher was the behavior of whales. The passages about mothers and children are moving, as are the passages about the righteous anger of whales.