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The whaleship Essex
:But, here in Lenox, I should find our most truthful novelist, who has made the scenery and life of Berkshire all her own. On the hither side of Pittsfield sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic conception of his 'White Whale,' while the gigantic shape of Graylock[sic] looms upon him from his study-window.<ref>Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1852), ''A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys:" "Bald-Summit. After the Story."[http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/wb6c.html Online]</ref>
:But, here in Lenox, I should find our most truthful novelist, who has made the scenery and life of Berkshire all her own. On the hither side of Pittsfield sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic conception of his 'White Whale,' while the gigantic shape of Graylock[sic] looms upon him from his study-window.<ref>Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1852), ''A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys:" "Bald-Summit. After the Story."[http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/wb6c.html Online]</ref>
Melville called his house in the Berkshires "Arrowhead." He lived there from 1850 to 1862. It has been preserved by the Berkshire Historical Society, which offers tours to visitors. The Society has managed to preserve not only the house, but the view of Mount Greylock from his study window. From this angle of view, the mountain resembles the profile of a sperm whale, and was one of the inspirations for his story.<ref>[http://www.mobydick.org/hm.html Herman Melville's Arrowhead] (Berkshire Historical Society website]; [http://www.mobydick.org/images/landscape.jpg Mt. Greylock] as viewed today from Arrowhead.</ref>
Melville called his house in the Berkshires "Arrowhead." He lived there from 1850 to 1862. It has been preserved by the Berkshire Historical Society, which offers tours to visitors. The Society has managed to preserve not only the house, but the view of Mount Greylock from his study window. From this angle of view, the mountain resembles the profile of a sperm whale, and was one of the inspirations for his story.<ref>[http://www.mobydick.org/hm.html Herman Melville's Arrowhead] (Berkshire Historical Society website]; [http://www.mobydick.org/images/landscape.jpg Mt. Greylock] as viewed today from Arrowhead.</ref>
The story was also suggested by the true story of the whaleship ''Essex,'' which Melville himself describes within the novel:
:In the year 1820 the ship Essex, Captain Pollard, of Nantucket, was cruising in the Pacific Ocean. One day she saw spouts, lowered her boats, and gave chase to a shoal of sperm whales. Ere long, several of the whales were wounded; when, suddenly, a very large whale escaping from the boats, issued from the shoal, and bore directly down upon the ship. Dashing his forehead against her hull, he so stove her in, that in less than "ten minutes" she settled down and fell over.<ref>Melville, Herman, ''Moby-Dick,'' chapter 45</ref>
The Starbucks coffee chain is, indeed, named after Starbuck, Captain Ahab's first mate in ''Moby-Dick.''<ref>[http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/Company_Factsheet.pdf Starbucks company factsheet (PDF)]</ref>
==The movie==
==The movie==