How did Nathaniel Hawthorne influence Moby Dick?
Hawthorne was a very good friend of Herman Melville. If you look into Melville’s biography, you will find that a lot of Melville’s work was not received well by the public. Even an iconic book like Moby Dick was received very poorly. In an effort to better himself as a writer, Melville often sent samples of his work to Hawthorne for review. Of course, Hawthorne was a much more popular writer during that time and his criticism would have meant a great deal to Melville. This close relationship to Hawthorne is what caused Melville to dedicate the book to his friend. In your copy of Moby Dick, you might notice the dedication in the beginning says something like “In token of my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to Nathaniel Hawthorne.” I hope that helps.
