Ishmael

I’m not a huge metaphorical philosopher, or a fan of books that fit that genre.  But the background for the message is certainly interesting, a gorilla attempting to teach man about the ethics of life and how man seems to be “screwing it all up” is the making of Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael, written in 1992. The story begins with the main character, “the Narrator,” seeing an ad in the newspaper that reads, “teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person."  He is attracted to the ad on a whim by the “absurdity” of the ad and when he arrives he finds himself in a room with a gorilla!  A note next to the gorilla notes “With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?"  The gorilla can communicate telepathically.  He learns about his arrival to his current location and how Walter Sokolow took him in and trained hm.  As the story progresses, Ishmael teaches the “nameless” narrator "how things came to be this way" for all of mankind.  Ishmael teaches the narrator a great deal regarding the history of civilization and how the culture was born from the agricultural revolution which separated the Takers (most of current humankind – those who take from this world and others and believe the world was made for them only!) and the leavers, those who use the world and leave some for others. The Takers believe they are to rule the world, of course Ishmael goes on to illustrate how flawed this premise and the Takers are in living their lives.  The Takers forget about the rest of the world, and those who live in it.  Takers are above the law of the land and he exemplifies this through Biblical stories, including the story of Adam and Cain and Abel. He explains the fall of man and how in the story of Cain and Abel, Abel is symbolized (as the Leavers), and how they were killed off and how their lands grew to become “cultivated (the agricultural development of land).  The Leavers take what they need from the world and leave the rest alone. Ishmael provides a synopsis on human culture by examining the story enacted by Leaver cultures, which provides a model of how to live—an alternative story for the Takers to enact where the land belongs to the world. He concludes with what the narrator can do if he wants to save the world. Unfortunately the gorilla disappears after being sold to a traveling circus (as the two meet semi-regularly) and in the end the gorilla dies of pneumonia. A lasting image is a note that the narrator finds from the gorilla that states, "With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?" and on the back of the note it reads, "With gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?" Obviously not huh?  The story, which introduces early on the Nazi movement, shows how despicable the power of man has gotten and we need to rely on animals for our own salvation – for food and thought!  While the message is simple, yet deep, this one went over my head at times as it just didn’t keep me that interested.  Getting hit over the head over and over again.  Love the clever metaphors though and in the end, the message is right on, man is man’s worst enemy.  Our humanness will kill us all.  Good for a philosophy lecture, not a Sunday afternoon on the beach.