Ishmael

A detailed Summary of Ishmael


In the past few centuries there have been a handful of books written that offer up ideas about humanity that are so completely new to a reader but are so completely convincing that they can force a reader to take a step back and assess all that they know to be true about their life and their purpose. Daniel Quinn has succeeded in creating such a book in Ishmael, a collection of new ideas about man, his evolution, and the "destiny" that keeps him captive.

When I began reading Ishmael I was amazed by the ideas offered by Quinn. Like in Rambo and the Dalai Lama by Gordon Fellman I was looking at the world not as it must be but as it could be. I was very suprised and excited, that as a member of "generation X" that tries so hard to create their own destiny, that I had never perceived or questioned "Mother Culture".

In the first one hundred pages if Ishamel I found a number of convincing ideas that I believe I will take away with me. The greatest of these being that the technology that we believe will prolong our existence is the same driving force that p


quicker end than if he hadn't tried at all.

Throughout Ishmael Quinn has offered ideas about how man is living in its own captivity. This captivity seems to be death through narrow mindedness and I think I would have to agree. But I believe their was another point or idea presented by Quinn but in a less direct manner. This was presented in Ishmael himself. Throughout the book I felt more drawn to the ideas of Quinn's not just because they were simply convincing on their own, which they were, but more because of who they were coming from, a gorilla. Although I accept to these ideas as coming from Daniel Quinn, a man, while reading I am drawn to believe that this wise old gorilla would never lie. I think that Quinn chose the gorilla because of how it is perceived by the Takers, an earlier version of ourselves with the ability to evolve as we did. I think that many people would like to know what an animal is thinking and might also like to believe that they know something we do not, an "unknown wisdom" that we as humans can not figure out.

knew that he could fly but he didn't

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mother Culture, Daniel Quinn, Peace Studies, , Ishmael Quinn, Gordon Fellman, Ishmael Throughout, mother culture, believe quinn, daniel quinn, quinn offered,

Approximate Word count = 735
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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