Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit, by Daniel Quinn, is a philosophical journey that takes place between an unnamed narrator and Ishmael, a gorilla, who can speak telepathically. The novel begins with the narrator reading an ad in the local newspaper calling for a student who has "...a sincere desire to save the world." This intrigues the narrator because he had searched for such a teacher throughout his early life. Although the narrator thinks the ad is a hoax, he persists in going to the indicated address to satisfy his curiosity. When the narrator enters the empty office space, he is perplexed and confused. He wanders next to a pane of glass and looks through it confusedly. As he looks through, the narrator meets Ishmael's eyes for the first time. The narrator soon learns that Ishmael is a gorilla who can speak telepathically. Next, Ishmael explains how he became who he is and gives the narrator an understanding of what he wants to teach his student. Ishmael claims that he was captured in the wild from Africa and was condemned to live in captivity. He first lived in a zoo, then in a traveling carnival, and was eventually rescued by his late owner, Walter Sokolow. It was between the two of them that Ishmael learned to communicate telepathically. After obtaining many books through its owner, Ishmael addressed the issue of captivity, then moved on to a broader topic, that of humanity. When Ishmael and the narrator meet in a series of encounters, the narrator is taught to better understand his culture and how Ishmael believes there are two types of people in the world: leavers and takers. Leavers are people from tribal cultures who prefer a simpler lifestyle. On the other hand, Takers are dominant people, they consider themselves...... middle of paper ......ke from the Takers' point of view. For example, we recently learned how greenhouse gases have negatively affected our atmosphere. Soon after, a large campaign successfully changed our minds on this topic and legislation was created to help correct this problem. Finally, the final reason why I believe we should reform our society instead of destroying it has to do with the sign posted in the office. In the office, the sign says: “With the gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?” On the other hand, we read, without man, will there be hope for gorillas?” I believe this sign is dual and means they are infinitely linked together. Perhaps Ishmael had an underlying meaning with the two-sided sign. For example, as man taught, and man learned from animals in the past; maybe we can turn the tables and pay him back. I think Ishmael wants the man to pay him