IshmaelIshmael by Daniel Quinn is the story of one man's quest for knowledge and his desire to "save the world". By responding to a simple newspaper ad for a teacher looking for students (p4), the narrator is sent on an incredible philosophical journey. The teacher our narrator expects is not the one he finds, however, as our titular character Ishmael, so aptly named by Walter Sokolow (p18) when he sensed the gorilla's almost divine presence, is that teacher. This teaching is made possible by Ishmael's miraculous mode of telepathic communication (p21). Ishmael's name, originally Goliath due to his size and supposed behavior (p14), I find incredibly appropriate as he, like Abraham's eldest son, appears to be sent from the heavens albeit in this case to save us from ourselves . I consider Daniel Quinn's Ishmael to be more in line with that of Islamic theology as he has more of a prophetic character rather than that of Jewish theology where he is generally seen as evil although repentant (although it was a Jew who gave him the name so that may make my opinion invalid). His divine nature and importance are demonstrated most powerfully by a few simple lines on a poster that the narrator finds in a pile upon Ishmael's death. The question on the opposite side of the aforementioned poster “WITHOUT GORILLAS, WILL THERE BE HOPE FOR MAN?” (p263) is entirely reasonable as his teachings throughout the book make this question evident in our minds before it is even discovered. Two main components involved in Ishmael's lessons are the concepts of "Leaves" and "Takes" (p38). The two terms are used synonymously for primitive and civilized groups respectively (p39), where we and all developed nations, along with Ishmael's pupil, are the Takers while they are native... center of the card... last 48 years old. Over the same period, however, the world's population doubled. This discovery lends credence to Ishmael's statement. But how can we stop this increase in production along with our other multiple problems? Ishmael says, “You do it the same way you stop destroying the ozone layer, the same way you stop cutting down rainforests. If the will is there, the method will be found” (p140). As much as the impact of greenhouse gases and the like is debated in our society, there is no doubt that we are making the world an increasingly less livable place due to the destruction of various ecologies. The fact that these debates are taking place shows that there is an interest, that there is a will, to move us away from the path to self-destruction. And so the question remains: “WITHOUT GORILLAS, WILL THERE BE HOPE FOR MAN?” I certainly think so.