'Don T Call Me Ishmael'

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‘Don’t Call Me Ishmael’ features Ishmael Leseur who believes he has ‘Ishmael Leseur’s syndrome’, which has no cure. The Title The title from this book is referring to the story ‘Moby Dick’. Where on the first page, on the first line, it quotes “Call me Ishmael”. Once the reader reads this, all who have read ‘Moby Dick’ will recognise the name. I myself have not yet read ‘Moby Dick’ so the title did not mean too much to me but Michael Gerard Bauer told any readers who hadn’t yet read Moby Dick where and when the name is mentioned. People who go to the library having read Moby Dick may glance over the book and immediately see ‘Ishmael’ on the front cover and may influence their decision on reading the book. Characters At the beginning of the book, Ishmael (the protagonist) comes straight out saying that he is a loser who lives in LoserVille. Ishmael clearly is very down on himself and the school bully, Barry Bagsley does not help the case. Barry Bagsley is always on Ishmael’s tail and is starting to really annoy Ishmael. Ishmael finds some strength inside him …show more content…

This impacts the story because it shows how long it’s taken for some events to occur and it also shows how much people can change within a small timespan. Imagery/Language Sometimes in the book, Bauer will have Ishmael talk for a long period of time about how dumb he is or how sad he is and is trying to make the reader feel in the same way. While I was reading it the words chosen definitely made me think about how I might have reacted in the particular situation and comparing my ideas to what Ishmael does. I found it interesting that throughout the book, Ishmael is in constant need of a friend to help him in situations like the main plot I mentioned earlier. He is very lucky and makes many of those friends he needs by the end of the book.

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