Ishmael Reflection

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After millions of years of evolving, the human race is the pinnacle of evolution. With all the knowledge and skills that humanity has gained over the years, humanity is now the smartest species on the planet. This idea, however, is about to be challenge by a gorilla known as Ishmael. In Daniel Quinn 's novel Ishmael, our teacher Ishmael spends his free time trying to enlighten the Narrator into understanding the world he lives in. Through the teachings of Ishmael, the Narrator and the reader embark on a journey to free humanity from its captivity in a culture it cannot control. Ishmael is a teacher that specializes in captivity. Apart from being a gorilla that has been caged most of his life, Ishmael specializes in the concept of humans and …show more content…

The Leavers have always lived with the idea that they are one with the Earth. This idea is shown in their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and how they gather what they need and no more. This lifestyle allows for other creatures to continue to survive by not over consuming resources that they don 't need. The extra natural resources for other animals makes it so many more species can thrive, creating a wholesome community that humans and nature share. With this sharing of resources, other species are able to continue to evolve beyond the state that they are in now. Since the beginning, the planet 's inhabitants have evolved from single celled organisms into more and more complex creatures. This chain of evolution is thought to have reached its pinnacle with man, but with a leaver lifestyle, evolution could continue beyond man. According to Ishmael, it seems as if, "all sorts of creatures on this planet appear to be on the verge of attaining that self-awareness and intelligence" and man is seen as a "trailblazer" for the expansion of intelligence(Quinn242). This expansion of intelligence is only foreseeable and obtainable through the leaver lifestyle because of its sharing of

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