As a high school
student who has spent many boring hours reading trivial books assigned to me in
English courses, I was glad to read Daniel Quinn’s novel, Ishmael. Right from the start, I realized with absolute certainty
that Quinn’s story of a young man and an extraordinary gorilla offered a much more
philosophical reading experience than the numerous novels I have had the
displeasure of reading throughout my years at St. Paul Academy (no offense to
the English Department). What really sold me on the tale, and frankly kept me
craving more of it, was the practicality of its ambiguous messages. Ishmael
teaches a young man about societal concepts that we humans are so in tune with
that we find ourselves completely oblivious to them. But the lessons themselves
offer a hope for the future of our planet, our species, and other inhabitants
of this chunk of space we like to call earth- if you can discern these foggy
ideas. One intimidating theory that the Gorilla struggles to prove to the
narrator is that of a global prison, in which nearly every human being is
trapped.
I
find the metaphorical style in which Ishmael describes the destructive nature
of mankind to be fascinating. I have learned that efficient prisons function
well because inmates generally occupy themselves with something. This
alleviates the tremendous boredom inmates’ face. Ishmael explains that the
global prison we inhabit is very real, and all the while we are blissfully unaware
of such an elaborate system, simply because we are occupied, in other words,
not bored. What are we- you and I- so
busy with that we don’t notice the metaphorical chains around our ankles and
wrists? After reading Ishmael’s explanation, and after I gave it some thought,
the answer was clear. Humans are occupied with conquering anything that stands
in the way of our goals. As ambiguous as that sounds, it’s the god honest
truth. We are so caught up in bigger and better, that we neglect the needs or
goals of other people, species, and climate. One such example: farmers bulldoze
wildlife breeding grounds so that they can potentially pocket another $10,000
dollars a year from the corn they can plant. We do irreversible damage to the
world in which we depend on, claiming it is “inevitable human progress”. I
guess, that’s just the way it has to be. Right?
Genesis
outlines the nature of man, as destructive, disobedient; in summary, all of our
decisions are drunk with personal gain. Most of the world’s human population
craves their own societal growth, regardless of harmful consequences to people,
or the natural world. We accept that humans are inherently destructive (why?),
and that we will never change. I tend to agree that the destructive nature of
man is never going to change, regardless of whatever may result from our
behavior. I guess that would make sense,
humans were born kicking and screaming, and will die in a similar manner.
In regards to the
message I should walk away with after completing Ishmael, I am still lost. For in time, perhaps, the answer shall be
clear, but for now, it seems that with Gorilla gone, there will NOT be hope for man.
