Ishmael: a personal revolution

Ishmael is a book of great depth and analysis. Through it we can deduct our own ideas on how to live, guiding us through the problems that hold back the world. It tells the story of a teacher and his pupil, but not as you would imagine it. Through the teacher, a gorilla, the author communicates with the reader and shares his knowledge on the topics presented by the novel. But this book leaves space for personal consideration, for the reader to interpret the teachings and to make up his own ideas.
“You’re captives of a civilization system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live.”(p.25). this is one of the quotes that made me go in and actually take the ideas in this book seriously, analyzing their meaning. This is true in a certain way, but it’s also suggesting an impossible solution. How are you to live on earth without harming it? And if there is any way to do it, are we willing to give up all we got to make it happen?
The gorilla is a symbol of development though the book. His story begins as a simple animal, a being no superior to others of his species. And as he tells us his past, we notice how he transforms into a wise being with power to instruct others on how to carry on a better life. The author chose to transmit wisdom through an animal and not through a person for a reason. Daniel Quinn wants to break with the idea that we humans are the superior and intelligent race. At the end, it’s us who don’t know how to live and who are putting the world in peril with our careless ways.
By reading the text we will come up with many ideas that we might not agree with, but it’s a novel that deserves time and patience to understand and read. It’s a great way to evaluate your life and the way you interact with the world, so that maybe we can change into better people. Is it possible that our captivity comes from our own minds? Can we break its bars? Are we willing to sacrifice our ways for that which we depend upon?