The Three Main Themes Of Ishmael By Daniel Quinn

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is a book which discusses many things, most specifically how humans see and treat the world around them. The book categorizes humans into two distinct categories, takers and leavers. There are many themes which are used throughout the book, such as captivity, identity, and evolution. One of the most important things discussed throughout the book is the environment, how humans treat it and how the takers are destroying the world through knowing nothing about it. This book has many parts of it that make it interesting to read, like the Takers and Leavers, all the different themes, and the discussion Ishmael has about the environment and how humans treat it. Ishmael starts of with the narrator reading an ad in the newspaper. …show more content…
This book starts off by discussing captivity, Ishmaels captivity, the takers captivity in their own culture, and way of thinking. Ishmael teaches the author about captivity through his own experience in the zoo and circus. Ishmael never says that he feels resentful about his captors, and he furthers the discussion about captivity by discussing mother culture, and how this culture holds people captive (36). Ishmael teaches the narrator that taker culture holds everyone captive, and the only way to break through this captivity is to form another different culture, that does not have the same “teachings” as the taker culture (44). Identity is another idea that is discussed throughout the book, Ishmael tells the narrator how he found his identity, and then tells the narrator that no one has to just accept the identity that is given to them. Ishmael tells the narrator the story of how he did not accept the name Goliath, which he eventually discards, Ishmael accepts the name Ishmael which is given to him by a person who saves him, and who the gorilla respects and admires (19). The theme of identity in the book also ties into the theme of captivity, identities that are forced upon people can lead people to try to fit into these identities, which in turn makes these people captives because they can not form their own identities. Evolution is another theme which is discussed throughout the book. Ishmael says that evolution has stopped because of the actions that humanity has taken. Ishmael says that the takers have halted their own evolution because they are not in the hands of nature and the natural processes of the earth. Takers have changed the world around them so much by taking resources and developing them so they do not have to be affected by the natural things that happen, and destroy the environment and some sources of food. Since there is no more evolution because