The Importance Of Evolution In Daniel Quinn's Novel 'Ishmael'

After millions of years, the human race is the pinnacle of evolution. With all the knowledge and skills that humanity has gained over the years, mankind is now the smartest and most adaptive species on the planet. This concept, however, is about to be challenged by a gorilla known as Ishmael. In Daniel Quinn 's novel Ishmael, our teacher Ishmael spends his free time trying to enlighten his students into understanding the world that they live 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 for most of his life, Ishmael specializes in the concept …show more content…
The main philosophy of the Takers is that humans were the pinnacle of evolution. Every bit of evolution led to the creation of homo sapiens sapiens. This idea that everything that has occurred has been a precursor leading to man has given humans the idea that they are better than everything else and everything in the universe was created for humans. This creates a natural hierarchy where humanity reigns over everything else. This hierarchy undermines the value of all species by viewing humans as more important. This relationship between man and nature leaves an unbalanced and non protective relationship where humans gain an advantage through the exploitation of other species. This relationship between humans and nature is emphasized through the Narrator 's stating of, "four things the Takers do that are never done in the rest of the community... (that) are all fundamental to their civilizational system"(Quinn126). These four things are to "exterminate their competitors"(Quinn126), "systematically destroy their competitors ' food"(Quinn127), deny their competitors access to food"(Quinn127), and store their food for another day(127). These concepts performed by Taker society show how the Takers are so different from other species on this planet. Takers have used these traits to create a utopia where humans are ensuring they survive by guaranteeing food for themselves while getting rid of their competition. This idea falls plays part in a major Taker philosophy discussed later by the Narrator and Ishmael. While the Leavers live their lives without knowing whether they will find food and survive the next day, they live their lives in the hands of the gods. The Takers on the other hand have put their lives in their own hands. By planting more food than is needed, the Takers have put their lives in their own hands and thereby have taken all the power from the hands of the gods(Quinn225). With the