Daniel Quinn's Ishmael

In his novel, Ishmael, author Daniel Quinn (1992), uses the application sociological theories, developed by Emile Durkheim and numerous other sociologists, to illustrate the misconceptions in modern human society in a fictionalized setting. The main character of the novel, Ishmael, is a highly educated gorilla who is able to project an objective view into the societies of the world to his pupil living inside this world.
The situation in the society discussed in Ishmael involves the societies of the “Takers� and the “Leavers� and the way “Mother Culture� influences their existence. The Takers indulge in a society where questions as to the origins of culture are never addressed; whereas, the Leavers are those peoples who choose not to see themselves as the center of the universe. Ishmael states that according to the culture in Taker society, “‘The Leavers were chapter one of human history- a long and uneventful chapter. Their chapter of human history ended about ten thousand years ago with the birth of agriculture in the New East. This event marked the beginning of chapter two, the chapter of the Takers’� (Quinn 1992:42). Yet, he directly contradicts this statement and issues that each of these societies are

s are living out two different stories that are in direct opposition of one another. According to Ishmael, the Industrial Revolution cause one society to diverge into two separate entities- the hunter-gatherers and the new industrialized society.

Quinn (1992) uses the main character, Ishmael, to address the issue that the sociological theories do not approach- a solution to the problem. Ishmael completes the analysis of the societies as a sociologist would, while he also offers an opportunity for the narrator to make a change in the world. Ishmael provides the knowledge and explanations in order for the narrator to understand the faults of the Taker society and then, points him in the direction of change. He states that change will not be easy that the narrator will face much opposition from the people with who he speaks. The reason that people refuse to accept these ideas is because they do not realize that they have based their lives on an unsupported belief system. Ishmael tries to explain to the narrator that today’s members of society can recognize Greek or Roman mythology as mythology because they are not living during the time of believers in those ideals. Yet, they cannot recognize their own stories as mythology because they are living out the stories that will someday be seen as mythology as change is brought into the world. Ishmael suggests that each person should decide for him or herself what reality consists of, rather than buying into the conformity of Mother Culture and her society.

The society of the Takers and the Leavers produce lasting effects on the world, positively or negatively, without realizing that their social structure is causing the effects directly. Yet, there are certain draw backs that are recognized and sacrificed for the betterment of the society as a whole. In the Taker society, Ishmael reveals some of the functions of the