Instead, Ishmael suggests that the narrator's sense of being lied to results from a vague awareness of this story, and the pressure to conform to that story. Confused, the narrator is skeptical of these abstract claims, but Ishmael is not deterred. The story is so ingrained in culture that it operates like background noise nobody actually hears it, even though it continues to play. Like the Germans, mankind today is living out a "story" that they know by the time they are "six or seven," a story that covers all areas of life including race, politics, and nationality (36). Ishmael compares those German citizens to people in contemporary society the world over. To ensure this captivity, he told his people a story, about how their Aryan race had been deprived of its rightful place in the world, and must reclaim it. Ishmael asserts that Hitler kept not only Jews captive, but the German people as well. However, after some time passes, the narrator visits him at a carnival where he works as part of an exhibit about whales.Ishmael and the narrator begin by discussing Nazi Germany. After some investigation, the narrator finds out that Ishmael had passed away. When he returns, he finds that Ishmael has been removed. The narrator is distracted from his work by a visitor and has to put off visiting Ishmael. The Takers thought they had divine knowledge about who should live or die. Ishmael then explains how the ancient Semitic herders, who originated the tale of Cain and Abel, used that story to symbolize the way that agricultural civilizations were destroying hunter-gatherer societies. What this represents is that it’s not actually a fall for mankind but rather a belief held by those in power at that time – which were Leavers – that they had control over nature on par with or superior to gods. The story is about a man who ate from the Tree of Knowledge and gained knowledge about who should live or die even though he didn’t gain any such information (160). He claims that the story was created by Leavers to explain why Takers started acting as if they owned the world. The author then explores the Genesis origin stories of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel. Only humans have taken exception to this rule, which suggests that any species can protect itself but cannot wipe out another species or food chain. One of those rules is that there is limited competition amongst all species. The narrator and Ishmael also establish some rules that have allowed the world to survive for so long. Takers blame their problems on gods or something else external to themselves, but Ishmael believes that people only have themselves to blame because they’re enacting a destructive story against nature. The story that drives this belief is passed down through society by Mother Culture, who reinforces it in every aspect of life for Takers. They point out that Takers believe they are at the top of evolution, which has led to catastrophic results for humans. Ishmael and his pupil discuss the differences between the Taker and Leaver stories. A culture is a group of people enacting stories together (41). A story is an interrelation between gods, man, and earth that can be enacted by humans through their daily lives in order to make it true. The rest of humanity is called “leavers,” or uncivilized people. They’re also known as “civilized” because they’ve evolved from a simpler time when men were hunters and gatherers to more civilized times, such as now. “Takers” are the people who developed agriculture in the Neolithic Revolution. Before they start their discussion, Ishmael defines some terms: The narrator has similar feelings of being trapped, but can’t express them well. Ishmael learned how to communicate with people in zoos and aquariums, so he’s able to think like a human. The narrator claims that he has spent his whole life in a form of captivity, and now they are going to discuss what it means for humanity as well. The narrator and Ishmael then begin their dialogue about the topic of captivity. Impressed by this story, the narrator decides to keep working with Ishmael throughout the book. They learn about each other’s pasts – in which Ishmael was stolen from his mother at birth and put into captivity, then rescued by a Holocaust survivor who taught him how to speak English. Nevertheless, he responds to Ishmael’s ad for help and finds that the gorilla can communicate telepathically with him. He was a part of the counterculture movement in his youth and found it to be useless. Must have a desire to save the world.” The narrator goes to see the teacher and begins his adventures with Ishmael.Īt first, the narrator is angry because he thinks that helping Ishmael will be like saving the world. The narrator finds an ad in the newspaper that reads: “Teacher seeks pupil.
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