Captivity In Daniel Quinn's Ishmael

Ishmael is a very captivating novel which teaches us valuable lessons about helping our environment. In our society, most people overlook how fundamental the environment is for our survival. The book explains how we can “save the world.” However, one should note that saving the world doesn’t necessarily mean being a superhero. We can save the world by just helping to preserve and protect the environment. The book also highlights the theme of captivity and how it is prevalent in every life form. The author, Daniel Quinn, explains captivity in a very unique way. By using a gorilla as a teacher, it gives us a different view of how we impact our planet. After reading Ishmael, it opened a whole new perspective of how I see the world.
As soon as the novel begins, we are introduced to the concept of saving the environment. The book begins with the narrator explaining his life-long dream of helping the world. He says that the cultural revolution of the 1960’s contributed to his ambition. However, as time went on he

slowly lost hope for his desire. “Something died inside of me—something that I’d always sort of liked and admired.” (6) But when the narrator sees the ad for learning to save the world, he latches back on with to dreams. This book opened my eyes to the destruction we cause to our environment. This novel has made me realize that we only live for today, never looking into the future.
This book also covers the theme of captivity.

When Ishmael discusses his background story, he explains the three ways that he was kept in captivity: a zoo, a carnival, and a cage. As the lessons progressed, Ishmael revisits the theme of captivity. This time explaining the way humans are held captive. Ishmael suggests that people are held captives by Mother Culture. “You’re captives of a civilization system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live. (25) As I read the novel, I started to question whether the decisions I made in life were influenced by society. Ever since we were children, we were told to attend the finest universities. It is considered as one of the most important step of our lives. But why is it that without college, we think we can’t get a job which would lead to financial issues when it comes to supporting our families. Is this influenced by Mother Culture? Is it truly what I

want?
Another theme addressed in the novel is that humans are flawed. This idea can be traced back the story of Adam and Eve, where Adam was flawed because of his temptation and released evil into the world. Quinn believes that belief gives man a reason for practicing destructive behavior without being responsible for it. Really, we are not flawed but just misled. For thousands of years, man lived without destruction and lived according to the “peace-keeping” laws. What changed was not a flaw, but rather choosing a different path. And this change led to the greatest achievements mankind has ever invented. We have created machines that help us make tasks faster and easier. These machines may cause pollution, but we are taking action. We have created organizations that help with reducing the amount of pollution we create. As long as we try to preserve nature, humans cannot be considered as flawed. Man is capable of living in harmony with the Earth, as long as he learns from his mistakes.
Overall, this book provided an insightful view of how we should live. It is very important to note that the author did not attempt to persuade us that science should be abandoned. The author wants us to look at ourselves without the distorting lens of “society” that is placed before our eyes. Ishmael assists with removing this lens. Viewing ourselves this way is amazing, opening new ways of how we should treat our world.