Ishmael is the story of a desperate young man in search of a
teacher. The teacher he finds is a gorilla, who, being a member of
another species, has an entirely different vision of our history and our
role in the universe. No ordinary gorilla, Ishmael is uncommonly
intelligent, with an ability to not merely understand human speech but
to recognize the fundamental flow of contemporary western culture and to
point the way toward a solution. Who better than a gorilla that has
been held in captivity for decades to describe the human condition as a
form of captivity? Ishmael suggests that modern humans, for the
most part, are “captives of a civilization system that more or less
compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live.” This
assignment requires you to elaborate your thoughts on Ishmael in an open reflection.
The reflection should be a minimum of 4 double spaced pages
(formal essay, with an introduction and a conclusion). The only
restriction on this reflection (aside from length) is that you must use
at LEAST TWO scholarly sources that have not been assigned for this course. This should NOT be a summary of Ishmael as I have already read the book. DO NOT SUBMIT A BOOK REVIEW OR YOU WILL EARN A ZERO ON THIS ASSIGNMENT! You must demonstrate
that you have read the book in its entirety . . . the use of examples
(cited appropriately) is perhaps the most efficient way to accomplish
this task. (For example, if most/all of your examples are from the first
50 pages, it will be reasonably obvious to me that you have not read
the entire book)!
Points you MAY want to use to guide your paper (not required):
What is the Taker story? Are we captives of the Taker story? What is
the penalty for refusing a part in the Taker story? Explain the premise
of the taker story that “the world was made for man, and he was meant
to rule and conquer it.” Why does Ishmael find this premise problematic?
Do you agree with Ishmael that we need to destroy the prison, not redistribute wealth within it? What does this mean?
Explain the two sides of the poster Ishmael kept with him: With Man
Gone, Will There Be Hope for Gorilla? With Gorilla Gone, Will There Be
Hope for Man?
What is the relevance of this story for this course? For Justice Studies generally?
What does Ishmael mean when he says that “to live at the mercy of
the world” is not to “be truly man”? What does it mean to be truly
human?
Book
https://archive.org/details/ishmae00quin/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater
RUBRIC
https://cdn.inst-fs-iad-prod.inscloudgate.net/5440a9df-7d82-4447-ab63-06ffa2d1fb8d/Grading%20Rubric%20Ishmael%20Reflection%202022.doc?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzUxMiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6ImNkbiJ9.eyJyZXNvdXJjZSI6Ii81NDQwYTlkZi03ZDgyLTQ0NDctYWI2My0wNmZmYTJkMWZiOGQvR3JhZGluZyUyMFJ1YnJpYyUyMElzaG1hZWwlMjBSZWZsZWN0aW9uJTIwMjAyMi5kb2MiLCJ0ZW5hbnQiOiJjYW52YXMiLCJ1c2VyX2lkIjpudWxsLCJpYXQiOjE2NDc1ODI0NjIsImV4cCI6MTY0NzY2ODg2Mn0.vtxjoPIvsEpxD_oLWviV7RCs-0xpT5eUZvLOsaJnAfJOrzf8rttACo_dH3ViXKJ1XXxUDEXbMN6x25nOCbb6Gw&download=1&content_type=application%2Fmsword
