Ishmael (story)

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Ismael (English original title: Ishmael ) is a 1992 novel by Daniel Quinn . This work is the first part of a trilogy , followed by The Story of B. (1996) and My Ishmael (1997, German title Ismaelskret ).

content

The novel is about an initially disillusioned, disoriented young man who, since childhood, has been constantly on the lookout for "secret knowledge" or an answer to the question of how he could save the earth. Years ago he lost hope of finding someone who could teach him this knowledge. Until one morning he discovered a classified ad in the newspaper in which a “teacher” was looking for a “student with a serious desire to save the world”.

At first, the young man is skeptical as to whether this teacher can answer his questions. But then he makes up his mind to visit this teacher, and a little later is more than just surprised. The teacher is actually not a human, but a gorilla by the name of Ishmael, who has learned to communicate with people via telepathy . Ismael lives in a rundown office building in an unspecified American city. He had to leave his previous accommodation because the woman who supported him financially and gave him shelter has died. Ishmael's life story is told by himself, since he is of the opinion that in order to be able to teach his pupil, the two must know each other. The name of the student is not mentioned in the book, but from the sequel, Ishmael's Secret, one learns that it is the writer Alan Lomax.

The class Alan takes is concerned with the study of the myths of mankind, particularly the biblical narratives of the Fall and the murder of Abel , and their impact on morality and sustainability in the use of the earth since the agricultural revolution in the Area of ​​the fertile crescent around 10,000 years ago. Ishmael uses the Socratic method . This means that the teacher gives his pupil homework, which he should solve by his own knowledge until the next meeting. This is used by Ishmael to collapse the illusion of the student and humanity that he is the ultimate living being, the top of evolution . He wants to prove that human supremacy is based on cultural myths and that these are performed by modern civilization like a play.

Ishmael's criticism relates primarily to the fact that the myth of the so-called. "Taken", which is listed today, is no longer questioned, although the way of life of today's people is not designed for sustainability, but for the continued exploitation of the planet. He attributes this to the influence of politics and the media on society, which repeat and perpetuate this myth every day in an undifferentiated manner. Ishmael does not see man as the crown of creation which evolution has brought about, but rather as part of the great coherent system earth. However, man has renounced this system by seeing the laws of nature as no longer valid for themselves and subjecting the planet to enormous overexploitation .

Ishmael does not suggest any concrete course of action to Alan how he can save the world. But he gives him to understand that the aim of his lessons is that his students also act as teachers and bring his teachings closer to other people.

At the end of the book, Ishmael disappears from the office building. After doing some research, Alan finds out that Ishmael has found accommodation in a traveling circus that has just visited the city. He drives after the circus in order to be able to continue lessons with him, which he initially succeeds in doing. Alan speaks to the new owner Ishmael and tries to raise enough money to free him from the circus. In the end, he succeeds in doing this, but when he returns to the circus, it has already moved on. Ismael recently suffered from severe pneumonia and Alan can only find out from a circus worker who has stayed behind that the gorilla has died.

Characters

Ishmael

Ismael is a gorilla who was captured at a young age in West Africa and sold to an American zoo. After he ended up in a traveling circus, a man named Walter Sokolow discovered him, who bought him from the traveling circus and took him to his home. Walter Sokolow names him Ishmael and discovers that Ishmael can communicate with him telepathically. Ishmael is taught by him in the human sciences, writing and language. Ishmael begins teaching people, including Sokolow's daughter, Rachel, teaching them how to save the earth and live sustainable lives. Ishmael disappears at the end of the novel, leaving his student behind. He assumes that Ishmael died of pneumonia.


teller

The nameless narrator is a middle-aged white American who sees a teacher (Ishmael) in a newspaper advertisement who is looking for "students with a serious desire to save the world." From an early age he was looking for a teacher who could show him how he could make the world a better and safer place, but he did not find one and has been resigned and dissatisfied ever since. He is interested in this new teacher and hopes that he can answer the questions he has asked himself since childhood, but also approaches the student-teacher relationship with a certain skepticism. The name of the narrator is not mentioned in Ishmael, but in the sequel "Ishmael's Secret" one learns that it is Alan Lomax.


Walter Sokolow

Walter Sokolow is a wealthy Jewish merchant who frees a gorilla from the traveling circus and brings him home. His family was killed in the Holocaust and he immigrated to the United States. It is he who gives the gorilla the name Ishmael and thus its own identity. Together they begin to research and deal with various sciences, such as philosophy and anthropology. After his death, his daughter Rachel takes care of Ishmael.


Rachel Sokolow

Rachel is the daughter of Walter Sokolow. She was Ishmael's student and took care of Ishmael for a period after her father's death. Rachel suffers from a serious illness and also dies. With her death, Ishmael has no more financial support and is forced to leave the care of the Sokolows.

filming

This novel served as the template for the psychological thriller Instinct by Jon Turteltaub from 1999.

Well-known actors in this film are Anthony Hopkins , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Donald Sutherland and Maura Tierney .

Awards and internet presence

The author Daniel Quinn in 1991 received the 500,000 dollars doped Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award , which was then not awarded according to data. It is also the only literary work so far that has received such a large sum.

The Internet page about Ishmael, designed by Daniel Quinn himself, offers numerous information and dissemination options as well as a list of schools in which this book is part of regular lessons.

Book editions

German translation by Wolfram Ströle:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/05/books/judges-in-turner-award-dispute-merits-of-novel-given-a-500000-prize.html
  2. ↑ http://www.ishmael.org/Origins/Ishmael/Companion/schools.cfm
  3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kurskontakte.de