To start out, Ishmael
was a book that grew on me slowly. I
began the book skimming and finding myself very bored page after page, but
discussions in the classroom, as well as deeper topics in the book eventually
intrigued me. Although, at times this book
confused me, I’m glad I had the chance to read such an interesting and eye
opening novel.
As we all know, Ishmael didn’t leave us with any particular
answer which causes frustration for some readers, I understand. But at the same time, I think this cliffhanger
allows for a better discussion and more loose ends to play with. Is that really
all Ishmael had to teach? Or was he just saying that because he knew his time
to pass was coming? How do we go about solving the destruction of the Earth
that we, the Takers, have put upon it? I
ultimately believe that Quinn left the book so open ended on purpose because
you strive to keep finding “the answer.”
In terms of the arguments presented by Ishmael, I found
myself most interested in the Tree of Knowledge.
As we discussed in one of our final wrap-ups
of the novel, the biblical representation of the tree shows how humans were a
failure and we’ve been a failure all the way from the beginning (Adam and Eve),
but Ishmael takes a different spin on it.
Instead of deeming us a failure, Ishmael portrays humans’ successful
failure through an interpretation of the tree analogy. The idea that the tree led us as humans to
further knowledge, such as storing the food to ultimately beat the limits of
life on Earth, shows the success we withhold.
When looking at the natural resources on Earth as well as things such as
climate change, it’s visible that our success was ultimately a failure.
But how did humans reach this advanced stage of successful
failure that we are at today? Well, it’s simple. As Ishmael lays out in the novel, as tillers
of the soil, humans discovered the storing and growing of food that could lead
to a healthier, more sustainable life.
With this eventually came the agricultural revolution, and this event
ultimately brought us to the stage of technological advancements beyond belief,
also referred to as the Information Age.
The interest in the Tree of Knowledge ultimately brought me
to an extensive writing by Tamar Frankiel.
Throughout the article Frankiel brings up ideas that agree, as well as
disagree with Ishmael’s argument. Right
in the first paragraph Frankiel states, “our deepest happiness is also a path
to truth and goodness,” but from Ishmael’s argument this quote isn’t necessarily
true. “Our deepest happiness,” being
surviving and beating Earth’s limits, doesn’t show human’s goodness because
ultimately that action is unnatural considering the limits were broken. And once these limitations were broken, human’s
act of goodness was not so good for the Earth.
Goodness also ties along with the Good and Evil of the tree and the
failure of the test to not eat from the tree. This guided my thoughts back to the discussion we had in class about how
God’s punishments weren’t actually all that evil, but instead were things that
are common today (man works, woman caretaker).
Looking at the biblical argument versus Ishmael’s interpretation, I
think the telepathic gorilla knows what he is talking about. Either way, I see human’s path as a failure,
but the idea that we stored food (Ishmael’s argument) was the first stepping
stone into creating the world into what it has become today.
Link to Tamar Frankiel's article: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2568/jewish/The-Tree-of-Knowledge.htm
