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Ishmael (1992)

 Ishmael (1992)
type
TVTItem
 Ishmael (1992)
label
Ishmael (1992)
 Ishmael (1992)
page
Ishmael1992
 Ishmael (1992)
comment
Ishmael is a philosophical novel written by Daniel Quinn and published in 1992. The book begins with our narrator finding an ad in the paper that states:Jaded by the lack of change that occurred during the 60s, the narrator answers this ad to confront this so-called teacher, and ends up learning about just how the world works.This novel is the first in a trilogy that includes My Ishmael and The Story of B.Not to be confused with the Star Trek novel Ishmael (1985).
 Ishmael (1992)
fetched
2024-01-30T03:16:26Z
 Ishmael (1992)
parsed
2024-01-30T03:16:26Z
 Ishmael (1992)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Ishmael (1992) / int_121865ac
type
Noble Savage
 Ishmael (1992) / int_121865ac
comment
Noble Savage: Mentioned and refuted by Ishmael.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_121865ac
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1.0
 Ishmael (1992) / int_121865ac
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Ishmael (1992) / int_121865ac
 Ishmael (1992) / int_3862fa01
type
Ludd Was Right
 Ishmael (1992) / int_3862fa01
comment
Ludd Was Right: An extreme version — any method of food production beyond hunting and gathering is unnatural for humanity and will lead to suffering. The advent of farming moved humanity outside of the natural order and set them up, artificially, as gods over the world.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_3862fa01
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_3862fa01
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 Ishmael (1992)
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Ishmael (1992) / int_3862fa01
 Ishmael (1992) / int_3d5377e5
type
First-Person Peripheral Narrator
 Ishmael (1992) / int_3d5377e5
comment
First-Person Peripheral Narrator: The nameless narrator tells the story of Ishmael.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_3d5377e5
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_3d5377e5
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 Ishmael (1992)
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Ishmael (1992) / int_3d5377e5
 Ishmael (1992) / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 Ishmael (1992) / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: The narrator is Ishmael's first successful student and learns all that he needs to know, but Ishmael dies. In the sequel, we find out that he actually faked his death so his student would quit following him around and go apply what he'd been taught.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_40cc0c7e
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 Ishmael (1992)
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Ishmael (1992) / int_40cc0c7e
 Ishmael (1992) / int_49ef37e6
type
Catch Your Death of Cold
 Ishmael (1992) / int_49ef37e6
comment
Catch Your Death of Cold: Ishmael seems to do just that.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_49ef37e6
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_49ef37e6
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 Ishmael (1992)
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Ishmael (1992) / int_49ef37e6
 Ishmael (1992) / int_5ac34441
type
Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp"
 Ishmael (1992) / int_5ac34441
comment
Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Takers and Leavers, for, roughly, hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists. The difference is more complex than that, which is why he invents the new terminology.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_5ac34441
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Ishmael (1992) / int_5ac34441
 Ishmael (1992) / int_60fa92ac
type
Names to Run Away from Really Fast
 Ishmael (1992) / int_60fa92ac
comment
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Before Ishmael was called Ishmael, his name was Goliath.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_60fa92ac
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_60fa92ac
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Ishmael (1992) / int_60fa92ac
 Ishmael (1992) / int_6b261d5e
type
Artistic License – Statistics
 Ishmael (1992) / int_6b261d5e
comment
Artistic License – Statistics: The main thrust of Ishmael's argument is that increasing food production leads to an increase in population, which in turn renders the increase in food production meaningless and creates a Vicious Cycle that ends with everyone starving. Statistics have not supported this Malthusian argument; current estimates have the world stabilizing at around 10 billion people, with the main cause of starvation in impoverished countries being a lack of access and distribution rather than supply.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_6b261d5e
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Ishmael (1992) / int_6b261d5e
 Ishmael (1992) / int_6ca72c26
type
All Take and No Give
 Ishmael (1992) / int_6ca72c26
comment
All Take and No Give: What seems to be implied by the name 'Takers', as opposed to the 'Leavers'. The full meaning is more that the Takers take the government of the world out of the gods' hands, while the Leavers are willing to leave the world in it.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_6ca72c26
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Ishmael (1992) / int_6ca72c26
 Ishmael (1992) / int_77d826c7
type
Stern Teacher
 Ishmael (1992) / int_77d826c7
comment
Stern Teacher: Ishmael teaches via the Socratic method, where the teacher asks leading questions, lets the student come to a false conclusion, and then collapses that conclusion so the student comes to the right answer through their own work.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_77d826c7
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_a15af1f3
type
Sugar Bowl
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a15af1f3
comment
Sugar Bowl: There's a bit where the eponymous gorilla attempts to illustrate his main point by making the case for how a world in which people eat other people could be one of these.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a15af1f3
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Ishmael (1992) / int_a15af1f3
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a59e28a9
type
Overpopulation Crisis
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a59e28a9
comment
Overpopulation Crisis: In Ishmael's view, the inevitable result of humanity's unnaturally large food production through commercial agriculture. More food = more people, until finally the numbers tip and humans begin to starve.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a59e28a9
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Ishmael (1992) / int_a59e28a9
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a964d140
type
Gentle Gorilla
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a964d140
comment
Gentle Gorilla: Ishmael is a tame, wise gorilla. He has telepathic powers to converse with the narrator.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_a964d140
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_a964d140
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 Ishmael (1992)
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Ishmael (1992) / int_a964d140
 Ishmael (1992) / int_ba236071
type
It Makes Sense in Context
 Ishmael (1992) / int_ba236071
comment
It Makes Sense in Context: Actually, even after you find out what the teacher really is, it still doesn't really make sense. You just roll with it.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_ba236071
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 Ishmael (1992)
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Ishmael (1992) / int_ba236071
 Ishmael (1992) / int_bbc77bb5
type
Hard Truth Aesop
 Ishmael (1992) / int_bbc77bb5
comment
Hard Truth Aesop: The book argues that if people are starving, it's better to let them starve and get the population back into sustainable limits. Cruel to that particular tribe, yes, but it means future generations will be living with enough food. Increasing food production — no matter where on Earth — won't eliminate starvation, since the population will increase in proportion and people will continue to starve.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_bbc77bb5
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_c391447c
type
God Is Flawed
 Ishmael (1992) / int_c391447c
comment
God Is Flawed: The Taker reasoning, according to the narrator, is that the gods made man to rule the world, but the gods were incompetent and made man flawed. Therefore, man has to take his destiny into his own hands.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_c391447c
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Ishmael (1992) / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: Quite a lot of references including but not limited to: Stonehenge, the Piped Piper, the Rosetta Stone, the second murderer in Macbeth...
 Ishmael (1992) / int_c75df49a
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_c75df49a
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Ishmael (1992) / int_c75df49a
 Ishmael (1992) / int_ce75a983
type
Screw Destiny
 Ishmael (1992) / int_ce75a983
comment
Screw Destiny: What Takers evidently say to the gods and the rest of the world. It doesn't turn out well, since it makes them arrogant, and they/we start growing proud.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_ce75a983
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_d71d51fd
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The End of the World as We Know It
 Ishmael (1992) / int_d71d51fd
comment
The End of the World as We Know It: The ultimate consequences of Taker cultures ruling the earth.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_d71d51fd
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_d71d51fd
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_dfa40c1b
type
Didn't See That Coming
 Ishmael (1992) / int_dfa40c1b
comment
Didn't See That Coming: Bet you weren't expecting to find out that Ishmael is actually a telepathic gorilla.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_dfa40c1b
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_eba6a077
type
Cain and Abel
 Ishmael (1992) / int_eba6a077
comment
Cain and Abel: Takers and Leavers, basically. Specifically, Ishmael theorizes the social conditions (competition between takers and leavers) under which the framework of the story of Cain and Abel arose.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_eba6a077
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_eeb2d092
type
Killer Gorilla
 Ishmael (1992) / int_eeb2d092
comment
Killer Gorilla: Ishmael, when he was younger, was a circus gorilla, with the advertising playing up his ferocity. He didn't quite understand why.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_eeb2d092
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 Ishmael (1992) / int_f9876f7e
type
Faking the Dead
 Ishmael (1992) / int_f9876f7e
comment
Faking the Dead: As shown in the sequel My Ishmael, he didn't actually die.
 Ishmael (1992) / int_f9876f7e
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Ishmael (1992)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
Catch Your Death of Cold / int_59271d4d
 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
Gentle Gorilla / int_59271d4d
 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
God Is Flawed / int_59271d4d
 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
Koan / int_59271d4d
 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
Overpopulation Crisis / int_59271d4d
 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
Silly Simian / int_59271d4d
 Ishmael (1992)
hasFeature
Sugar Bowl / int_59271d4d