SECTION 8

In section 8 the narrator proposes what he believes the law is that the takers break. Or in other words he points out the things that the "takers" do that "destroys" the world that the rest of the world does not do. The first one was that they exterminate their competitors. This is one of the things that I thought the narrator would saw. Humans, or "the takers" really do kill animals if they do anything that affects our own wealth, or in this case food. Another thing that the narrator pointed out is that the takers deny their competitor's access to food. This is very true. We are so selfish and use everything in this world to benefit ourselves and our own wealth. We do not think about what will happen to our competitors or what they are going to eat. This is because, as the narrator states, we think everything on this planet belongs to us and was created solely for us. That is where the flaw lies. The takers do not understand that they must share the world with every other creature that is in it. Only then will this "destruction" of the world stop.

Section 7

In section 7 Ishmael asked the narrator if he could figure out what the law is that is followed invariably and has been for thousands of years, except by the "takers". When he first mentioned this I thought that he was referring to some type of law that deals with the respect of nature. Some examples could be using up all the resources in the world, taking over areas that are the habitat to animals and therefore causing the extinction of many species, and there are many more. I thought the analogy that Ishmael used about the A's, B's, and C's was also very interesting about how none of them ever even thought about running away even though they eat each other. This is also the first time I think that the narrator did not seem to completely agree with Ishmael because he felt depressed when he left.

Homework 7

In this reading of section six the main focus of Ishmael was on a certain law that he kept referring to. More specifically, this law is not one that refers to only a few creatures, but it applies to every living thing on the planet. Yes, that includes the human beings as well. The problem is that humans to not believe that they are subject to the law. Humans believe that they are the central figure of creation and can not imagine being subject to the same natural law that applies to the tiny organisms such as mosquitoes and all other living things. This is where a major flaw of humanity lies. We, as humans think we are better than everybody and everything esle and therefore do not respect the other creatures of our planet. Instead, we think of Earth as OUR planet instead of one we are sharing with tons of other animals and creatures.

Homework 6

The main thing that had an impact on me in this reading was when they were talking about how it was humans' destiny to conquer and rule the world. But, humans have succeeded in essentially conquering the world, but they have also caused great destruction to this place. Humans have not taken responsibility for their actions and taken care of the environment. Instead humans see the destruction of our planet as somebody else's problem instead of our own. That point of view is completely and utterly wrong because humans are the ones that have caused the problem. I thought it was interesting when the narrator talked about how humans need to fulfill their conquering of the world and ultimately control nature and use it to our advantage. Only then will the world truly be a paradise. But, none of this wuill happen because there is something flawed with humanity.

homework 5

I was interested by the middle of the story that the narrator told. He said that man for a long time acted like any other creature without any control over the environment. This is because they could not settle down in one place and begin to take control. Instead, humans were hunting and gathering and essentially following their food wherever it went. But, when humans began to figure out agriculture was the turning point. After this, followed the rise of technology and humans began to take control over the environment. It was also very interesting to listen to Ishmael as he was explaining the duty of humans on earth as they see it. That duty is to hold dominion or to rule over all the creatures and create order in the world. As people believe, without the humans there would just be chaos throughout the world. But, I was a bit confused as to what Ishmael means when he says that humans have paid the price that casts humans as the enemy of the world.

homework 4

In this third reading I was most interested by the "beginning" of the creation story that the narrator told Ishmael. At first he was confused as to what story Ishmael was referring to. He thought about the one that was told in Genesis. But, then he said that if he was teaching a school class about the creation story he would definitely not tell the one in Genesis. So, the narrator told a story that had to do with evolution and how things came to be after millions and millions of years. I was actually very unfamiliar with this story, or at least the details of of it such as how many years it actually took. I am different than the narrator in that if somebody asked me to tell the creation story or myth, as Ishmael referred to it, I would not have even thought about the one that the narrator told, but I would tell the one in Genesis because that is what I believe.

In this reading of Ishmael another thing that had a big impact on me was a point that Ishmael made to the narrator. He said that as humans tell the story, the climax or the ending point is the creation of man. Humans believe that they are the most important and should rule the world or have dominion in the world because as they tell the story, evolution ends with the creation of man. I began to think about if I have fallen into this trap and believe the the world was created for me, or humans. I also like the point that Ishmael made when he was talking about what would happen if the world was created for jelly fish and what if evolution ended with them. But, neither of these ideas are the case. Ishmael points out that evolution did not stop with the creation of jelly fish and it certainly does not just stop with the creation of human kind.

Homework 3

The second reading of Ishmael was of great interest to me. I enjoyed learing about the past of Ishmael and how he got to where he is now. I was not surprised that the same man, Walter Sokolow, who had told him that he was not Goliath was the one that ended up being his caretaker. I am fascinated by the relationship that this gorilla, Ishmael, and Walter shared. For example, Walter would just sit by his cage and speak to him for great periods of time as if he could understand everything that was being said. Ultimately, over time the gorilla and Walter were able to communicate with each other somehow. This shows a great bond between them, but sadly the wife of Walter did not really like Ishmael.
When the gorilla tells the narrator that his subject is captivity some things went through my head. I was trying to figure out what exactly did he mean by that. My thought was that he was referring to his own captivity from the wild in Africa. I think that maybe he is referring to how humanity is making the Earth its captive and how it won't survive much longer unless something is done. I believe that Ishmael is trying to teach humans to treat the world better so that it can be preserved instead of being destroyed like it is now.