Homework 2

The first reading from Ishmael was very interesting to me but also a bit confusing and difficult to understand. I really have never read anything quite like this before. But, this first reading did cause me to think about some things that I usually don't. It caused me to think about how animals, in this case the gorilla, feel when they are taken out of their "home" or natural environment by humans and put into cages in zoos or menageries. This does not seem right to me and I felt bad as the gorilla was telling his story because he once had a family and lived in basically a paradise in Africa. This was all taken away from him by humanity. I ask the question, what right do humans have to do this? I have also thought about what might be the meaning of the sign on the back of the wall that says "WITH MAN GONE, WILL THERE BE HOPE FOR GORILLA?" (9). My first thought was that it meant if humankind was gone, then gorilla would have their chance to be dominant and not subject to anyone's power (such as humanity's). But I was confused at the end as to what the man meant when he told the gorilla that "he was not Goliath".