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The Narrator

Thsi character is an unnamed man who was once an idealistic youth. In the 1960s, he believed he could change the world, but he was unhappy when the idealism dwindled to ironic aloofness. He answers an ad for a teacher looking for a pupil and enters into dialogue to learn from Ishmael, a gorilla.

Ishmael

This character is a gorilla from West Africa, who was taken to the U.S. to a zoo and then sold to a prIvate menagerie. He was found by a wealthy merchant who brought him home and made him a pet, but he also educated him, and gave him responsibility for tending and teaching his daughter. After being left on his own with a fund to support him, Ishmael takes students, but he fails at teaching them what he knows about captivity. He succeeds with the narrator, who understands what he...

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