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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ishmael say man’s importance must be, in the eyes of the gods, in the narrator’s creation myth?

2. What does Ishmael say is the purpose of Mother Culture’s story?

3. What does the narrator say, in Chapter 6, is the problem with his culture’s story?

4. How long ago did the Takers’ story come into existence?

5. What does Ishmael say, in Chapter 5, is man’s purpose on the earth?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you characterize Ishmael’s tone with the narrator in general, as they talk regularly?

2. Why is the narrator so upset to see Ishmael’s ad in the paper?

3. Why does Walter Sokolow adopt Ishmael?

4. How does the narrator characterize the problems with the narrator’s culture?

5. What is the premise that is being played out in the narrator’s creation myth, according to Ishmael?

6. What does Ishmael say is his greatest fantasy?

7. What does the sign that the narrator notices behind the gorilla say, and what does the narrator interpret it to mean?

8. How does Ishmael describe the difference between living in Africa and living in a zoo?

9. What does the narrator’s culture’s reliance on prophets indicate to Ishmael?

10. Describe the narrator’s first encounter with Ishmael.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do you think times have changed since Daniel Quinn published Ishmael in 1992? Is Ishmael’s story still applicable? Have Ishmael’s teachings been learned anywhere? Where are people advocating Ishmael’s views, and what influence are they having?

Essay Topic 2

In what ways is Ishmael relevant to contemporary readers? What contemporary issues are in play in the book, and how would the book contribute to contemporary discussion? Cite specific discussions from contemporary sources, and cite specific instances from the book that describe its contemporary relevance.

Essay Topic 3

What kind of compromise is possible between people who see things Ishmael’s way, and people who exemplify ‘Taker’ culture? Is compromise possible?

(see the answer keys)

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