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Patriarchy In Ishmael

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The Earth is slowly degenerating and humans are to blame. Racism, sexism and other forms of oppression are tearing society apart. In Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, the teacher Ishmael, a gorilla, analyzes the downfall of humanity. Ishmael separates the race of humans into two defined groups- the Leavers and the Takers. The Leavers are more aware that their existence is valuable and are not put on Earth to rule; on the contrary, the Takers tend to believe that they are put on Earth to control and use all of the planet’s resources to achieve their gods’ expectations. The Takers’ reign powers through the oppression, dominance, and patriarchy above all living species- even humanity. Ishmael teaches me once humanity considers and fixes the oppression, …show more content…

Since humans had established their dominance over all species on Earth, humans had to separate their own race. The male gender have chosen to be more dominant than the female gender and all other eleven-known genders, and the class system of patriarchy is ran by the power of men. Ishmael goes all the way back to the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution and explains how the Semite women were made to provide society with babies, while the men were made to maintain the farm and do other forms of muscular work, such as building and hunting. The men needed to have help on their farms to progress more in society and the more men the better. According to the Semites story, Ishmael concludes that “Having too many men didn’t threaten the stability of their population, but having too many women definitely did” (109). Thus, the Takers chose to make the male sex to be the most powerful being, and the female sex’s job was to only provide babies that will eventually help their fathers’ farms. Ishmael’s point expresses how patriarchy resulted in today’s overpopulation because men desired many male babies to make their legacy gain enough power to rule the entire Earth. Changing the theme of patriarchy in the Takers’ story can improve and advance our society, and we can write a brand new story where males have not created a male-dominated

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