Ishmael

Obviously, Ishmael being a telepathic gorilla is fantastic, but why would Quinn choose to make his sage character a gorilla? What does his animal nature give Ishmael in terms of authority or wisdom that a human teacher would not have?

Why does Ishmael have the narrator speak into a recorder? At what points does Ishmael tell the narrator to play back the tape, and what is the significance of the narrator listening to his own voice in those cases?

Ishmael starts the lessons behind a glass partition, but he eventually moves into the main office with the narrator. How does this affect their interactions, and why is the narrator uncomfortable at first?

Why does Ishmael frame a “story” as an interaction between humanity, the world, and the gods? What significance does each part of the story have, and how do these stories translate into culture?

Though Ishmael and the narrator agree that the terms “Taker” and “Leaver” are neutral, what do these terms connote? As the story progresses, how do the meanings of “taking” and “leaving” change, and why is one better than the other?

What is the law of competition that the narrator describes and that Ishmael confirms and expands? How do animals participate in this law, and how are Takers violating it?

How does Ishmael retell the biblical stories of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel? What do these retellings mean in terms of human history, and how might these retellings impact modern culture?

Ishmael says that his specialty is studying captivity, but how does this specialty translate into a study of Taker and Leaver culture? What does he mean when he says that Takers are imprisoned, and how can the Takers break out of their prison?