Ishmael by Daniel Quinn has two main characters: Ishmael and the narrator. The narrator is never given a name or a gender. In my opinion, the importance of not giving the narrator a name or gender is to distance the narrator from Ishmael and the reader. By creating distance, the reader is able to engage more on what the narrator is saying rather than who the character is. Ishmael has a Socratic dialogue, which is when an in-depth understanding of moral issues is conveyed in a piece of literature or speech. Since Ishmael is a Socratic dialogue with a distant narrator, the reader is able to understand what dialogue is being discussed and allow the reader to think and reflect on the topics.
As discussed in class, we wondered why the narrator asks Ishmael so many questions and if this plays an effective role in Ishmael. I think that the narrator asks a lot of questions because Quinn wanted his readers to clearly understand the Socratic dialogue within the novel. If the reader better understands the material, this would lead the reader to having another perspective on life. Ishmael is a controversial novel and if the reader has the understanding of Ishmael’s beliefs then the reader can decide how they feel about the topics. In my opinion, this was Quinn’s exigency for the novel, wanting to make sure the objectives for the novel were completed. In today’s world, people often do not know why they think the way they do, but Quinn challenges his readers through Ishmael and the narrator’s relationship. The narrator’s familiarity to the readers play a positive role in distancing the reader and this allows the reader to reflect on their own beliefs rather than Ishmael telling the narrator what to believe.
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Lyndsay, this is a very interesting way to think about who the narrator may possibly be. However, I disagree with your idea that, "By creating distance, the reader is able to engage more on what the narrator is saying rather than who the character is." In my opinion, I believe the narrator is left anonymous because it allows the readers to see themselves in that perspective.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel, Daniel Quinn presents his theories through Ishmael, the gorilla. By presenting these thoughts to an unnamed narrator, the author is able to construct his audience in a particular way. This method successfully forces the reader to see his or herself in the role of the narrator and student. Therefore, the readers are able to understand the complex theories in an unbiased manner and gather a greater understanding.
I agree to what Lyndsay pointed about the aesthetic distance, and its effect for readers to pay attention to the content of the conversation rather than who is saying what. Because the narrator is unclear, the readers are more intrigued to the conversation. But it seems difficult to distinguish all the time between Ishmael and the pupil. In addition, the reason why the pupil’s name is not mentioned is, guess, I venture to guess, that Quinn wants to expand the range of constructed-audience. If the author calls the character’s name and depicts his occupation and home address, the universality would decrease and not contribute to the goal of changing huge numbers of people. Besides, it seems that there is another aesthetic distance between two characters. In the beginning of the novel, the pupil is terrified by the fact that the teacher is animal. However, as Socratic dialogue proceeds the distance between two characters is getting closer that the readers are encouraged to avoid the position of narration and be careful to listen to the lessons rather than simple conversations.
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