Chapter 13

The book had to end some way. The author decided that would be the best, and I certainly agree with him. Ishmael died and that is how the book comes to an end. "Are you telling me that he's... dead?" "Dead is what he is, pardner." Pg 261. Ishmael had already passed all of his knowlege and it couldnt go on forever so I think that was the best way to end this. He died of pneumonia as they explain in the book. The man takes all of Ishmaels things with him, and also takes with hima all of his knowlege. At the begining he says all of his 4 apprentices were failures but this time, the narrator is not a failure. He is really interested in actually trying to use all of his knowlege into doing something to save help the world. In page 248 he asks Ishmael. "What do I do if I earnestly desire to save the world?" Here he shows the student really did get very involved and he is not just another failure.

For me this book was very informative. In a way, I thought of things that I agreed with totally which I had never thought of before. Many of Ishmaels main questions taught me many things that helped me understand why the world is the way it is. The author's terms like for example Leavers, and Takers teach you the difference between our ancestors and us. Also The term Mother Culture explains us the differense of how things used to be to how things actually are. I really think Daniel Quinn was interested in helping humanity and by writing this book, he is getting all of his thoughts through to other people and I think that was his goal in writing this book.