Read Ch. 7-8 pp.113-148
Post a response by THURSDAY 6/4 midnight. Identify yourself by first name only and period. (ex: Ryan, per. 7).
Your response should include a summary, how what you read relates to
what you have learned in AP Biology, and an opinion. You will be
graded, so write thoughtful, well-written responses.
Richard Period 7
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 starts with this sort of fairy tale. Ishmael asks the guy to imagine himself in a far-away land where these people eat B meat. This is a highly successful place. He eventually pieces it together, finding A’s are eaten by B’s, the B’s by the C’s and the C’s are eaten by the A’s. Their is no hierarchy, only a perfect cycle. The same system has worked wonderfully for the past billions of years. Species on the planet are not at war with one another. The gazelle and lion aren’t enemies, the Takers however see it differently. Lions don’t kill for hate, they kill to satisfy their hunger. The peace is kept this way. But humankind today says, we are exempt from this law and now the entire world is being brought to the point of death. There is something fundamentally wrong with human nature itself. All life on Earth followed the law, the A B C society did except for the Takers. The things incorporated into Taker’s fundamental policy of civilization breaks the law of the A B C’s society. The rest of chapter goes back to the guy’s outside life, and he realizes he didn’t just want a teacher, he wants a teacher for life. In Chapter 8, the guy states that it took him 4 days to find the law. The guy also finds 4 things that Takers do that the rest of the planet doesn't do. First they exterminate their competitors. Second, the Takers destroy their competitors food for their own. Third, Takers deny access to food. Lastly he says the Takers policy is to deny competitors access to all the food in the world, no other animals does that. Ishmael then goes onto talk about how the law promotes diversity and that diversity is the survival factor for the community itself. Diversity is what is being attacked by the Takers. It is being progressively destroyed as more humans enter the planet. Ishmael states that the same thing would happen with any other species with the capacity to do so. Food production and population comes into play. Ishmael says that bringing food to starving people only prompts more famine for the next generation since the area has already overstepped its carrying capacity. The only way to really solve the problem is to let enough people die till the area reaches its carrying capacity population. First world farmers fuel third world population explosion. Ishmael says in order to stop the problem, you must stop increasing food production, thus the same application is synonymous to stopping the destruction of rainforests and the ozone layer. The guy and Ishmael go back to the law. The guy states 3 things: no species shall make the life of the word its own, the world was not made for one species, and that mankind was not needed to bring order to the world. Then they talk about advancement. The price of such a complex society, like the Takers, is crime, mental illness, drug addiction, etc. This doesn’t happen in the Leaver world. The guy ends with the question, why Mother culture not be a mother among the Takers?
There is a lot of heavy content in terms of ecology. Population dynamics comes into play with food supply vs population. Humans exceed the carrying capacity in the area, but they are allowed to do so because of transportation of food. Somehow the solution to this problem is synonymous to impeding the destruction of rainforest and the ozone layer. Diversity is also another concept introduced. It is something we have already learned, the more diverse a community is, the better the survival rate in the face of natural disaster.
The book is starting to get a little repetitive. Although, the concept of food supply and population is interesting. The only solution, according to Ishmael, is to let the people starve, but that is completely unethical in terms of humanity, but ethical in terms of the laws of the community which we have broken. I have never noticed the vicious cycle of first world farmers prompting third world population explosion thus leading to more famine. I hope there is a different solution to the population problem rather than let people starve to death.
Abby, Period 1
ReplyDeleteThroughout chapter 7 of Ishmael, Ishmael starts to describe a situation where there is a community that has lived in harmony for as long as they can remember. They are a highly successful society where each prey on one another. Meat C eats meat B and meat B eats meat A and so on. No one would ever think of breaking this system because this is how it has been, it just isn't done. The punishment for breaking this law is death, but such an execution has never occurred before because the law is followed invariably. The man's new task is to discover what this law is that is running our society today. There is such a law that is followed invariably by the rest of the world, except for humans. This way of life led to one species developing into another, until it reach homo sapiens sapiens and we decided that we were exempt from this law. Thus, the punishment will be death, but the man must discover the law using what they do and do not do that makes the society work as a method of investigation on his own. Chapter 8 then continues by the man revealing that finding this law took him four days. He describes it to Ishmael as the, "take what you need and leave the rest alone". They then go on to discuss famine and how since humans feel that they are exempt from such laws then why does an increase in food production never stop famine? Ishmael says it is because at some point, mother culture will have to control the population. Thus, continuing to feed the people who are starving is only passing on the problem to future generations. In short, the human race and mother culture are both procrastinating dealing with the problem of famine. The people who are starving serve to regulate the population. If we continue to feed them, then the population will simply continue to increase. However, it is not always in the place where the food is grown where the growth in population is seen. Ishmael says its the first world countries that are feeding the famine by producing more first for the third world countries. The man concludes the lesson by asking why mother culture isn't a mother for first world countries such as the United States.
So far, I began intrigued with what the book had in store, but I am beginning to lose interest. Everything is becoming very repetitive, and I find the gorilla a bit irritating. He has to explain everything in such a round-a-bout way, it annoys me that he can't just come out and say what he wants to say. All of the analogies I find to be quite interesting, but there are too many and I get lost in all of them. After listening to the one about the law of aerodynamics, I forgot what the whole point of it was by the end it was so in depth and analytical. There is a lot about population dynamics throughout these two chapters and ecology as they focus a lot on how population's are affected by certain changes in their environment. Ishmael also touches a bit on the carrying capacity of Earth with the analogy of the famine in the third world countries.
Surina, Period 1
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7 Ishmael tells the guy to imagine a place where meat A eats meat B and they eat meat C and meat C eats meat A and they are all neighbors. The guy finds this disgusting that these creatures would eat their neighbors, but still manage to live in harmony. Through this analogy Ishmael explains to the guy that there is one major rule that all animals live by. Animals only hunt to eat, they don't hunt just to kill. When they hunt it has a purpose. By following this rule animals have been able to live in harmony with other species and their environment. The only creatures that disregard this law are the humans. They kill things for food and because they can. By ignoring this fundamental rule humans have proceeded to destroy their environment. At the end of the chapter, Ishmael sends the guy out to discover the laws of the Takers and Leavers by observing what they don't do because not following the laws would result in death. The guy feels depressed and discouraged, but he comes back after 4 days. In chapter 8, the guy explains his findings to Ishmael. He says there are three basic rules: 1) Don't exterminate your competition for food 2)Don't destroy your competitors food supply to grow your own 3)Don't deny others access to foo. In other words you can protect your killings, but you a lion can't claim all of the gazelles. By following these laws diversity is promoted. But humans who have broken these rules are causes species to become extinct everyday because they do not have the resources to survive. After this Ishmael talks about the relationship between population size and the amount of resources available. It is explained that when the population increases the food supply decreases and then the size of the population decreases. This leads to a discussion on agriculture and how it causes unlimited growth for humans. This relates to famine because when a group of people are starving other people immediately send food to them. However, this just increases the population and the amount of people starving are the same. Ishmael concludes by saying that famine is not just a human phenomenon. It happens with all species and when it does happen those group of organisms are left to die out because they cannot be supported anymore by the ecosystem. After their demise the ecosystem is balances again. However, since humans refuse to let this happen the ecosystem is never balanced.
There is a lot more biology in these two chapters. Ishmael talks about diversity in species and we have discussed that in class. We learned that diversity in species permits their survival should something in their environment change. If there was not diversity, species would not be able to survive when sudden changes occur and then they would go extinct. But with diversity, when the environment changes, organisms with the right mutations can survive and reproduce. In addition, Ishmael talks about the relationship between creatures and their environment. He goes into depth about how the ecosystem fluctuates to maintain balance.
One thing that I really enjoyed about chapter 8 was that everything started to come together. Ishmael refers to some of the previous analogies he used like the one with Hitler and all the ideas we have learned are coming together to form one big idea. The one big idea is that there isn't something fundamentally wrong with humans, we just don't abide by the laws of nature and therefore have been at war with it instead of coexisting with it. That is the general big idea and I'm excited to hear the next story.
Chapter 7 contains ishmael telling a story about how animals eat eachother but how Humans do not follow this simple rule. This has led to humans destroying the planet. At the end of the chapter ishamel sends the guy to discover the law of the takers and the leavers. In chapters 8, the guy tells ishamel what he found out. He explains 3 rules, 1: dont exterminate the competition. 2: dont destroy the competitors food supply 3:Don't deny others to food. Humans do not follow these rules becuase they are at the top of food chain
ReplyDeleteThere is actually biology in this section. This is about species diversity. Also he discusses the fluctuations of the ecosystem to maintain balance.
Finally in this section, biology began to play a part in the novel. I enjoyed this because it made reading the novel seem relevant. However i feel the author takes too long to express his opinion. I wish it would be more concise.
Chapter 7 is all about the laws of life that the Leavers go by. Ishmael starts off the lesson with an analogy where the narrator imagines an ecosystem with a perfect cycle of predators and prey. He then presses the narrator to figure out what are the laws of life that the Leavers follow. The narrator narrowed down the laws by discovering three factors that could make the Leavers society different from the Takers: what makes their society successful, what organisms in their society NEVER do, and what an organism that has broken the law done that the others never do. Ishmael adds that outside of the Taker culture, animals coexist peacefully with their predators and prey, and that the humans have disrupted all the ecosystems. He tells the narrator to not come back until the narrator has figured out the laws of life. The narrator feels dejected because once he figures it all out, he will be alone again. After five days (the beginning of chapter 8), the narrator comes back with three rules:
ReplyDelete1. do not exterminate your competition for food
2. do not destroy your competitor's food supply in order to grow your own
3. do not deny access to food for others
Both Ishmael and the narrator agree that those rules provide diversity and no favoritism to a particular species, and that humans are actually at war with the rest of the planet. Ishmael's next point was the connection between population and food supply. The conversation then progressed to famine and who Indians managed to control their population.The narrator admits that he believes there are laws to live by, but he is unsure how to apply them to the world where few humans will choose to follow it. Lastly, the narrator and Ishmael try to come up with an "umbrella law" that combines all the three smaller laws, and Ishmael concludes with the key drawbacks of the Taker culture: the loneliness and depression.
The biology discussed in these two chapters are as follows: species diversity, ecosystem life cycles and predator/prey relationships, population/food supply relationships, and the laws of life.
I feel like these two chapters really had a lot of content that made it much more interesting than the beginning. It is definitely impossible for humankind to follow Ishmael's laws of life because the majority of people are too lazy to even consider this and no one would sacrifice their life, so I think learning about some of the things Ishmael is saying is a little pointless. He is planting these ideas that are impossible to carry out.
Kira Period 7
ReplyDeleteTo start off the section, Ishmael gives an analogy of three neighbors eating each other and yet living in harmony. This analogy leads to him explaining the rule that animals kill each other for food, not just to hunt. However, humans don't follow this rule and that is a reason for their disruption on Earth. The chapter ends by Ishmael sending the man out to discover laws of the Takers and Leavers by observing what kinds of things they don't do. Even though the man is losing steam, he comes back in four days. He brings his observations with him and summarizes them into three rules. First, don't exterminate your competition for a food supply. Second, don't ruin your competition's food supply just so you can make your own. Third, don't tell others they can't have access to food. Basically don't be selfish. When these rules are broken, more disorder arises and other species can be negatively affected. After this, Ishmael goes into population vs. food supply. As he explains, if the population increases, food decreases, and then as a result the population will also decrease. Famine is an important topic in this conversation because Ishmael explains that when there is a famine, people send food to help but all that does is increase the population and people are still starving. Eventually, this group of organism/species should die out but humans don't allow this which is why there is so much disruption on Earth.
There is more biology in this section than the last one. For example, a large theme is diversity in species. If there wasn't diversity in species, when the environmental changed occurred, the species would not be able to survive. There is also a lot of talk about balance and disruption on Earth and how that affects/is affected by humans.
I liked these chapters because yet again they presented new ideas that I didn't think about before. Also, new rules were introduced and I enjoy learning all the new rules because each one gives me a different out look on how we interact with each other and other communities and species.
Jess, Period 1
ReplyDeleteAt the start of these chapters, Ishmael tells the guy to imagine himself in a foreign land where everyone is happy and peaceful. He explains that the people he visits, the C's, eat their neighbors (the B's), and the B's eat their neighbors (the A's). The guy is confused by this, as to how it would work out, but Ishmael says it has to do with laws and asks the guy to figure out the law. The guy discovers that there are 3 guides in which to narrow down the law.
1. What makes their society successful?
2. What people in the society never do?
3. What a person who has broken the law has done that the others never do?
Ishmael explains the signs of the law that life follows. Outside the Taker culture, animals live in peace, only hunting when they are hungry. Humans abandoned that law and threw the ecosystem out of balance. Ishmael tells the guy to leave and only come back when he finds out the rules in which the Leavers and the rest of life on Earth lives with. The guy leaves feeling dejected.
In chapter 8, it takes the guy 4 days to figure out the basic laws of life, the three basic rules are:
1. Do not exterminate your competition for food
2. Do not destroy your competitors food supply in order to grow your own.
3. Do not deny access to food to others.
Ishmael approves and asks what they promote. Together they decide that it promotes diversity and survival for the community, Coming to this conclusion also helped the guy see that Taker culture is not really that clumsy in its execution of civilization, but it is actually at war with the rest of the planet.They go over ecological principles, then they discuss famines. The guy says its morally revolting to let some of the Taker culture starve, but they both agree that though Mother Culture suggests the use of population control, there is nothing is actually done to help control the population, so the cycle continues. They then look at a book, "The American Heritage Book of Indians" and Ishmael asks the guy to look at the map and how the Native American populations managed their numbers. They decide that it had to do with the tribes and changing geographies, They were strict and territorial, therefore they restricted their own population. Ishmael then asks the guy if he now believes that there are laws to live by, and he admits that he does, but he is unsure how to apply what he has learned to the world he lives in. He feels hopeless, but Ishmael suggests that there are plenty of people fed up with the emptiness of the Taker lifestyle and there is hope for changes. Finally he asks the guy to look over the three rules that he had explained earlier, then he helps the guy to see the overarching law, that the world was made for many species. He says that the one thing that plagues the Taker culture is loneliness and depression. They fill their lives with distractions and drugs to make up for a lack of satisfaction.
There is definitely more Biology here that in the last section. They talk more about ecology and species diversification. They also talk about the balance of producers and consumers and disruptions on earth.
These chapters were quite good as they introduced new ideas that I had yet to think of myself. It is interesting to see the different rules and how they change my view on things.
Chris, Period 1
ReplyDeleteIshmael begins with the story of the A's, the B's, and the C's to illustrate a law that makes a society successful. The man then discovers this law, called the peacekeeping law, by theorizing three things that only Takers do: they exterminate their competitors, they destroy their competitors' food supplies, and they deny others (ex: pests) access to foods. Ishmael explains that these three laws allow for species diversity. Next, Ishmael explains principles of food supply and then discusses mankind's response to famine: to grow more food, which leads to greater feminine. Ishmael then explains that Takers must renounce Mother Culture in order to save their doomed civilization from extinction, relating this to the idea that human's are violating a fundamental law for species survival which is consequently destroying the community around mankind. He concludes with the bad consequences of our culture (ex: drugs, crime, suicide).
This section pertains to ecology. Specifically, it relates to Gause's principle of competitive exclusion which states that two organisms cannot occupy the same niche. What is happening now is that humans are outcompeting and eliminating other species to keep up with expanding populations and increased food supplies. Also, Ishmael references several impacts that humans have had on the Earth, including the depletion of the ozone layer and rainforest destruction which we have talked about in class
I found this section of the novel to be more fulfilling because here Ishmael's views finally become more apparent as he more clearly relates them to modern issues. I am intrigued to read on and find out what lasting message he plans to leave the man with and how he wants to man to fulfill his "earnest desire to save the world."
Griffin Wyckoff, period 7
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 starts with Ishmael telling the man about an imaginary community where there is no hierarchy. He goes on to explain that the C’s eat the B’s, the B’s eat the A’s and the A’s eat the C’s. It goes around in a cycle; there is no top or bottom. He explains that gazelle and lions are not enemies with one another; lions only kill the gazelle because they are hungry. The only species to disregard this rule is that humans, and because of this, they will destroy their environment. He then asks the guy to discover the laws of the Takers and Leavers by observing what they don't do. After 4 days, the narrator finally comes back with 3 rules: 1) Do not exterminate your competition for food. 2) Do not destroy your competitor's food supply in order to grow your own. 3) Do not deny access to food for others. Both Ishmael and the man agree on those rules. Ishmael then points out the connection between populations and their food supply. He then brings up the point that when a group of people are starving, food is sent to them, which keeps the human population rising. Because a group of humans never die, the ecosystem is never balanced.
In this chapter, there is a lot more about biology. Ishmael brings up the species diversity in the world and he also brings up the topic of natural selection. Only the best organisms will survive, in the case of humans, all survive because we are almost all provided with food and water.
I like how Ishmael made the imaginary community that goes around in a cycle. It made me realize that humans have no predators, they are the predators, and they prey on everything in the world.
ReplyDeleteGrace Period 7
Ishmael explains the circle of life with predators and prey in species other than humans and all that stuff. He then asks the guy to explain the differences between the lives and laws of the Takers and the Leavers. The 3 laws he narrowed it down to are 1. don’t exterminate the competition. 2. don’t destroy the competitors food supply 3. don't deny others to food. Humans being at the top of the food chain do not follow these laws. Humans are destroying the planet and all other species that live on it. They try to make an “umbrella law” of all the other 3 laws and they come up with that when the Takers have depression and loneliness.
There is biology in this section because they talk about life cycles and laws, species diversity and population food supply relationships.
I liked that it talked about biology because finally there is something i can relate to and understand in this book. The news ideas were also very interesting to read about. It also makes me wonder if everyone followed these rules and did everything Ishmael said what the world would be like now.
Ryan Period 1, this one will be on time
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 starts with Ishmael telling guy about a fictional society with A's B's and C's where the A's eat B's and B's eat C's and C's eat A's. Where in guy's mind this seems preposterous but those are the laws that they had set up for themselves and they live in a peaceful civilization so why mess with it. And Ishmael asks guy how to observe how this society works by what they never do, and if someone breaks the law what did that person do that everyone else didn't do. Ishmael then connects this with the laws of nature and how humans defy them. Lions hunt gazelle for food but will never hunt gazelle to store food or the exterminate them. And this works in the animal kingdom and they all live in relative peace. Ishmael then asks guy to find out what are the laws of life, which leads us into chapter 8. Guy now tells us that there are three laws of life which are don't exterminate your food competition (strike one humans), don't destroy competitor's food supply for your own (strike two humans), don't block others from food (strike three humans your outta here). Guy says that these laws are so no species is favored above others. Ishmael then talks about famine and population control, when there is a famine in the human population, we just find food from somewhere else which doesn't fix the problem. Famines are designed by nature to reduce a population. And in the human race there is no population control, because agriculture has allowed us to grow with no checks. Ishmael then talks about how Native Americans dealt with territory, they never went into their neighbor's land because of fear of their own population being destroyed, in accordance to the laws that guy had talked about in some sense. And that those boundaries don't exist in today's world, you don't worry about moving to another state about being killed. At this point guy thinks that its hopeless and we cannot change, but Ishmael tells him that there are many more people who believe in change than he thinks.
Territoriality and different kinds of biological behavior and interactions are the biology topic talked about in this chapter.
It was very interesting about the geography boundaries Ishmael talked about. How we don't have to worry about moving to another state or country, but for Native Americans, or most species of animals that is a real worry.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKatie, Period 7
ReplyDeleteIn these chapters Ishmael shows The Guy that contrary to popular belief, the rest of nature (the world -- (minus) humans) did/does not need humans to create order. We like to think that we civilized people brought nature to a more organized, ordered state, pulling the earth out of an ancient festival of primitive chaos, but this advanced gorilla points out that things were going a lot better before we (okay, "The Takers") got involved. He says the Takers at some point declared themselves exempt from the natural and absolute laws of living, and in doing so became the ones to introduce disorder into the world. The Guy and the gorilla explain the ways that humans violate natural law, destroying the food of their competitors or denying them access to it, and trying to eliminate (exterminate) their competition. Ishmael says this will result in an inevitable collapse of human civilization, because refusing to accept a law does not render you exempt (like walking off a cliff to spite gravity). The Guy starts to feel melancholy, because he knows he's making progress but is now afraid of it because "every advance [he] made took [him] a step closer to being out of Ishmael's life" (122).
There has been quite a bit of biology in this section, mainly concerning ecology and evolution. They discuss "how things came to be this way" through the lens of evolution and the way interaction between predators, prey, and competitors shaped the path life on earth has taken here.
Though I'm still finding it kind of pedantic, I really am enjoying this book because the elegance and hidden simplicity of these ideas give them a feeling of "right-ness" that transcends both "Mother Culture" (as Ishmael would put it) and ideological differences.
Maddie, Period 7
ReplyDeleteIshmael tells the man to think of a really efficient society where Bs eat A, Cs eat Bs, and As eat Cs. Everyone obeys a law and they act fine. The man has to decide what the law is without asking the people in the society. The narrator says he would look at what makes society work and then what they can't do. Ishmael says the Takers ruin the world by breaking the peace keeping law. The guy is upset because he knows Ishmael won't be his teacher anymore even though he wants a teacher for life. The guy comes back with four ideas: species shouldn't kill their competition, one cannot kill the others food to make room for themselves, a species can't starve their enemy and a species shouldn't store food. The law was actually "you may compete but you may not wage war", it promotes diversity. If a hyena kills all the lions so they hyenas can eat, then soon the increased population of hyenas will die because they don't have food. People think they don't apply because they're at the top of the food chain.
This relates to bio because it talks about the order of nature and things like that. It also talks about behaviors of organisms.
Its really interesting to think that people messed up the entire world. Everyone thinks humans made everything better, but maybe we just masked everything we messed up. Way to go humans.
Ryan, period 1
ReplyDeleteChapter seven was a little confusing, and I had to read a few parts over again to comprehend what was being discussed. In this chapter, Ishmael creates an analogy about a faraway land where people are cannibals by law and through following this law are actually part of a highly functioning society. By which law, however, was for Jimmy to figure out. The analogy applied to the fact that Takers view the natural community as horrific. They view certain things as uncivilized and beastly when in reality, all living things follow an omnipresent, peace-keeping law. Jimmy is confounded about the idea of such a law, and he goes out for a drink, puzzling about all that has been thrown at him thus far. Ishmael’s teachings have basically taken over his life; he comes to the conclusion that he wants Ishmael not just as a tutor to explain how things came to be, but as a tutor for always.
Chapter eight starts out with Jimmy, who has taken four days off from his learning to find the law, returning to Ishmael. He states that he figured out the law from four things that Takers do, that the rest of the living community doesn’t. 1) Takers exterminate their competitors. 2) Takers destroy their competition’s food to make room for their own. 3) Takers deny their competitors access to food. and 4) (this was a little shaky on Jimmy’s part; it was a partial truth) Takers store their food for long term. The law is that you can compete, but you are not allowed to wage war. This is the law that all living things except Takers live by. This law promotes diversity which in turn, allows the community to prosper. On the other hand, humans see killing off competitors as a good thing because the more competitors we destroy, the more humans can be born. Ishmael explains that this leads to a community in which diversity is destroyed in order to help the expansion of a single species.
Ishmael continues his thought process, going into obscure statements such as that our agricultural system promotes unlimited growth and that settlement is an adaptation practiced by every living species. He also states that first world farmers seem to be indirectly fueling third world population explosion. Finally, the chapter ends with the fact that Takers will wipe themselves out if they don’t follow the rule, whether they believe it or not.
These two chapters included a lot of biology. There was concept of competition, mostly inter competition between two different species. Food chains and webs were alluded to in the hyena and grass analogy.
I was a little more confused about these two chapters. I’ve also begun to formulate some doubts about everything Ishmael is saying. On the one hand, a lot of it is true, but on the other, I’ve had to really consider whether his statements have been completely accurate. I disagree with his statement that first world farmers are fueling third world population growth. I don’t really see what he’s using to back that information. Third world populations are growing because of lack of birth control and because their infant mortality rates are all extremely high.
Aaron, Period 1
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who want to see more shoddy videos, my channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt_t_8WHpVQDsKnDghFO_qg
Lower your expectations before entering.
Ishmael describes a perfect society in which everyone is, apparently, Shia LeBeouf (If no one else, Matt Grange will get this reference [p.s. I only take good requests, Owen. Don’t ask again]). They are all happy to be alive and eat each other so long as no one gets greedy upsets the cannibalistic balance they currently maintain. Ishmael is a bitch, as per usual, and leaves Dummkopf to deduce this himself. Sent home to think about the cannibals, Dummkopf feels a hole in his heart. He reveals to the reader that he has been secretly in love with the gorilla. His swole, hairy arms, rippling abs, and sexy smile were just far too masculine to resist. Dummkopf worries that his classes with Ishmael will be over in time and he’ll never get to see that wonderful smile again. As the chapter comes to a close, we are left with Dummkopf’s stunning resolve to have “a teacher for life”, or, in other words, marry Ishmael.
Dummkopf comes in 4 days later with his deduction of nature’s laws and a cute schoolgirl outfit. Maybe Ishmael-senpai would notice him today. He impresses him with an explanation of nature’s laws, which kinda boil down to “Don’t be Hitler”. After some consideration, I can agree with this. While he did lead a rather stylish reich and publish a heartwarming children’s picture book, he killed a bunch of people, which is a dick move, honestly. Anyhow, Ishmael goes on to explain that the starving people in Africa should be left alone so they all die. He justifies this by saying that giving them more food will only birth more humans to starve but leaving them alone will allow the population to balance out. While that’s all fine and good, I think a better argument would be that your unoriginal, slightly racist parents wouldn’t be able to guilt you into eating your unfinished dinner. Ishmael mentioned something about Native Americans and their territory, however I immediately shut the book, stopped reading, and started waving twenty-dollar bills around out of fear of being labeled a communist-terrorist-wolfman.
Biology is present in the form of population carrying capacity, food procurement, stabilization through diversity, and localization.
I’m not sure I quite understood Ishmael’s decision to let people starve. Maybe I missed something, though I would think that a constant supply of food from the outside would properly raise the carrying capacity. Sure, there would still be some people without a sufficient amount of food, though I would think that always happens when a population hovers around the max capacity. I’ll just assume I’m stupid for now. Regardless of that, I really like the author’s decision to put in a love subplot. The book was getting kinda bland by this point and needed something new and original. Unfortunately for Dummkopf, it would seem that Ishmael isn’t a fan of children. How this will affect their relationship, I have yet to see. Overall, I give these chapters a 9/10 and expect author E. L. James to really deliver a good story in the upcoming chapters.
YOUR LEG! AH! IT'S CAUGHT IN A BEAR TRAP!
DeleteWill period 7
ReplyDeleteIshmael tells the man the story of the A's, the B's, and the C's to show a law that makes a society successful. The man then finds out this law, called the peacekeeping law, by theorizing three things that only Takers do: they eliminate their competitors, they destroy their competitors' food supplies, and they deny others (ex: pests) access to foods. He explains that these three laws allow for species diversity. Next, Ishmael explains principles of food supply and then discusses mankind's response to famine or starvation: to create more food, which leads to greater famine. Ishmael then explains that Takers must renounce Mother Culture in order to save their doomed civilization from extinction. He relates this to the idea that human's are violating a fundamental law for species survival which is consequently destroying the community around mankind. Lastly, he talks about the bad parts of our culture such as drugs, crime, suicide and more.
This section has a lot to do with ecology and population dynamics. It focuses on the different roles of the food chain and why man does not fit into the food chain.
Everything that Ishmael says in these chapters makes a lot of sense. The species of the world create food webs, and man is no longer included. Man has found a way to exclude himself from it by dominating his competitors. This shows how selfish man is because in doing this he upsets the balance of the ecosystems and undermines the survival of other species.
Sabrina, Period 7
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 begins with Ishmael sharing the story of a society with three types of people: the A’s, B’s, and C’s. The man is told to imagine himself in this society where the A people eat the B people, who eat the C people, who eat the A people. This law that everyone follows was hard for the narrator to imagine, as it is cannibalism, however the society still remains peaceful and in harmony. Ishmael uses this analogy to describe how animals only kill what they need for food or defense, not to take away the competition. Humans disregard this law or rule and that is why and how they are demolishing the environment. The narrator’s new task is to learn the rules that humans don’t live by. We learn more about him at this moment because as he is sent away, he feels upset at the fact that the Ishmael won’t be his teacher for life, which is something he wants. In chapter 8, the man goes back to Ishmael’s meeting room and shares what he discovered: 1. Don’t exterminate your competition for a food supply, 2. Don’t destroy your competition’s food supply so that you are able to grow or have your own, and 3. Don’t deny access to food for others. The narrator and Ishmael are both able to agree that the rules he came up with are what lead to diversity and help the planet and all the living organisms remain stable. They figure out that humans are fighting a war against the planet with how they’re breaking these rules. Ishmael then talks about how population size depends on the amount of food available and how when food supply increases, then there will be more opportunities for famine and a larger population. He also says that as we keep sending food to countries with famine, all that happens is a larger population and more starvation. Because humans never run out of food, or have this population limit, they never die and the population and ecosystems never become balanced, leading to the destruction of the world.
This chapter included more biology, specifically ecology, including Ishmael’s description of competition between species and the role of diversity in an ecosystem.
Learning about how world hunger can maybe be solved by less production of food, was extremely interesting to me and made me really think about what that would mean for our species. In a way, it will never be able to happen because nobody is going to let people die of hunger while they just sit there and do nothing. I liked how Ishmael is slowly starting to get to the point of how to save the world.
Chris D Period 7
ReplyDeleteSo chapter 7 starts out talking about the ABC's. So there's an A people, B people and C people. A eats c, which eats b, which eats a. So its kinda like the circle of life. Then ishmeal goes on to talking about how in nature communities have been doing this for a while and been fine. So then Ishmael says to go figure the law the takers are breaking out, and then at the end of chapter 7 the dude got despressed because he realized his learning with ishmael may be over soon. So then chapter 8 kicks off about the man explaining the 4 laws he discovered that man breaks but then ishmael says all except the last one were true. Then they both start explaining how humans suck and how they don't folow rules. then ishmael and the man go off on overpopulation being a problem and how food supplies affect it. And how he leavers contain their own population on their own or else theyll die.
THis relates alot to bio cause they talk about ecological communities and niches alot. They talk about the food cycle/ web sorta thing which is what we learned. Also they talk about how populations vary with food supply which is what we also learned.
It's really interesting because you realize how stupid humans are. Humans make more food to sustain a larger population, which in turn, creates a bigger population that we will need to make food for. And if anyone tried to say let the starving people starve, they will look mean, but really, they are nice because they care about the earth. Also its really cool how they predictied the population growth very accuratley when they were talking about how they made food for a bigger population.
Owen Period 1
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7, Ishmael begins with a scenario to help the man understand the rule that is followed by all except humans. In order to accomplish this task, the man must find something that makes a society successful, what is never done in that society, and what someone who has violated the law has done that the others did not. Ishmael explains that this law is what keeps order in the world, and with humans breaking the rule, the world will be thrown into chaos. The narrator is then tasked to figure out what the rules are that govern the leavers, and to not come back until he does. After a few days the man presents his findings to Ishmael. The rules he's discovered are do not eliminate the competition, do not deny food from others, and do not destroy you competitor's food supply. As he explains, these rules help to ensure diversity, and therefore ecological stability. He then continues with humans lack of stability, and cites agriculture as the main cause, promoting unchecked growth. Native Americans are then referenced, mentioning the boundaries they adhered by, and current humans lack of these boundaries, which will have negative consequences. They conclude by figuring out a rule that includes all of these. The law is that the world was made to accommodate many species, not for one to rule.
Biology is a little more prominent here, discussing diversity and its benefits to the environment. The many harmful affects of humans on the environment were also brought up in these chapters, which we have discussed in class.
I still like the book and am still interested. Ishmael presents many interesting ideas that I have never really thought about before, and he brings up what humans are doing to the planet. However, like many others have said, Ismael is getting repetitive and takes a very long time to get his point across.
Patrick Moriarty Period 7
ReplyDeleteThe mysterious characters being to talk about the ABC's and talk about a confusing cycle of life. A eats C and C eats B and B eats C. Then Ishmael the mysterious talking Gorilla gives the unknown character a gem of enlightening information. Dumkoff (Aaron) is sad because he realizes that there will be an end to the time of him and the talking Gorilla. Next chapter, Ishmael talks about the mysterious 4 rules that man has broken. I guess this gorilla dude doesn't really like humans. They continue to talk about how much humans stink and how they are all gonna die... Shocker!
This relates to biology because it talks about over population and competition for resources and such.
The book still sucks. I don't know what else to say. I hate reading and talking Gorilla's so i don't like the book
Clare, Period 7
ReplyDeleteIshmael asks the narrator to imagine a peaceful land, where C eats B, B eats A, and A eats C. To determine the rules by which these people live, Ishmael send the narrator away to think about what makes their society successful, what the people never do in their society, and what illegal activity rule-breakers do that no one else does. Ishmael explains that outside the Taker culture, animals get along, and they only eat each other when necessary. Part of the narrator does not want to find all of the answers to Ishmael’s questions because then h will have nothing else to learn form him. However, the narrator return to Ishmael, saying that their culture promotes diversity for all species, since their world does not give an advantage to one species over the others. It is concluded that Takers are at war with the rest of the world, and the increase of food supplies leads to more starving people.
This relates to biology because it deals with carrying capacity. Each ecosystem can only support so many organisms due to lack of resources and food.
This book makes me think a lot. It’s a good point that as food supplies increase, it makes the population boom beyond what the newly increased food supplies can carry. This leads to more starving people.
Kunal Sengupta Period 7
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 7, Ishmael tells the narrator about the story of the A’s, B’s, and C’s. This utopia has a food chain of A’s eating B’s, B’s eating C’s and C’s eating A’s. They keep a constant equilibrium as each population is controlled. Ishmael goes on to describe how this is the culture of the Leavers. There are three laws for life he says: what makes society successful, what people in society never do, and what people who break the law do that the others don’t do. The gorilla goes on to say that humans don’t live in the same equilibrium. Ishmael then sends the narrator on an assignment in finding the 3 laws for a successful society. The narrator doesn’t want to complete the assignment because he knows if he figures these three laws out he won’t need Ishmael but he wants to stay with him. In Chapter 8, the narrator comes back with the three laws: 1)Don’t exterminate competition for food, 2)don’t destroy competitors food supply to get your own, 3)don’t deny access to food to other animals. Ishmael says that the key to a successful society is diversity and survival as a community as a whole. Then they discuss how overpopulation is a great problem in society today.
These chapters still have a good amount of bio as they talk about populations food chains. The book is still interesting and is keeping my attention. The three laws of how to live as a community especially were intriguing to read about.
Alexis, period 7
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7, Ishmael begins by describing a society in which the “b” people eat the “a” people who eat the “c” people who continue the cycle by eating the “b” people. The man find this to be outrageous, but Ishmael explains that this is the law, and breaking the law is punishable by death. When I got to that point, I realized that I would be comfortable with that kind of society, because if you’re going to die anyway, why not die by being someone else’s food (which will benefit them) instead of being put to death by breaking a law. It is more effective if your death at least helps other people. After this day, the man leaves Ishmael’s office and feels very depressed for a reason he can’t name, so he goes out and gets drunk. He later realizes that his depression is rather self-centered, yet he decides to embrace it, because he wants Ishmael to guide him through his entire life. The next time he goes to ishmael’s, he has determined that something that sets humans apart from other species is the fact that humans completely exterminate their competitors. On the other hand, the law that other species follow is that “you may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food”. Humans may act this way because they essentially are trying to destroy diversity in every manner (from other species to other races). Ishmael then talks a little about biology by saying that when a predator is killed off, its prey’s population increases, leading to an increase in another one of its predator’s populations. Additionally, an increase in food production will lead to an increase in population, which means that there still will not be enough food for a population. The reason our population keeps increasing is because humans don’t really understand this and therefore don’t have a very big incentive to limit their growth. To finish off chapter 8, Ishmael discusses two big ideas: the world was not made for only one species and the world did not need man to bring order to it. The more I read this, the more I just want Ishmael to talk and the man to listen. He brings up a lot of really cool points that I feel like I knew already, but didn’t think hard enough to actually vocalize. I really like this book so far, even if it is sometimes hard to tell which character is talking.
Gerard, Period 1
ReplyDeleteIshmael tells the man (still not friction name) to think of a society where Bs eat A, Cs eat Bs, and As eat Cs. Everyone obeys a law and they act perfectly normal. The man has to figure out what the law is without asking the people. The narrator says he would look at what makes society work and then what they don't do and what the one person who broke the law did that the people don't. Ishmael says the Takers ruin the world by breaking the low of keeping the peace in the community. The man becomes upset because he knows Ishmael won't be his teacher forever even though he wants a teacher for life. The guy comes back with four ideas. 1) Species shouldn't kill their competitors. 2) One cannot kill the other animals food just to make room for themselves in the habitat. 3) A species can't starve their enemy for their benefit. 4) A species shouldn't store food to accumulate. The law of this society was "you may compete but you may not wage war", it promotes diversity. People think they don't apply because they're at the top of the food chain but they still do.
The biology that appears in this chapter is solely animal behavior and interaction and food chains.
This is a very interesting book, but I am slowly loosing interest in it though. The laws of how to live were very intriguing. It really makes me and the other readers think.
Zack, Period 1
ReplyDeleteI found these two chapters exceedingly boring and a burden to read. Chapter 7 begins with Ishmael telling Mr. man a story about a society where there are different groups of humans called As, Bs, and Cs. Basically, they are all cannibalistic psychopaths and each other but are perfectly fine with it. Ishmael says that there is a law in society that causes them to be content with this and asks Mr. man to figure it out. Mr. man then takes forever to figure it out and becomes depressed for no reason and goes to the bar to drink his problems away (horrible idea by the way). Later, Mr. man goes back to Ishmael and says the rules that he thinks governs all organisms in society. Then, Ishmael goes on another one of his rants about how humans are starving and other humans are only making it worse by feeding the hungry (which makes no sense to me). Then Ishmael says that only in advanced societies is there drug use, violence, crime, suicides, and other bad things. Ishmael says that the only way to get rid of all this bad stuff is to get rid of Mother Cultures influence and go back to the way of the Leavers.
These chapters talk a great deal about ecology and community ecology. There is a lot about how certain organisms occupy species and each specie has a separate niche.
I really did not like these two chapters especially at the end of the second one where Ishmael says that the Takers need to return to an uncivilized way of life and go back to following nature’s rules. Okay, I get that humans think they are exempt from these rules but Ishmael is completely overlooking the positive aspects of an organized and civilized society. First of all, there are much less deaths than there could be in uncivilized lifestyle. Additionally, civilization paves the way for the advancements of technology which could be used to save the environment. Also, this book is really stupid for having Ishmael be a telepathic gorilla. I really look forward to reading the next chapters… *cue sarcasm*
Ice(a) Ice(a) Baby, Period 1
ReplyDeleteSOS! MUCHO IMPORTANTO!!! MY MOM HAS THE SEQUEL TO ISHMAEL CALLED 'MY ISHMAEL' AND THEY REVEAL WIDO’S REAL NAME!!!!!!
But that would be a spoiler so I won’t post it (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
ANYWHOOZIES! I accidentally mentioned Part 7 in my last post (cannibalism & all that good stuff) but if you were being SUPER RUDE and not listening to me last time, then I suppose I’ll do a quick recap. King Godrilla essentially teaches us all that, in order to truly live in a utopia, we must embrace the ways of the Komodo Dragon and become cannibals. Remember kids: Cannibalism is Key.
Also, Wido is getting all depressed because of his secret love for King Godrilla that he is forced to hide from all the judgey judgers in society that just wouldn’t understand him, okay!?
Part 8, in a nutshell, is long. The end.
LOL JK I TOTALLY GOT YOU I’M SO FUNNY LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Part 8 is where Wido answers King Godrilla’s new question and finds a new law which shows that humans are the rebellious teenagers of the natural world that also happen to play with fire and enjoy beating up the little kids on the playground in the name of competition.
Biology can be found in the idea of how differing organisms interact in a community (predator prey relationships, competition, symbiotic relationships, etc.). But, yet again, the biology connection comes mainly from their explanation of the theory of evolution. “Gee whiz there’s a lot of evolution in this one, aint there Johnny Boy?” “You sure got that right Billy Bob Joe Bob!” *The two through back their heads and laugh as they ride off into the distance on the backs of two perfectly majestic Komodo dragons*
My thoughts? King Godrilla is HELLA rude to Wido! Insulting humans n chiz. I get that humans have done some messed up stuff, but is Wido just gonna sit there and take these insults like a chump? Wido never goes around calling gorilla’s hairy, gross, poop-eaters, so why he gotta be playing Wido like dat? Why he frontin? King Godrilla best prepare himself for some real fisticuffs in a minute. I’m pumped. Taking off my earrings. Pulling back my hair. Pumping iron. Flipping tables. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
I’m ready.
Lets go.
Ishmael? More like Ish-MEAL. Cuz yo ass is grass. You will be DEVOURED. I’m Mike Tyson, and you’re Holyfield’s ear. Be prepared. Aint no messing wit ma crew. Ya feel?
And on that lovely note, I shall retire to my chambers for the night. As a final note, I would just like to point out that sleep is your friend ladies and gents.
Goodnight to you all.
What the hell? Who said you could use a ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)??? That is exclusively for members of the Meme Club. You will be punished, I swear it!
DeleteYou wanna go Aaron!? Be prepared for these fists of fury! I'm Jackie Chan and you're Jackie Chan's punching bag. You're Charles Sumner, and I'm a black, un-racist version of Preston Brooks. I'm Mr. Miyagi and you're the fly. Get the picture? Yeah? Good. Nice talking with you.
DeleteChristopher Period 7
ReplyDeleteThis chapter pisses me off because it is factually incorrect. Yeah, the alphabetical analogy of the circle of life is common knowledge. That's fine. But then Gorilla man talks about how peaceful animals are. How they only kill for food, how violence doesn't occur in their ecosystems. Wrong. Per a paper on chimpanzee behavior in Africa; "The average 'conservatively estimated risk of violent death' was 271 per 100,000 individuals per year. If that seems like a low rate, consider that a chimpanzee’s social circle is limited to about 50 friends and close acquaintances. This means that chimpanzees can expect a member of their circle to be murdered once every seven years. Such a rate of violence would be intolerable in human society." (http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2013/01/13/morality-and-violence-in-animals-and-humans/) That's a bit ironic that one of the closest relatives to gorillas are infact very not nice. Oh but that's only one example, and it's probably only in chimps, right? Nope. Other animals are also not so nice. Did you know that Sea Otters rape and kill baby seals? Some even "guard and copulate with the seals long after their victims had died -– as much as seven days afterward, in fact" (http://news.discovery.com/animals/the-other-side-of-otters.htm). Nature doesn't seem so pure, does it now Ishmael? Then you learn about rules we have to follow, like that we need to eat to survive.
This part relates to ecology and interactions of organisms.
I don't like this book. It's boring, wrong, and stupid. I don't think the author got the memo that the 70's are over and drug use is no longer socially acceptable, because I can't comprehend how a lucid being could right a book as horrible as this.
Otters are true savages, someone should educate Ishmael
Delete10/10 I liked it.
DeleteKate Period 1
ReplyDeleteAt the start of chapter 7, Ishmael asks the man to imagine an alternate land where the A, B, and C species lived in harmony because they eat each other in a cycle with not belligerents or hierarchies. This had been the case for billions of years. But humans disrupt this “peacekeeping” law by killing for things other than hunger ad denying other species food or even life. Only takers eliminate competitors, destroy the food supply of competitors, or take away the access to food for other species. After learning this, the man uncovers the idea that humans should "take what you need and leave the rest alone”. Ishmael then explains the principles of food supply. Man has effectively taken its self out of any food webs of other species, which demonstrates the selfishness of the actions of our species. And, in response to famine, humans simply try to make more food, which only worsens the situation. To fix these problems, humans must renounce mother culture (according to Ishmael) to save the world. He also makes the point that feeding the hungry is simply passing on the issue of overpopulation to the next generation. He also includes the bad things about humanity
This section relates to the ecology portion of biology, in that different species play different roles in food webs. Humans, however, don’t fit into food webs.
As far as my opinion, I disagree with the idea that feeding the hungry is procrastination of necessary population cuts. To be frank, that idea is uninformed. Population control comes from people improving their quality of life, and making number-of-children decisions based off of the idea that their offspring will have a better life. Overpopulation comes from parents who know that their children have a small chance of survival, so they have as many as possible. As death rates in children goes down, population also does. Anyway.
Sam, Period 7
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of chapter 7, Ishmael tells the narrator the story of three separate populations, the A’s, B’s, and C’s. A food chain is present in this utopia where the A’s eat the B’s, the B’s eat the C’s, and the C’s eat the A’s all while having the same numbers in population size. Ishmael then asks the narrator to analyze this situation and determine one population doesn’t consume or diminish another. After much questioning, the narrator determines that each population lives by three guides; what makes their society successful, what people in the society never do, and what a person who has broken the law has done that the others never do. Then, Ishmael describes how this applies outside of the taker culture in which they live, where animals live in relative peace in close proximity with their predators. These guides apply to all animals on the planet, except for the humans who have disregarded them. Ishmael then tells the narrator to go out and discover what rules the leavers live by, then he may return. Upon returning to Ishmael in chapter 8, the narrator tells him that he has discovered the three laws; don’t exterminate competition for food, don’t destroy competitors food supply to get your own, and don’t deny access to food to other animals. They then discuss the what the necessary requirements are for a society to be successful, as well as the problems with overpopulation on the Earth by the humans and the repercussions for that. Later, they talk about how the Native Americans who were left undisturbed by Westerners for thousands of years obeyed these laws, and how their societies were more successful as a result. Finally, the narrator admits that these guides are the proper way to live, however he does not know how to apply them in the real world.
This section refers to biology when the food cycle is discussed, as well as ecology and the interactions between different species.
Throughout the past chapters, I have slowly lost interest in the novel because it is extremely repetitive and I have already been exposed to many of these concepts.
Patience Period 7
ReplyDeleteQuite honestly and most likely obviously, I am not a fan of this book. I have publicly expressed how I do not believe reading for school is of any use and even more so reading outside of English class is frankly unnecessary. That being said, these chapters furthered my dislike of the book.
Once again the 'facts' in this book prove just how dated it really is. Population control is not limited to a simplicity of who eats who and never killing out of want rather than need. It is a far more complex idea than that. In the beginning of the book I liked how Ishmael made a rash analogy to show the unnamed man how a taboo theory could be made rational sounding. Now Ishmael has suggested communal cannibalism in order to explain the circle of life!? I do not believe that anyone with a background in biology would possibly attempt to compare the trophic levels to organisms of the same species interacting with only themselves and consuming within their community. One of Ishmael's lessons to the man pertains to the rules of life. The fictional 1992 gorilla says that a community can function by only abiding to one rule? No, I don;t think that's how it works. Ishmael then tries to teach the man that if hyenas take lions out of the picture nothing drastic would happen expect for that hyenas would over produce. If Lions were taken out of the mix not only would the community become hyena based but surrounding communities would be drastically affected. I really like that the man just kept saying he didn't understand, and showed as much resistance as possible.
The Biology in these chapters was definitely the most prominent compared to the past 6. Ishmael discussed "trophic levels" (he kinda tried to deny that they even existed or were needed), communities, food chains, and how animals rely on each other.
*I just want to make a quick disclaimer, I understand that sometimes when I call out the 1992 fictional talking gorilla on being wrong, I too am wrong in my reasoning. Although I am a sophomore in high school who rocked a solid 78% average for 2 semesters and I'm posting to 30 people, where as the author is supposedly teaching people the ways of life publicly, in a book, published worldwide. I'll have it be known that Daniel Quinn's monk spiritual director told him to not become a monk and kicked him out of the group.*
*Also Daniel Quinn has no background in biology*
Betsy Ellison, Period 1
ReplyDeleteIshmael begins chapter 7 by talking about a utopian society: at first glance, everything is normal, but upon closer inspection, the Taker observer realizes with horror that each member of this society eats another member, in a type of food web. The Taker observer is horrified, but is told that this is the natural way. Anyone who breaks this law will be punished by execution. This is a metaphor for population growth in the natural world-- humans were the lone individual who broke away from the natural order. The food web system keeps things in check, but humans created laws against that, and through that, chaos erupted-- now, the human population is growing wildly and unchecked, because humans have decided they are exempt from this natural order. Ishmael asks the narrator to determine what exactly these laws are that the humans/Takers have broken. The narrator goes home, doubting himself, but spends 4 days puzzling over a response and returns confidently. He finds that a) humans exterminate their competition, b) humans destroy the food of their food, since the humans don't use it (thereby ruining their own food supply) and finally, c) humans deny access to food to others. This leads to widespread famine. Ishmael points out that populations grow in a set way: when there is food, populations grow. A larger population eats more food, and food levels lower, which again lowers the population. It's a cycle. Humans have broken that cycle, believing birth control to be the answer-- an answer they don't utilize, simply saying that they will ship birth control to third world countries without acting on it.
Population ecology and population growth play a central role in these two chapters. the concept of food vs population size is one we discussed. Daniel Quinn also brings up niches, where each species or individual has a role in the ecosystem-- what they eat and when.
The chapters were very roundabout and, as usual, I found myself bored by how the narrator could hardly seem to figure out anything on his own. He even decides that he wants Ishmael to preach at him for life, to save him from depression! That doesn't seem very healthy to me. The ethical issues Quinn brings up are also questionable-- its a matter of human morality vs the ecosystem. And, as usual, Ishmael brings up problem after problem, offering no solution. I think the ideas are extremely interesting, but Quinn's style and lack of understanding of biology is frustrating and makes reading the book a bore.
Betsy Ellison, Period 1
ReplyDeleteIshmael begins chapter 7 by talking about a utopian society: at first glance, everything is normal, but upon closer inspection, the Taker observer realizes with horror that each member of this society eats another member, in a type of food web. The Taker observer is horrified, but is told that this is the natural way. Anyone who breaks this law will be punished by execution. This is a metaphor for population growth in the natural world-- humans were the lone individual who broke away from the natural order. The food web system keeps things in check, but humans created laws against that, and through that, chaos erupted-- now, the human population is growing wildly and unchecked, because humans have decided they are exempt from this natural order. Ishmael asks the narrator to determine what exactly these laws are that the humans/Takers have broken. The narrator goes home, doubting himself, but spends 4 days puzzling over a response and returns confidently. He finds that a) humans exterminate their competition, b) humans destroy the food of their food, since the humans don't use it (thereby ruining their own food supply) and finally, c) humans deny access to food to others. This leads to widespread famine. Ishmael points out that populations grow in a set way: when there is food, populations grow. A larger population eats more food, and food levels lower, which again lowers the population. It's a cycle. Humans have broken that cycle, believing birth control to be the answer-- an answer they don't utilize, simply saying that they will ship birth control to third world countries without acting on it.
Population ecology and population growth play a central role in these two chapters. the concept of food vs population size is one we discussed. Daniel Quinn also brings up niches, where each species or individual has a role in the ecosystem-- what they eat and when.
The chapters were very roundabout and, as usual, I found myself bored by how the narrator could hardly seem to figure out anything on his own. He even decides that he wants Ishmael to preach at him for life, to save him from depression! That doesn't seem very healthy to me. The ethical issues Quinn brings up are also questionable-- its a matter of human morality vs the ecosystem. And, as usual, Ishmael brings up problem after problem, offering no solution. I think the ideas are extremely interesting, but Quinn's style and lack of understanding of biology is frustrating and makes reading the book a bore.
Chapter 7 was eh. Ishmael talked about cannibalism for some reason. it's needlessly long and complicated, but his main point is that there is a law in our society that humans break that no other animals do. The law is only helping yourself. This leads to massive population expansion, and eventually de-diversification of ecosystems. The one thing I did enjoy was that there was some character development at the end of the chapter, when the narrator realizes that he doesn't want a teacher, he wants a teacher who will teach him forever.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed chapter 8. Ishmael talks about how the humans of today deal with their expanding population and with famine. He talks about how the population is expanding so quickly, due to humans breaking fundamentals laws of life, including denying food for others and exterminating competition for food. He wants the author to find a law to encompass all the laws he had already presented.
Not much biology, aside from the fact that Ishmael mentioned the danger of ecosystems with low species diversity. They are dangerous.
Being angry with this book isn't helping anyone. It's ideas are pretty unique, but I am really not interested in them. The idea of the society where it's a circle of families that eat each other was cool, but it was just that. An idea. I wish that the author could flesh out all of these half-baked concepts strewn about in the book. They all really have some potential, but the current medium they are currently in do not do them enough justice. If I were to try to incorporate it into a fictional story, I would do so in a much different way. It doesn't matter how, it just needed to be imaginative. A telepathic gorilla was imaginative. It's just not imaginative enough for an entire novel, I feel.
meager/10
Imogen Period 1
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 begins with Ishmael talking about a utopian society. The Taker realizes that it is not Utopian but in fact people are eating each other. He is told that this is natural. Anyone who doesn’t comply will be executed. The humans created laws to counteract the idea so now the population is large and out of control. Ishmael asks the guy a question that he cannot answer, so he goes home for four days and mulls it over. He says that humans exterminate their competition, humans destroy the food of their food, and humans deny access of food to others. Ishmael says that where there is food there is population growth. He says that humans believe birth control is the answer, when in fact it is not. In these two chapters, population and ecology play and essential role. Food webs, population influx, and different theories that we talked about, were discussed. I didn’t see much of a difference in these chapters compared to the others, however it is still interesting how the author works in all these biological concepts to deepen the meaning.
Taylor PEriod 1
ReplyDeleteIshmael speaks about the laws of animals that humans have disregarded causeing a disruption of the whole ecosystem. The law being that to only kill when hungry. With this law in mind the narrator thinks of the basic laws of life. He concludes that the laws of life favor no species and help the ecosystem as a whole to strive together. He then reflects at the war humans have waged against the planet as a whole. Then Ishmael and the narrator discuss agriculture and how more and more people starve as an indirect result of it because mother nature way of population control. The lack of geographical boundries contributes to the lack of population control. Things get deeper towards the end when Ishmael discusses the lonliness and depression that plagues the "takers" and the narrator relates feeling the weight of his new gained knowledge. He doesnt think humans have hope to change and finally sees that earth was created for all species to live together.
The idea of survival of the fittest and how ecosystem require diverse species and not a single species is explored.
I found it really interesting what he said about depression plaguing the people and why it plagued them.