Ishmael and the Narrator

As the question asked in class said,  Ishmael has a Socratic dialogue. Since Ishmael is a Socratic dialogue with a distant narrator, the reader is able to understand what dialogue is being discussed and it also gives the reader a chance to think and reflect on the topics. I was also curious why the narrator asks Ishmael so many questions. I think 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 decides for themselves how they feel. Having not yet finished the novel, in my opinion, this was Quinn’s exigency for the novel, wanting to make sure the objectives for the novel were completed. People often do not know why they think the way they do, but Quinn challenges his readers. Especially through Ishmael and the narrator’s relationship. Because Ishmael is asking questions and letting the narrator find the answers himself, allows the reader to reflect on their own beliefs. It would be a different senirio if Ishmael is telling the narrator what to believe.

To also add onto this, today in class I was able to ask Prof. Graban a question, but not the entire class. Who exactly is the Narrator in Ishmael? Ishmael by Daniel Quinn so far has two main characters, Ishmael and the narrator. If you noticed, the narrator doesn't have a name or gender. I believe that there is a very good reason why information on the narrator is not given. There is a  distance between the narrator from Ishmael and the reader. By having distance, the reader is able to engage more on what the narrator is saying rather than who the character is. That way the reader is more willing to reflect on their own beliefs just like the way Ismael approaches the narrator.