With Gorilla Gone

When we are first introduced to Ishmael, we come to associate the poster that hangs behind him with the gorilla. It says, "With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?" This sets us up to be in a mindset of critical thinking. This question is rather mysterious and even more, slightly disturbing. We think, why would man not exist? 

By the end of the novel, though, we are presented with an entirely new question: "With gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?" To me, this could be interpreted in a few different ways. Specifically, the question could be speaking in hypothetical terms of the death of Ishmael. Now that he is dead, will he have sufficiently passed on the knowledge he possesses? Did he do enough to give man any sort of hope? 

More generally, though, the question could also be referring to the gradual extinction of animals by humans. This is a point Ishmael makes to his pupil - that Takers kill their competition unprovoked. Once the humans reach the point of even extinguishing the gorillas, will there be any hope for them at all or will the end be too near to avoid?

I think the reveal of the second side of the poster is very essential to an understanding of the novel. It shows us that there are two sides to what was going on between Ishmael and his pupil. I think that the first side represents a Taker ideology, whereas the second side represents a Leaver ideology. The fact that Ishmael's pupil frames it so both sides can be seen speaks to his willingness to understand the Taker mythology but to also do his best to spread the Leaver ideas.