Ishmael

The gods that Ishmael discusses, initially within the context of narrative, are representative of the forces in nature that are either unexplained or unexplainable. In Ishmael’s definition of a “story,” which relates humanity to the gods, the gods serve as a symbol for order in the universe. By personifying this conception of order, Ishmael is then able to apply rational thought and organization to the forces that are beyond human understanding or control. When, for example, the gods have eaten from the tree of knowledge and prevent the lion from eating a deer, then allow the lion to eat the deer the next day, Ishmael is describing chance and coincidence in the real world. In other words, the lion may or may not catch the deer, but by framing the lion’s hunt under the organization of a rational force, Ishmael is then able to frame all of nature under the idea of rational order.

As a symbol, the gods are meant to aid the reader in understanding Ishmael’s basic argument about the Takers’ and Leavers’ perspectives as they relate to the physical world. Unlike the biblical references in the novel, the gods seem to connote older forms of religion and spirituality, evoking an understanding of the world that mimics pre-scientific understanding of basic ideas, such as forces like gravity and aerodynamics, which Ishmael uses in a similar fashion.