Research Paper on:
Daily Living in The Boo, On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Knowing Who You Are by Tracy Gregory, October 2001 -- properly! Both philosophy and religion are  attempts to answer the perplexing questions of the human experience. They are intended to offer solace for those who struggle to cope with daily problems of living, and with  the inevitable prospect of death. Two very unique books, Daniel Quinns 1992 award-winning novel, Ishmael, and Alan Watts 1966 spiritual self-help guide, The Book, On the Taboo Against Knowing  Who You Are, shed new light on issues as old as man himself. These books do not claim to have all the answers, since the questions are infinite, but  they do provide an optimistic insight into the human condition, which allow the readers to feel hopeful, not hopeless. In Ishmael, the protagonist (Quinn) responds to an ad in the  local newspaper, which reads, "TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person" (Quinn 4). Quinn was naturally skeptical, and expecting  some type of fraudulent operation, he checked it out to find, much to his surprise, a gorilla, who informed him by way of telepathy, "I am the teacher" (Quinn 4).  Ishmaels teaching task turns out to be quite formidable, for his quest is to teach a human being how to value humanity, not destroy it. Ishmael proceeds to  tell Quinn his life story, how much of it was spent in oppressive captivity, until a wealthy benefactor took him under his wing and properly educated him. It was  not an education that could be found in any textbook, but rather, was an investigation into how the world became propelled by self-destructiveness instead of self-preservation. Ishmael was a