In the bible, Ishmael was the son of Abram and his wife's servant, Hagar. Hagar was pregnant with Abram's son and grew to despise her mistress, Sarai. Hagar ran away from her mistress, but in doing so, was stopped by an angel. The angel said to Hagar, "And you will have a son. / You shall name him Ishmael, /for the Lord had heard your misery. /He will be a wild donkey of a man; / his hand will be against everyone/and everyone's hand against him, /and he will live in hostility/ toward all his brothers" (NIV 29). In Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, the boy was actually a gorilla, who had pupils a…
