Discuss the Takers and Leavers in terms of conflict theory, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism.

This paper should be an interpretive sociological analysis of the book Ishmael. It should be more

than a book report and should be written in a scholarly manner. You should include some of the

things you have learned in sociology, particularly theoretical orientations and concepts. For

example, you should be able to apply some sociological theory to the ideas Daniel Quinn uses in

the book. Discuss the Takers and Leavers in terms of conflict theory, structural functionalism,

symbolic interactionism, etc. Who are the Takers and Leavers? What is meant by the term

Mother Culture? How does it operate? Who is Ishmael? What is he trying to teach and why?

Pick out a portion of the text in Ishmael and expand on it. There is symbolism in the book that

can be tied to notions such as: stratification in terms of class, race, or gender; the sociology of

religion; political sociology; economics; organizations; philosophy; social movements and

collective behavior; or any topic of your choice. The possibilities are wide open and are limited

only by your imagination (within reason, of course).