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February 19, 1973
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Page Seven
Jonathan Livingston Seagull Called Enticing
- by Dee Wilson
Feature Editor
Although Richard Bach s
newest novel Jonathan Living
ston Seagull is placed in the ju
venile section of the library, it is
far from beingjuvenile in content
or in meaning. Richard Bach has
created a delightful story which
will amuse children in its tale
of the flights of a seagull some
what pompously names
what pompously named Jona
than Livingston; yet, the book
has a much deeper meaning than
this surface tale of adventure
which s
which will arouse the emotions
of every adult.
Bach’s bestseller should be a
companion to St.-Exupery’s
Little Prince, for both books
create fantasy worlds, in which
the truthful significance of
these make-believe worlds emerge
to touch the hearts of all adults.
Bach shares more than a tech
nique of writing with St.-Exu-
pery, for he too is a former Air
Force pilot. It is appropriate that
he should write about flying, for
this is his first love. He brings a
knowledge of the principles of
aerodynamics and aerobatics to
his book, which centers upon
I the efforts of a seagull to perfect
his natural ability to fly.
From the beginning, the read
er is aware that Jonathan Living
ston is no ordinary seagull. The
book opens with Jonathan alone
in mid-air, practicing his flying,
and this is the way Jonathan re
mains throughout the greater
part of the book, a loner,
attempting to discover new
attempting to discover new
heights in the experience of fly
ing. Jonathan finds it difficult to
accept the premise for his raison
d’etre as being to eat and stay
alive. He can’t bear the shrieking
of the gulls as they fight for te
of the gulls as they fight for the
more delectable tidbits, treating
each other without respect.
Hoping to appease his concerned
parents, Jonathan attempts to
conform, to behave according to
the accepted dictums of the
Flock. However, Jonathan fails,
returning once more to his for
mer preoccupation with the tech
nique for controlled speed.
Jonathan practices hourly,
suffering from doubts about the
limitations of his own nature.
He faces repeated failure in his
attempts to fly swiftly at great
velocities. One day after a near
fatal attempt at dive-bombing,
Jonathan inadvertently stumbles
upon the clue to high speed fly
ing, shortened wings. His ex
citement at his discovery is a
feeling shared by all humans who
have excelled at something new,
who have participated in dis
covering a new idea that may
free men’s souls. Jonathan Liv
ingston, as his name connotes,
has found a new meaning to
life because of his breakthrough
in the world of flying. He is the
first seagull to fly aerobatics; and
it is through this new dimension
that Jonathan hopes to enlighten
and free the rest of the flock.
Excited and exhilarated, Jona
than roars through the center of
the Breakfast Flock one morning
at a supersonic rate of 212 miles
per hour. Jonathan finds that
instead of being rewarded for
his new discoveries, he is accused
of irresponsibility, a crime re
quiring banishment to the Far
Cliffs.
Jonathan Livingston had
found a higher purpose to life,
he had a better raison d’etre,
but, the Flock refused to lister
but, the Flock refused to listen.
This, I think is the central point
of the book, the fact that we as
human beings refuse to accept
any discovery which would free
us from our self-imposed bond
age. Jonathan Livingston stum
bles upon a technique of flying
which would alter the whole
society and pattern of living of
the Flock, but they ignore his
discovery. The first part of the
book ends with Jonathan s as
cension into a higher realm than
earth, led there by two “Star-
bright” gulls.
In this second world which
Jonathan believes to be heaven,
gulls speak via telepathy; and,
he is further instructed in the
art of aerodynamics by Sullivan,
a seagull of higher knowledge.
While here, he comes to the real
ization that the matter of great
est significance in life is not
necessarily acceptance by others,
but perfection in that which
gives one greatest happiness, in
his case, flying. Even in this
higher world Jonathan retains
his uniqueness, learning quickly
and skipping over several stages,
on his way to perfection. Always
inquisitive, Jonathan emboldens
himself to speak to Chiang, the
oldest and wisest seagull in this
realm. Chiang informs him that
heaven is not a tangible place
but a condition of the mind and
soul.
Once Jonathan reaches a
state of perfection, he has cre
ated a heaven within his own
soul. Chiang explains that reach
ing this state of perfection re
quires realizing one is bound on
ly by limits he imposes upon
himself, not by any tangible re
straints. Slowly, under the gui
dance of the Elder, Jonathan
comes to understand that he can
do anything he desires. He can
even attain “perfect speed” by
acknowledging the fact he is not
caged by his physical body. Jon
athan frees his soul and thus be
comes perfect. Chiang departs
soon after Jonathan acquires this
capacity, admonishing him to
concentrate upon the principle
of love. Hounted by his words,
Jonathan decides to return to
earth to teach others the free
dom to be found in the truths
Chiang has revealed to him.
In part three, Jonathan de
scends to earth with several pu
pils, also outcasts of the rigorous
ly structured seagull society. Jon
athan has his pupils practice
over the resting area of the
Breakfast Flock so that all birds
can view their skills. Jonathan’s
Tom Sawyer trick works, soon
attracting other young seagulls
to his training sessions - seagulls
who ignore the Flock’s law of
no communication with outcasts.
He teaches his curious students
not only how to fly, but more
importantly he instructs them
in how to be free. As the days go
by, the elders of the Breakfast
Flock become more disgruntled,
their dislike heightened by the
increase in young members lis
tening to the instructions of
Jonathan. They hope for some
type of disaster which will dis
credit the teachings of this for
mer outcast. Their hope is ful
filled by the disastrous accident
of Fletcher. Fletcher, one of
Jonathan’s more promising stu
dents, flies straight into a cliff.
He survives this fatal accident,
panicking the Flock. Fletcher’s
sudden return to life, creates e-
lectric fear which spreads rapidly
through the Flock. Jonathan and
Fletcher are forced to escape to
safety via Jonathan’s capacity
for perfect and instantaneous
speed.
The book concludes with the
return of Fletcher to carry for
ward the program of learning in
stigated by Jonathan. Jonathan
fades into transparency, impart
ing some words of advice before
he leaves. He admonishes
Fletcher to keep finding himself,
a little more each day, to search
for the true, unlimited Fletcher
seagull. Fletcher realizes as Jon
athan had previously come to
know, that his only impediment
to freedom is himself - his per
sonal fears and prejudices. Thus,
Jonathan Livingston becomes
more than a seagull. He is the
symbol of freedom for all hu
man souls, caged by their natural
limitations.
Richard Bach has created a
fantasy world of seagulls which
reflects our own world. He
writes of a permanent human
problem, the search for freedom;
however, Bach uses a seagull and
the sphere of flying as a greater
metaphor for the universal quest
for freedom. The book is writ
ten with the contemporary
world in mind because it defines
the human problem of spiritual
ity. Jonathan frees himself of all
restrictions, both those imposed
by himself and those laws of so
ciety which hindered his quest
for the unlimited and therefore
for the perfect Jonathan Living
ston. Jonathan Seagull affirms
the worth of all life in his disco
veries of a deeper meaning in life
than mere consumption. Every
human heart soars and plummets
downward with Jonathan’s at
tempts at flight. Bach relates the
exhilaration of flying in such a
convincing manner that the read
er feels he too has been in flight.
1
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