Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach PDF

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Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach In his book ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'' (1970) the story tells about a bird named Jonathan, Richard Bach showed that our dreams could come true if we have the courage to pursue them and that if someone follows the same norms through generations is not a good idea for a good life. This novel is about a young gull with a great ambition. Jonathan Seagull, unlike the others in his flock, he was not only driven to get food but to fly at enormous speeds, he pursued flying as an interest. "For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating." (p.14, part 1). He sent by his parents and his flock leaders out of the Flock due to his ambition, every time Jonathan practices to fly higher, the Flock considers it as a betrayal. They see Jonathan is not ordinary and not doing the right things. They declare him an Outcast. Gradually, Jonathan goes forward a few steps more to reach his own perfection. He gets to a "Heaven", as he call it, where he met the wisest gull called Chiang. Chiang gave him some tricks and keys to fly well and Jonathan comes closer and closer to perfection, “The trick, according to Chiang, was for Jonathan to stop seeing himself as trapped inside a limited body. . . “(p.56). Later, he missed his flock, so he returned to it, to his homeland, searching for the ambitious seagulls to teach them and to improve their flight skills. Fletcher Gull was one of them; he has a desire to learn to fly. At the end of the novel, the reader finds out that Jonathan not only flies at previously unheard of speeds but he also learns how to travel anywhere and at any time he wants. It is also clear to the reader to know that Jonathan achieved his goal and that he can now do the thing he loved to do without any mistakes. The novel is a thirdperson narrator at the point of view of a seagull. The main character is Jonathan Seagull; he is the gull who refused to live the life of an ordinary gull due to his desire for more meaningful life. In the journey of the novel, Jonathan could develop his flight skills, afterwards, he returned to his flock. It is obvious to the reader, that Jonathan did not have a strong enough body or the body that is ready to fly at high speeds, Jonathan comments: "I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature.'', so he needed to practice for example not to use the whole wingspan "Short wings!", Jonathan thought, all he needs is to bring his forewings tightly in to his body to have short wings. It shows that when we want something, we should find a way from getting it. Having long wings did not hinder Jonathan to do what he wants because he was determined. Obviously, Jonathan had never been like the other seagulls in his flock.'' Seagulls never fly in the dark!'' Jonathan thought as he flew alone in the dark when he believed he would let go of flying exercises. Jonathan, within himself carries the idea of "an unlimited idea of freedom" which caught the reader's attention that he has a great energy within himself, "a perfect seagull without any restriction" which at first he did not know about it.

The author chose the perfect environment that fits well in the novel, he described the nature clearly by mentioning the wide sky of our world '' A hundred feet in the sky... '' (part 1 p.3) The sky also mentioned as an indirect simile that resembles it with freedom, The author tried to deliver to us the idea of the heaven symbolizing perfection in whatever one chooses to do and the place where everyone can find freedom. ". . . Heaven is being perfect." (p.45). the sky helped him to add in the mood of the story. I think if there would be a different setting than the sky, it will change the message of the story since we are talking about seagulls. Unsurprisingly, we only see seagulls flying in the shore, beaches or coasts. Changing the setting leads to disconnection with the seagulls. Therefore, I think the author described the environment and the setting in this precise way to highlight and emphasize the theme, also to make the settings appropriate for those free characters given. I would like to point out that, this novel belongs to different genres such as spirituality, which explains that the novel is full of meaningful activities, personal growth, and blissful experience. Jonathan wants to find something new and more meaningful things in his life. It is also a novella, which means that it contains fewer conflicts than a novel and it is divided into three chapters. Finally, yet importantly, the novel is a self-help, which is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. Finally, I want to say that the story is actually about people, not birds. It teaches everyone about the meaning of life. Jonathan Livingston Seagull touched my inner feelings; the novel gave me the exciting feeling that made me go on reading. When you read the story, you can link it to your real life not just to my life. I could understand better that almost all people live like robots, they do what they are expected to do without asking questions and many do not even try new things because of the fear. Jonathan's story by Richard Bach is a novel that goes straight into the heart. An adorable little book about a big subject, about freedom and development, the message of this novel is that everyone is going to fight for freedom, no matter what those hinders that try to black our path, we all need to develop our skills and not sit still. The novel is dedicated to “the real Jonathan Seagull who lives within us all'' (page 10)....