Search advanced search
 
Books
Search:
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
  • Rated 0 stars
Read Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) (edit title/settings)

by Richard Bach (Author) (edit contributors)

Share this book on:
see page history

Description edit see section history

This is a story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules...people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves...people who know there's more to this living than meets the eye: they'll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and... read more

Summary edit see section history

The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with the daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying, until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion from his flock. An... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with the daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying, until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion from his flock. An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities as he leads an idyllic life.

One day, Jonathan is met by two gulls who take him to a "higher plane of existence" (reminiscent of the beliefs of Chinese, in that there is no heaven but a better world found through perfection of knowledge), where he meets other gulls who love to fly. He discovers that his sheer tenacity and desire to learn make him "pretty well a one-in-a-million bird." Jonathan befriends the wisest gull in this new place, named Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning, teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the Universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to "begin by knowing that you have already arrived..."

Not satisfied with his new life, Jonathan returns to Earth to find others like him, to bring them his learning and to spread his love for flight. His mission is successful, gathering around him others who have been outlawed for not conforming. Ultimately, the very first of his students, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, becomes a teacher in his own right and Jonathan leaves to continue his learning.

Part One

The Part One of the book finds young Jonathan Livingston frustrated with the meaningless materialism and conformity and limitation of the seagull life. He is seized with a passion for flight of all kinds, and his soul soars as he experiments with exhilarating challenges of daring and triumphant aerial feats. Eventually, his lack of conformity to the limited seagull life leads him into conflict with his flock, and they turn their backs on him, casting him out of their society and exiling him. Not deterred by this, Jonathan continues his efforts to reach higher and higher flight goals, finding he is often successful but eventually he can fly no higher. He is then met by two radiant, loving seagulls who explain to him that he has learned much, and that they are there now to teach him more. The flocks follow him and create another flock

Part Two

In the second Part, Jonathan transcends into another society where all the gulls enjoy flying. He is only capable of this after practicing hard alone for a long time (described in the first part). In this other society, real respect emerges as a contrast of the coercive force that was keeping the former "Breakfast Flock" together. The learning process, linking the highly experienced teacher and the diligent student, is raised into almost sacred level, suggesting that this may be the true relation between human and God. Because of this, Bach has been described as believing that human and God, regardless of the all immense difference, are sharing something of great importance that can bind them together: "You've got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull." He realizes that you have to be true to yourself.

Part Three

The introduction to the third part of the book is the last words of Jonathan's teacher: "Keep working on love." In this part Jonathan understands that the spirit cannot be really free without the ability to forgive, and that the way to progress leads--for him, at least--through becoming a teacher, not just through working hard as a student. Jonathan returns to the Breakfast Flock to share his newly discovered ideals and the recent tremendous experience, ready for the difficult fight against the current rules of that society. The ability to forgive seems to be a mandatory "passing condition."

"Do you want to fly so much that you will forgive the Flock, and learn, and go back to them one day and work to help them know?" Jonathan asks his first student, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, before getting into any further talks. The idea that the stronger can reach more by leaving the weaker friends behind seems totally rejected.

Hence, love, deserved respect, and forgiveness all seem to be equally important to the freedom from the pressure to obey the rules just because they are commonly accepted.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Jonathan Livingston: a seagull that acts like Jesus.
  • Ciang Gabbiano Anziano: Add a description of this character.
  • Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Seagull who possesses an open mind and wishes to fly high, even when all the other Seagull's see no point in his ways and stick to their 'normal' routines. He has an immense hunger to beyond the knowns and he wants to know why things are the way they are. In the process of this journey he rediscovers himself and learns a lot about himself and gets down in the process of helping others like him to realize the same.
  • Fletcher Lynd
  • Fletcher Lynd Seagull: a rebel and outcast seagull who loved flying, like Jonathan, who took him under his wings and taught him the tricks and skills of flying
  • Sullivan
  • Chiang - the Elder Seagull: the leader of Jonathan's new flock, an ancient seagull who knew more about flying than any other seagull in 10000 years. The senior most gull who also happened to become the path guider to the Jon and helped him in discovering his real self.
  • Martin William Seagull: one of the outcast seagulls who were banished for flying and taken by Jonathan
  • Charles-Roland Gull: one of the outcast seagulls who were banished for flying and taken by Jonathan
  • Terrence Lowell Gull: one of the outcast seagulls who were banished for flying and taken by Jonathan
  • Jonathan Livingston Seagull: This is the story of a seagull who went beyond the set limits to find what he is capable of doing. He experiments with his life and never sat idle for a moment or was never content with finding food and surviving. He wanted to go beyond this. He practised and practised hungry and tireless yet he was happy to discover he can fly in higher altitude. He gives us a message 'never quit nor be content'. Each of us is capable of something which is beyond our imagination. Its just that we need to go for it than being content with an ordinary life
Show all 11 characters
Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

Quotes edit see section history

  • “You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way”
  • “Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary. One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that kind of promise.”
  • “The one who sees farthest flies highest.”
  • “Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live – to learn, to discover, to be free!”
  • “Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that gull’s life is so short and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.”
  • “The gulls who scorn perfection for the sake of travel go nowhere, slowly. Those who put aside travel for the sake of perfection go anywhere, instantly.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too….”
    Highlighted by 79 Kindle customers
  • we choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome.”
    Highlighted by 68 Kindle customers
  • “To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is,” he said, “you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived.”
    Highlighted by 66 Kindle customers
  • Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.”
    Highlighted by 62 Kindle customers
  • Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.”
    Highlighted by 54 Kindle customers
  • “The only true law is that which leads to freedom,” Jonathan said. “There is no other.”
    Highlighted by 46 Kindle customers
Show all 12 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 161 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 179 of 200 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)
This is book 196 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 189 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 176 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This book is in Hit : biblioteka moderne literature (Znanje, Zagreb). (publisher series)
This is book 1 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 1973. (authoritative list)
This is book 1 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 1972. (authoritative list)
This is book 15 of 23 in Biblioteka Evergirn (Znanje, Zagreb). (publisher series)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Richard Bach (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Russell Munson (Photographer)
  2. Diana Pavičić-Haniš (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Scribner
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1970
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 96

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Jonathan Livingston Seagull
  • The ballad of Toby and Lark : a cat fantasy
  • Long Way Around
  • Illusions
  • One
  • There's No Such Place as Far Away
  • The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story
  • Running from Safety
  • Gulls Walk
  • Return of the Gulls
  • The Evening Gull (Eagle Large Print)
  • Cry of the Sea Gull
  • Twelve Seconds to Live (Modern Naval Fiction Library)
  • The Alchemy Of The Soul

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
  • Strengths-Based Counseling With At-Risk Youth
  • Happiness the Real Medicine and How It Works
  • Hiv/Aids: Loss, Grief, Challenge And Hope
  • Beyond the Winning Streak
  • The Alchemy Of The Soul

We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.

© 2006-2013 Shelfari | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy

Close