I love Bach’s writing style. It’s loose and gives just enough imagery so I can create my own version of the story while adding my own picture. This book is not about the details, it’s about the metaphors, the story in between the lines.
Intro
As a school teacher, there were countless books that I read to my classes, but the one that had the most universal impact on students was Jonathan Livingston Seagull (published 1970), by Richard Bach. It’s a phenomenal metaphor for life which is beautifully subject to interpretation. Read it and it’s sure to be relevant to something you’re going through right now.
Plot
The protagonist, Jonathan, is a seagull and lives among a community of seagulls who don’t question things, who are stuck in the stale status quo. But Jonathan doesn’t fit in, he’s not content spending his life mindlessly searching for the next bite of food.
Instead, Jonathan has a deep need to explore flight in every way possible. He spends his days learning every nuance imaginable regarding flight. He is especially interested in seeing how he can go faster. He flies as high as he can, dives down at incredible speeds, crashes into the water, tries again, crashes again, tries harder and higher and faster, learns bit by bit, examines what he could do differently, fails again, smashes, learns, grows, and so it goes.
Jonathan continues to push the limits of flight as his community becomes less tolerant of his unusual antics. Jonathan could not conform so the community shamed him publicly and banished him.
Jonathan then moves on to another “plane” of existence, learning more lessons, learning more about himself and learning more about love. You’ll have to dive into the bool so see how Bach takes you on the journey.
Theme
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story about you and about me. Bach tells the classic heroes journey, the story of how we dive deep into the adventures of life and heed the calling of our heart. It’s about being a square peg in a round...