‘Sure.’
‘I don’t understand how you manage to love a mob of birds that has just tried to kill you.’
‘Oh, Fletch, you don’t love that! You don’t love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That’s what I mean by love. It’s fun, when you get the knack of it.’
--Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
I first read this book in the 8th grade. I associate the book with my math teacher and math class, but I'm not sure if that is because she or a fellow student recommended it to me. Of course, there was almost always a copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull in my Mom's used bookstore and probably a copy on her personal bookshelf. I'm not sure whether it was the sort of inspirational book that would be of help to her or not. I didn't get much from the book in the 8th grade other than the story.
Reading it now, 50 some odd years ago, I enjoyed the prose and the photographs, and it was a short little read, just 50 minutes, to enjoy out on the porch in the nice weather. However, the message was obvious and squishy.
The story is about Jonathan, a seagull that is different than the rest. He revels in flight, swooping, diving, turning, and speeding through the air. The Flock deride him for his lack of interest in the day-to-day job of finding food while he can't fathom why they don't understand his motivation to be free to enjoy and learn more about flying. After an accident where Jonathan injured some other gulls, he was banished from the flock.
He spent his exile stretching his abilities, living a solitary life of flight and contemplation. One day he is joined by two other gulls who can fly as well as he can, if not better. He is astonished to learn that there is a community of seagulls that spend each day teaching and learning, and so he is happy to be among like-minded birds. But he still thinks about the Flock, and whether he can teach them what he now knows.
The book has three parts, one for each stage of Jonathan Livingston Seagulls life. Although he lives alone for much of the first part, later we get to know other gulls, like Fletcher Lynd Seagull, Jonathan's first student.
"To begin with," he said heavily, "you've got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull, and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself."
The young gulls looked at him quizzically. Hey, man, they thought, this doesn't sound like a rule for a loop.
Fletcher sighed and started over. "Hm. Ah . . . very well," he said, and eyed them critically. "Let's begin with Level Flight." ...
This story is blatantly a retelling of the life of Christ. A child is born, he dies and rises from the dead, he gathers students, and when he leaves this realm, his students continue to spread the word. There are parables and miracles; Jonathan is all wisdom and humility. The multitudes contain followers and haters, but Jonathan can find love for them all. Some summaries say that this book is an allegory of the life of Christ, but if an allegory is "a story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning," I may be too jaded to think the meaning of this book is hidden.
Richard Bach, the author, and Russell Munson, the photographer, are both pilots, which is reflected in the words and images in the book. Jonathan teaches himself the relationship between wing shape and speed, terminal velocity, and how to come out of a dive. Some of the photographs are taken from an airplane, but it is the images of solitary gulls that I find most moving. I had forgotten that in the middle of the book, at least in the first edition, are 4 pages of onion skin paper that, when turned slowly, give the illusion of the movement of a seagull dropping down to land on the beach. Beautiful.
In 1973 Paramount Pictures released a movie adaptation of the book, based on a film script written by Bach. The reception was cold, and Variety describe the film as "a combination of teenybopper psychedelics, facile moralizing, Pollyanna polemic, and superb nature photography." I didn't see the movie, and I agree with the moralizing and Pollyanna-ity with regard to the book. The one redeeming value of making the movie was the ability to buy the soundtrack written and preformed by Neil Diamond. I haven't listened to it in decades, but several of the songs have been my earworms for the past two days.
As I said, the message is not subtle, and that made me wonder what audience this book was directed toward. The reading level is 5-6 grade, and the age group that might be interested in this are 9-12 grade. That makes sense, as I read this in the 8th grade, but for me, I don't think this is a book for a well-read older adult. It was fun for a little nostalgia, but I think it will go on the pile of books I want to donate, regardless of the onion skin pages.
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