Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Bach
- First Published: 1970
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—animal fantasy
- Time of Work: Indeterminate
- Setting: Earthly and heavenly beaches
- Genres: Long fiction, Allegory, Fantasy
- Subjects: Freedom, Self-discovery, Nature, Religion, Christianity, Allegory, Flight, Birds, Christ figures or saviors, Beaches or seashores, Animals, Fishes, Natural history
- Locales: Earth, Heaven
The Plot
Jonathan Livingston Seagull enjoys practicing flight and learning to fly at increasing speeds. To him, the most important thing is to fly quickly. By the end of the story, Jonathan not only flies at previously unheard of speeds but also overcomes time as a tangible entity; he learns how to travel anywhere and to any time he wants.
Jonathan does not want to live the same way as the rest of his flock. The others only “get from shore to food and back again”; they have no interest in flying as an art form or as a spiritual quest. After a few days of practice,...
[The entire page is 825 words long]
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