JONATHAN
LIVINGSTON
SEAGULL
Ethan Hendricks
BY
RICHARD BACH
 Born June 23 1936.
 Written several books that were all
very popular in the 1970s.
 His books promote his philosophy
that our apparent physical limits and
mortality are merely appearance.
 Claims to be a direct descendent of
Johann Sebastian Bach.
PROTAGONIST
 The protagonist in
this story is none
other then
Jonathan
Livingston Seagull.
 He is faced with
the challenge to
obtain infinite
knowledge
ANTAGONIST
 The antagonist of this story isn’t really a single individual
character, but a group of many.
 The group is the flock of birds that made Jonathan an outcast
when he refused to live a simple life of just “getting by”.
FAVORITE CHARACTER
 My favorite character is Jonathan.
 He is my favorite character because he made me want to live
my life better while striving for perfection with what I am
passionate about.
LEAST FAVORITE CHARACTER
 I didn’t like Jonathan’s parents because they didn’t
support him in his quest to perfect his flying.
 They told him he was foolish for wasting his time learning
new flying skills because birds use flying as a way to get
food and to live, not for joy.
 They should’ve let him follow his dreams.
PLOT SUMMARY
RISING ACTION
 Jonathan is a Seagull living on the planet earth, but he is very confused. A
seagulls existence consists of eating and sleeping, that’s it. Jonathan is a free
thinker who spends his time learning new flying moves and pushing his ability
as far as he can.
 All the seagulls in his flock make him an outcast. Everyone
turns their back on him because he doesn’t blindly follow
the crowd.
 Jonathan accepts his mutiny and flies off into the distance
into the afterlife.
EXPOSITION
 When Jonathan gets sent to the next life he is welcomed
by other forward thinking seagulls who discovered the joy
of flight in the previous life.
 He then trains with the elder seagull Chiang who teaches
Jonathan how to travel at the speed of thought
Climax
 After learning that our bodies are an illusion, Jonathan
visits his first lifetime to see if he can teach the naïve
seagulls the meaning of life.
 He then gets several followers that he teaches for many
many years.
Falling Action
 Jonathan teaches about love and forgiveness
 "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
Themes…
 There are several ways this book can be interpreted…
 Christian themes: Jonathan is like Jesus trying to get his flock so
they can “follow in his teachings”.
 Transcendence: Jonathan leaves this life and progresses to the next
 Passion: My favorite part of this book is how Jonathan was told by
his peers to give up on what he loves to be like everyone else. But
he doesn’t, he follows his dreams despite what the nay-sayers say.
Do what you love to do no matter what, and follow your dreams.
That is what this book is about…dreams.
 Jonathan Livingston Seagull encourages individuality and
conviction; without these, one cannot overcome hardships and
transcend a simply physical existence. As the book both heightens
and oversimplifies life, readers can complicate the meaning as they
wish.
Social Issues
 My social issue is the positive/negative effect that religion
has on our society and other cultures…
<Gaza
Strip
Social Issues
 Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real
distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the
sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless
world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the
opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory
happiness of the people is required for their real happiness.
The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the
demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.
Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
Gaza Strip
 The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the
Mediterranean Sea.
 Gaza has been a religious warzone for
centuries and is a great example of the
extremes of the bad things religion can bring .
Should I read this book??
 Yes, read it right now. I really love this book because it
changed my life at a point when I was confused. Everyone
should read this book. If you are faced with the challenge
to either sell out or be yourself, read this book. If you are
pissed that your parents are making you go on a mission,
read this book. If your father is concerned you became an
artist rather then a doctor, read this book. People from all
walks of life should read it. 9 out of 10
video
Jesus Camp