"A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston": a brief summary. "Seagull named Jonathan Livingston," Richard Bach: the main theme, reviews

In this article we will talk about R. Bach's famous book and present its brief content. "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingstone" is the name heard by many, even if they did not read the work itself. What is it about?

About the book

The book "The Seagull named Jonathan Livingston" was published in 1970 and immediately became one of the bestsellers. The author admitted in an interview that the basis of the story was the impression of the flight of John Livingston, a terrific pilot of the early twentieth century.

The work was translated into Russian in 1974. And for the first time it was published on the pages of the journal Foreign Literature.

Genre of the work

In what genre is the book "The Seagull named Jonathan Livingston" written? Analysis of the work convinces us that this story is a parable. She tells about a young seagull, which learns to fly and live. Like any parable, a work can not be understood literally, only allegorically. In images and scenes, references to human reality are ciphered. And the gull itself is a metaphorical image, implying a person.

Summary: "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingstone." Part one

A bright sunny day. Fishermen from their ships throw nets with bait, and seagulls flock to get their food. Not participating in this feast is the only gull, her name is Jonathan Livingston. It's much more important - training flights. Jonathan stands out from the pack with his desire to bring the skill of flight to perfection.

From the first lines, the author depicts the dissimilarity of the hero to others, which should be mentioned briefly. A gull named Jonathan Livingstone does not seek food, which worries parents. They persuade his son to live like everyone else. The hero agrees and the week exists according to the laws of the pack. However, Jonathan quickly realizes the meaninglessness of such a life and returns to flying.

Once Jonathan hits the water, swiftly descending, and loses consciousness. Waking up, he heard a voice that said that the seagulls were not allowed to fly fast. The hero decides to reconcile and return to the pack. But suddenly he finds a solution - too long wings interfere with flying. Knowing the solution to the problem, Jonathan is rapidly achieving success.

There is a council of flocks. Jonathan is taken to the middle of the circle. The young seagull is waiting for the praise of its success. But everything happens quite the contrary. The elder sentenced him to exile for violating the customs of the Chaek Family and trampling on his dignity.

Jonathan flies away and spends his whole life alone. He improves his skills and does not regret anything.

Part two

Created his hero as a romantic and a rebel Richard Bach. A seagull named Jonathan Livingston is gradually aging. And then one day he is two white gulls. They say that he is from their pack, and they ask to return home. Jonathan soars up and himself becomes radiant and snow-white, like his guests. The hero thinks he is in paradise, and gradually forgets about the old days.

This place also has a flock that trains and desires to achieve perfection in flights. Sullivan, her mentor, says that Jonathan is an exception. Usually, gulls need to live hundreds of lives in order to get into this world. And this world is not paradise, but paradise is called the achievement of perfection. Jonathan asks the elder to train him to fly at the speed of thought.

Time passes, and our hero realizes that his possibilities are unlimited, he is perfect. The next step for Jonathan is to learn how to navigate through time. The time comes, and the Elder disappears, saying goodbye, that Jonathan must know what love is.

Our hero starts to think about his native flock and decides to return there. He hopes to find an exile like himself. Once he succeeds, and he finds himself like this - Fletcher, who becomes a disciple of Jonathan.

Part Three

The summary is continued. A seagull named Jonathan Livingstone finds new students, except Fletcher, six outcasts who are also attracted by flights. In the evenings, the teacher tries to tell the students about freedom, but they too quickly fall asleep.

Jonathan decides to return to the pack. The disciples follow him. However, the pack is not happy with them, they are not noticed. But our hero continues to teach. Gradually, a young generation of gulls begins to come to Jonathan. Once a seagull with a broken wing asks for help. Livingstone says that he is free and nothing can stop flying. Then the wound spreads its wings and soars. After this incident, Jonathan is considered to be a god.

A week later Fletcher perishes. In another world, the teacher catches up with him and offers the choice of staying here or returning with him. Fletcher wants to come back. Seeing the living Fletcher, the pack thinks that either Jonathan is the devil or the Son of the Great Seagull. At this time Fletcher gets the skill of instant moving.

After a while, Jonathan calls Fletcher and tells him that he is leaving the pack. And he leaves in his place. After which our hero disappears, desiring to continue to improve. Fletcher becomes the tutor of the next generation of gulls.

Subject

Quite unusual work "Seagull named Jonathan Livingston." Analysis of it by different people can give completely opposite results. In this many-sided work one can see different worldview trends: Nietzsche's doctrine of the superman, positivist thinking, Buddhism with his idea of reincarnation and the absence of the transcendental god.

One main theme of this work is the search for the meaning of life. It is this idea that is consonant with the throws of the main character of the book "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingstone" (citations confirm this).

In addition to the theme of the search for the meaning of life, other eternal questions are raised in the work: the desire for the sublime and the low cares; the problem of fathers and children; A thirst for knowledge and dark ignorance; Understanding of such philosophical categories as love and kindness.

Main conflict

The main conflict of the work is based on the confrontation between the talented "eccentric" Jonathan and his pack. The seagulls in the person of the Elder are unequivocal and adamant in their opinion that "it is not possible to comprehend the meaning of life, for it is unattainable," the only thing they can do is "to eat and remain alive while the forces are still." But Jonathan is not ready to accept such rules, he wants more: "we live to learn ... to be free", and not to spend all our time searching for fish heads.

"Seagull named Jonathan Livingstone": reviews

Evaluate the book very differently. Some say that it contains a deep philosophical meaning, while others say that it is sectarian. Some leave completely indifferent reviews - read and forgotten. There are those whom she motivated for self-development.

Anyway, positive feedback is much more than negative. Basically, there is an easy writing and a joyful impression that remains after reading. Someone does not agree with the thoughts of Bach, someone, on the contrary, completely shares them. However, according to most, this book is worth reading.