Bach, Richard: Jonathan Livingston Seagull

The book Jonathan Livingston Seagull was written by Richard Bach.

Unfortunately I could not find something about the author. The book was a glorious bestseller and there is also a film version of it.

Once a certain Ray Bradbury said: "Richard Bach with this book does two things. He gives me Flight He makes me Young."

I structured my speech into tbree parts: 1) The plot

2) Some characters 3) Myopinion

It is the story of the young seagu1l Jonathan Livingston who is different from a11 other gulls. He loved to fly more than anything else. Despite the dismay of the other gulIs, he did not stop teaching himself how to fly .His F1ock could not understand him and so he got outcasted. But even though he did not give up his dreams of free and unlimited gulls. His thoughts were not the same than the thoughts of other birds and so he came to a new and better world

There he met two of his most important instructors who taught him how to fly as fast as thought He leamed a lot of them and after a while, he decided. to go back to his Flock and help the other gulls to be as free as he was.

When he arrived there with some young students, hardly any gul1listened to him. They thought that Jonathan was either the son of the great guI1 or the devi1. They were afraid of him. But the longer he stayed there the more they came to hear him.

A few months later Jonathan noticed that F1etcher Lynd, one of his students, could lead the rest of the F1ock into the same direction and so he left that p1ace to help guIIs at an other p1ace.

Jonathan Livingston Seagu1l: He is the main character of this book and the author described him as a gul1 which only love to fly and which wou1d do everything for his freedom. Because he listened to himself more than to the other gulls, he arrived at a new world , where he learned how :free he was and what things he cou1d do, jf he really want to do them.

Sullivan and Chiang: They were his most important instructors and friends. From Chiang he learned how to fly as fast as thought and that love was the most important thing, if he wanted to help other gulls.

Sullivan was the :first gul1 he met at the new world and he persuaded him that there were a lot of gulls which needed Jonathan’s help.

F1etcher Lynd SeaguJ1: He was one of Jonathan's first students and in the end he was the leader of his F1ock. He had a1so been outcasted and he a1so did not had the intention of giving up his practises. One day Fletcher was demonstrating the elements of high-speed flying to a new c1ass of students, when a young bird glided directly into his path. F1etcher tried to rnake way for that bird and so he crashed into a rock. AJl students thought that he was dead. Then Jonathan went to him, touched him with his wingtip and brought Fletcher to life.

Kirk Maynard Gull: He wanted to fly , but he could not move one of bis wings. Jonathan told him that he was free and that he was able to do everything. And from that day on Kirk could fly.

For me, Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a good book and it was interesting to read it The book tells that everybody could do ev~ what he want, if he never give up hope and if he trust himself.

Jonathan reached the position of an instructor, because he listened to himself and because of his self -confidence.

I think that we should start to listen to ourselves more often, but not in a selfish way .

seaguJ1 Seemöve

dismay BestürzW1g

to be outcasted ausgeschlossen werden . flock Schwarm

instructor Lehrer, Ausbildner

to make way ausweichen