Sam's Odyssey 101

August 10, 2024

Jonathan Livingston Seagull was a seagull that loved to fly. He was an outcast, but he knew that there was something more than just fighting for food. And he mastered flying in another world after practice and practice. He returned to Earth to teach the birds that desired to fly. However, after he left, the other gulls wanted to learn about Jonathan Livingston Seagull, not about flying. There were fewer and fewer that flew, and Jonathan came back to teach the gulls with dedication on flight. I think that the author wanted to use a metaphor for religion. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was an outcast at first. Nobody agreed that flying was the meaning of a gull’s life. Next, he became perfect at it, which means that he understood flying and knew better than any other gull on Earth. Then, he taught what he learned to students. After Jonathan flew away, the gulls left on Earth didn’t really care what Jonathan’s students told them. The gulls just wanted to know about Jonathan and not learn how to fly. I think this happens sometimes when religions are made. There’s a person who spreads the gospel. When the person dies, the people left always change the gospel, and after a long time, the first gospel and the gospel later are so different. The meanings change, the words change, and the gospel itself changes. This is similar to Jonathan’s story. I think that the author wanted to show this. And he melted it in very well.

“No more than you are, no more than I am. The only difference, the very only one, is that they have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practice it.”

– Jonathan Livingston Seagull