JONATHON LIVINGSTON SEAGULL
RICHARD BACH
Jonathon Livingston Seagull is about freedom and breaking your limits, something every person connects to. For someone whose freedom is a privilege, it is an exhilarating read. Just imagine experiencing the highest level of freedom, without any boundaries and learning through that experience, but that freedom for Jonathon comes at a cost. He is ostracized from the flock, from the only home he is known since birth. For me too, experiencing a similar kind of freedom comes at a cost of breaking rules and expectations of society and family. I fear the unknown as I have never known what it is like to live without society's constraints, for better or worse. How does one find themselves when lost within these rules?Even though the flock exiles him, he returns with love and kindness to teach them and show them a better way of living. To return to a flock which humiliated him takes a lot of courage, love and self-awareness shows his transcendence towards enlightenment. It is hard to imagine someone giving so self-lessly. Even when we witness it, we tend to look for ulterior motives. We look for the bad in altruism just to not feel inferior and prove to ourselves that everybody is selfish.
Jonathon Livingston Seagull has unmatched passion for learning and teaching. To be driven by that passion alone, it is highly relatable. The pursuit of knowledge, to enjoy the process of learning, it is an indescribable feeling. The thrill that runs through you as you read the sentences creates a craving for more which is like an addiction in itself. For me, this character is not a person, but an ideology, a way of learning and thinking. Is this an utopia or something that can be made a reality? For a fact, I know that there are people who are trying to change the education system to a way in which every student can enjoy the process of learning. Let's hope this trend catches on...
"Freedom is nothing more than a chance to be better"
- Albert Camus
