The Problem of “Otherness” in “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach

Abstract

Richard David Bach was born on 23 June 1936. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He attended Long Beach State University. He is known for his love of aircraft. Richard Bach served in a fighter squadron of the US Navy and the New Jersey Air National Guard. His books are mostly autobiographies inspired by events in his life. He also worked as a technical writer for Douglas Aircraft and Flying magazine. Most of Bach’s books are related to aviation in some way. Aviation was his passion, but his teachers at school made him realize his talent for writing. So he decided to capture his love and talent in book form. His early works were about flight, such as “Stranger to Ground,” and later flight was used as a metaphor; “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” published in 1970, was a popular work featuring seagulls. The book tells the story of a seagull that flies because it prefers flying to foraging for food. The book was published by Macmillan because other publishers refused to publish it. “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” has beautiful photographs of seagulls in flight. The book became a number-one bestseller. In less than 10,000 words, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” sold over a million copies in 1972, breaking the record set by “Gone with the Wind.”