Point of View

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is narrated in the third person past tense by an omniscient witness to events in the life of gulls on Earth and in heaven. The narrator knows what is in the gulls' minds and hearts and understands and interprets how most go through the motions of surviving unaware that life means more than that and how a chosen few realize flight is fun and liberating in and of itself. The narrator accompanies the young, freethinking Jonathan on his flights of discovery and in his search for perfection. When Jonathan is seemingly defeated in explaining his revelations to the Flock, the narrator follows his acceptance of exile to the Far Cliffs. He sees Jonathan accept that a greater life is possible and accompanies him to heaven, where gull mythology is proved inaccurate. The perfection Jonathan seeks is the key to a life free of...