Genre
A parable
Setting and Context
The setting of the story is the world of seagulls. Neither time, nor some particular place is indicated.
Narrator and Point of View
It is the third-person type of narration, but with deep insight into Jonathan’s inner world.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood changes with the change of Jonathan’s success in mastering art of flying. It moves from desperate and hopeless, to light-spirited and energetic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Jonathan Livingston himself. The antagonists are representatives of his Flock.
Major Conflict
The main conflict of the parable is that of person’s desires vs. society’s traditional view on the world.
Climax
The climax comes when Jonathan leaves the world on the earth.
Foreshadowing
“For the next few days he tried to behave like the other gulls; he really tried, screeching and fighting with the flock around the piers and fishing boats, diving on scraps of fish and bread. But he couldn't make it work. It's all so pointless, he thought, deliberately dropping a hard-won anchovy to a hungry old gull chasing him. I could be spending all this time learning to fly. There's so much to learn!”
The paragraph foreshadows that Jonathan is going to meet many obstacles in his desire to learn to fly, but his inner fortitude is stronger.
Understatement
The importance of support is understated in the story.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
Images of Jonathan’s mastering the art of flight are the brightest images of the story.
Paradox
“One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that kind of promise”
Jonathan used to give promises to both his parents and to himself, but he never kept them, which might be considered as his unreliability.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“He felt better for his decision to be just another one of the Flock” (flock is metonymy of the seagulls in the pack)
Personification
“As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him”
