Deviance
Bach explains, “Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight- how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly. This kind of thinking, he found, is not the way to make one’s self popular with other birds. Even his parents were dismayed as Jonathan spent whole days alone, making hundreds of low-level glides experimenting." Livingston exhibits deviance in terms of mannerisms for he does not comply with the behaviors which are expected of all seagulls. The other seagulls regard him different because he focuses more on perfecting his flying skills than getting food. The parents' disappointment indicates that they are not impressed with Livingston's deviance, which sets him apart from other seagulls. The deviance makes it problematic for him to fit into his species.
Learning
Bach writes, "It wasn't long before Jonathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at sea, hungry, happy, learning. The subject was speed, and in a week's practice he learned more about speed than the fastest gull alive. From a thousand feet, flapping his wings as hard as he could, he pushed over into a blazing steep toward the waves, and learned why seagulls don't make blazing steep power-dives." Jonathan's passion is learning and mastering new flying skills. Although his parents scold him for focusing too much on the gliding at the expense of his body, he does not stop practicing. Jonatan depicts a growth mind-set that inspires him to keep practicing the gliding. Consequently, he discovers the reason why gulls are unable to dive. Jonathan demonstrates that the gulls' flying skills are not fixed; new abilities can be mastered through regular experiments.
Failure
Bach recounts, “But victory was short-lived…Jonathan Seagull exploded in mid-air and smashed down into a brick-hard sea…His wings were ragged bars of lead, but the weight of failure was even heavier on his back. He wished, feebly, that the weight could be just enough to drag him gently down to the bottom, and end it all”. Jonathan’s failure comes after his ‘world record’ in the world of seagulls. The unfortunate smashing confirms that success is not constant; failure can ensue at the peak of one’s success. The ability to navigate the failure such as Jonathan’s is what differentiates a champion from other individuals. Furthermore, setting records during competition is not an absolute guarantee of being an eternal winner.
