HTRLLAP: Chapter 5- Now Where Have I Seen Her Before?

According to Foster, texts are linked in a system called intertexuality. This cements the relationship between characters, plots, and themes in literature. That being said, the same basic characters and character types appear in multiple works. Forster says, in all bold print, "there's no such thing as a wholly original work of literature."

Two matching characters that I have encountered live in the pages of Anthem by Ayn Rand and Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. The main character of Anthem, later self-named Prometheus, lives in a world where all forms of individualism and knowledge have been eradicated. Prometheus eventually finds a tunnel left from the old world, which leads him to discovering electric light. He presents his findings to the great Council, and they banish him from the town, leaving him to fend for himself in the wilderness. Always the explorer, Prometheus finds a home left behind that is filled with modern marvels and books. He uses these tools to develop a new society that includes the words "I" and "me" and reaches a higher state of enlightenment than that of his previous mates.

Now on to the next one. The main character of Jonathan Livingston Seagull is called Jonathan Livingston and is, wait for it, a seagull. How constricting could the life of a seagull be? Apparently, very. Jonathan Livingston loves to fly. Not normal seagull flying: shallow, short, and only for eating. No, Jonathan Livingston loves to really soar. He practices flying as high as he can and making sharp, fast nose dives. This ridiculous seagull behavior gets his thrown out of his colony. Jonathan Livingston, once exiled, just keeps experimenting. He finds the deep emotional state of serenity in flying, and one event sends him on his way to enlightenment.

See the similarities? Both characters love to search for knowledge in worlds where such things are frowned upon. Both get thrown out of their communites. Both use that to reach higher states of happiness. Both can teach us lessons about reaching our own potentials.