The young seagull felt alone and afraid sitting on the ledge as his siblings had all learned to fly. His parents tried to encourage him to fly by calling to him and threatening to leave him, but he was too scared of his own abilities. When his mother flew by with a fish, his hunger overcame his fear and he dove at the fish, using his wings to fly for the first time. Elated, he began diving, soaring and calling shrilly, having gained the independence of flight and overcome his fears.

1. TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING
HIS FIRST FLIGHT – by LIAM O’
FLAHERTY

2. LiamO’Flaherty
Birth: 28 August, 1896, Ireland
Death: 7 September, 1984
An Irish novelist and short story
writer, Liam enjoyed combining
naturalism and psychological
analysis with a biting satire.
His fascination with psychological analysis finds an expression in
the Seagull’s character. He almost, psychologically, investigates
his fears and resistance.

4. The Seagull’s life
stands on a delicate
balance of success or
failure. His leap of
faith and his
mother’s continuous
encouragement will
take him to his
success that is his
first flight. The only
obstacle in his path
is his own fear, his
lack of confidence in
his own abilities/
strength of wings.

5. A QUICK LOOK AT THE TEXT
“The young seagull was alone on his ledge.”
 Protagonist of the story: the young seagull
What is a seagull?
A seagull is a strong sea bird, known far and wide for its powerful
skimming, diving and flying abilities.
Where is the seagull?
It is alone on his ledge (the edge of a cliff).
Why is he alone?
His siblings have learnt to fly and are flying to perfect their skills. His
parents are with the siblings helping them learn and practice. The
seagull didn’t have the courage to jump off the ledge and spread his
wings. He is scared, not at all confident of the strength of his wings.

6. “ His father and mother had come around calling to
him shrilly, unbraiding him, threatening to let him
starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the
life of him he could not move.”
 What did his parents try to do?
His parents were trying to motivate him to fly any which ways. They
were trying to call him excitedly and were even ready to punish him
for his stubbornness.
 How did his parents punish him?
His parents punished him to by leaving him alone at the ledge. He
was punished for refusing to try.
 Why didn’t the seagull move?
The seagull’s fears froze him right there and he looked desiring, yet
dejectedly at his family’s flight.

7. “He felt the heat because he had not eaten since the
previous nightfall”
Why had he not eaten since the previous night?
Since, the bird dared not fly, it could not hunt food for
himself.
The bird was old enough to live an independent life, hence the
mother had stopped bringing in the food and the mother also
desired to make him fly in every possible way.
“The sight of food maddened him.”
The young seagull was hungry as he hadn’t had anything for over two
days now. This basic instinct of hunger was to become his driving
force, the only reason why he would push his limits.

8. “He waited a moment in surprise, wondering
why she did not come nearer, and then,
maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish”.
Who is ‘she’ and why didn’t she come nearer?
‘She’ is the seagull’s mother. She didn’t come nearer for she wanted
the seagull to move ahead. She was using food as a bait for her hunger
driven son, in order to trick him into falling off the ledge.
What did he dive at?
He dived at food that actually helped him dive off the ledge.
What was the result of his dive?
His dive helped him expand his wings and eventually, learn how to
fly.

9. “ Then he completely forgot
that he had not always been
able to fly, and commended
himself to dive and soar and
curve, shrieking shrilly.”
The seagull finally learns to fly. His
shrieks here are an expression of his
excitement, his most important
achievement of learning to fly. This
independence is gained at the stake of his
fear. The seagull has overcome all his
fears and has embarked confidently on
the independent journey of life.

10. Assignment 1
Short Answer type Questions
Q1. How did the young Seagull feel sitting alone on his ledge?
Q2. Why couldn’t he muster his courage to fly in the air?
Q3. How did his parents encourage, taunt and even threaten
him? What was their purpose?
Q4. How did he feel when he saw his Mother flying around him
with a piece of fish in her beak? Why do you think she did so?
Q5. What happened afterwards when maddened by hunger, he
dived at the Fish that his mother was carrying in her beak?
Q6. How did he soar down to the sea and float on it?
Q7. How did his Family celebrate his success?

11. ASSIGNMENT – 2
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. Describe the misery of the young Seagull when he saw all his
family flying and catching fish except him?
Q2. What made the young Seagull to take a final plunge and how did
he succeed in his mission?
Q3. What motivated the young Seagull to make the final plunge?
Were the encouragements, taunts and threatening of his Parents
goaded him to dive at the Fish that his Mother was holding in her
beak while flying near him or his hunger maddened him to do it?
ASSIGNMENT -3
Q – 1,2 & 3 from page no. 36 of the textbook.