Feelings After Reading The Thorn Birds
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“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage, it impales itself upon the longest，sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to out carol the lark and the nightingale. One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His Heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain...Or so says the legend.”
This is the preface of the book, which makes me fall in love with the whole book at the moment I read it. At the same time, it leaves me in doubt of the relations between the thorn birds and the story in this book. After having finished reading the book, I have a profound understanding of it and I am moved by it deeply as well.
As a matter of fact, the thorn birds exactly symbolize the female characters in the story. Like the thorn birds singing the most beautiful song in the world at the great pain of impaling itself upon the spine, these women pursue their dreams and their love with great perseverance and firmness however painful it is. So I really want to write down my thoughts about “these thorn birds”.
The first one is Fiona, who fell in love with a married man Pakehan when she was young and delivered a boy for him, which made her be driven out of the home by her angry father and marry a poor man, Paddy and a poor life. She ia a very brave woman, who struggled for her real love against traditional ethics moral view. In spite of living a miserable life to pay for her love, she never gave up it and never regret for it even in her old age.
The second one is Meggie, the leading female character in the book. She fell in love with Ralph, who was a Father she could never marry. But she didn’t care about the barriers lying in front of her love, however big it was, even if it was from the God. So Meggie fought with destiny and God unwaveringly in pursuit of her real love. I really admire her a lot.