P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s l e v e l

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The Thorn Birds

S U M M A R Y

he Thorn Birds is an epic family saga. It follows thelives, loves and deaths of one family – the Clearys – through three generations from 1915 to 1965.

Meggie is the central character and the story opens inNew Zealand with her struggles to survive in a large familyof boys. Her mother Fee is overworked and does notseem to care for her. Her father Paddy is often away. Herbrothers work hard on the farm to make a living. Then thewhole family gets the chance of a new life. They areinvited to run Paddy's sister's large farm in New SouthWales in Australia.

They find the Australian outback very dry and dustyafter the fertile green of New Zealand, but life is easier.Father Ralph, the local Catholic priest, comes into theirlives and a deep friendship develops between him andyoung Meggie, now aged nine. But as Meggie grows intoa young woman, their friendship grows into a forbiddenlove. Meggie knows that Ralph will never leave the churchand marry her. When she wants a family of her own, shehas to look elsewhere for a husband. She chooses a manwho looks like Ralph. His character is very different,however, and her married life is miserable.

Tragedy comes to the Clearys along the way. The oldestson, their mother’s favourite, is arrested for murder after astreet fight. A terrible fire kills Paddy Cleary and anotherbrother.

Will history repeat itself when Meggie has children of herown?

Colleen McCullough was born in 1938 in Australia, but leftAustralia when she was a teenager. She worked as ahospital technician in London before moving to America,where she worked at Yale University Medical School.

She was working full time at Yale when she began hercareer as a novelist. Her first novel, Tim, about an unusual love affair between a successful middle-agedbusinesswoman and a mentally handicapped young man,was a modest success. Still at Yale, she went on to writethe first draft of The Thorn Birds in three months, working

long hours every evening after work. This book made herinto a best-selling author overnight.

Critics have particularly praised her work for two things.They like her deliberately unusual storylines, and they alsolike her good, old-fashioned storytelling.

McCullough found it difficult to follow the success ofThe Thorn Birds, and after one more romantic novel, sheset about researching ancient Rome. She found it afascinating journey, and after many years of research,published the first of her Roman series, The First Man inRome.

Colleen McCullough is married and lives with herhusband on an island paradise in the South PacificOcean. ‘Here,’ she says in an interview in the LondonTimes, ‘I get a lot of work done because there is nothingmuch else to do.’

The Thorn Birds is a story of frustrated love in manyforms. The first marriage in the saga – between PaddyCleary and Fiona – is a marriage of convenience. Fionahad an illegitimate child, Frank, and her father paid Paddyto marry her. Although they have many children, thereseems to be little love or understanding between them. Itis not until it is too late – when Paddy is killed in a bushfire – that Fiona realizes that she did love him.

The central relationship between the heroine, MeggieCleary, and a Catholic priest begins as a friendshipbetween a man and a young girl and gradually developsinto love. The choice of a Roman Catholic priest as thehero is a clever one – the reader knows that he mustremain unmarried and cannot have sex, but reads onhoping that somehow Meggie and Ralph can realize theirlove. Their feelings for each other are contrasted with theabsence of love in Meggie’s marriage to Luke, whomarries her only for her money. She is prepared to loveLuke and make the most of the marriage, but Luke thinkslove is a woman’s fantasy and pays her no attention. Mostof the story takes place in the early years of the 20thc e n t u ry in a small sheep-farming community in theAustralian outback.

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T e a c h e r ’s n o t e s

B A C K G R O U N D A N D T H E M E S

by Colleen McCullough

© Pearson Education 2000

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The strong sun, flies and dirt made life here physicallytough. People’s lives are governed by extremes of naturesuch as drought, fire and flood.

Young people growing up in isolated rural communitieslike Gillanbone face difficult choices. Life on the landoffers too few opportunities and Meggie’s brother Frankleaves. Her other brothers, however, are all happy to stayat home and farm, never marrying, but living together fromchildhood to old age. With the arrival of cars, television,telephones and other links with the wider world, there areeven more choices for the next generation. Meggie’schildren, educated at school in Sydney, do not considerspending their lives working on the farm at Drogheda.

The Roman Catholic Church is presented as animperfect institution, and contrasted with the ideal of theperfect priest, who is represented in the story by Meggie’sson, Dane. Father Ralph has been sent to the small townof Gillanbone because he insulted his bishop. He is ableto buy his way back into the Church hierarchy with somemoney he is left. As the story progresses, he works hisway up through the church to become cardinal, thehighest position in the church below the pope.

The author chose her title for this story from anAustralian legend – the story of the thorn bird. The thornbird can only sing its song when it is dying. But when itsings, the whole world stops to listen. The point of thisstory is that we can only achieve the best in life at the costof great pain. Meggie and Ralph achieve a few weeks ofperfect happiness, but for the rest of their lives theyexperience the pain of wanting and not having each other.

The following teacher-led activities cover the samesections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader,and supplement those exercises. For supplementaryexercises covering shorter sections of the book, see thephotocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet.These are primarily for use with class readers but, with theexception of discussion and pair groupwork questions,can also be used by students working alone in a self-access centre.

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOKIntroduce the idea of a family saga – a long story thatfollows several generations in one family. Ask students ifthey can name other novels in this genre (category). Putthem into small groups. Ask them to read quickly throughthe chapter titles in the Contents list. What do the titlessuggest the story will be about? What advantages doesthe novelist working in this genre have?

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Chapters 1–5Put students into pairs. They choose a conversation or

event from this first section of the book and say what itshows about the characters of the people who arespeaking. Pairs tell the rest of the class.

Chapters 6–91 Put students into groups of three. They imagine they

are guests at Mary Carson’s party (see pages 21-2).They work out a short conversation about, forexample, the food and drink, the house, Mary Carson,Meggie, Ralph.

2 In pairs, students discuss: What is easy about theClearys life at Drogheda? What is difficult? How aretheir lives affected by the natural environment?

Chapters 10–12Put students into small groups. Ask them to discussLuke’s idea of marriage and Meggie’s idea of marriagebased on these chapters. Have a class discussion.

Chapters 13–15Ralph says to Meggie on page 64, ‘I wish I could marryyou. ... But we can’t change what we are.’ Is this a goodphilosophy of life? Divide the class into two. One halfargues in favour of this approach to life. The other halfargues against. Have a debate.

Chapters 16–18Put students into small groups. Ask them to discusswhich, if any, of the characters in The Thorn Birds leadsatisfying lives. Then have a class discussion.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

1 Put students into pairs. They prepare one or twosentences about the main events or themes in thestory to go on the back cover of the book. Pairscompare their summaries.

2 How important are events in the world outside the livesof the central characters? Look back through the storyand note down points where events in the twentiethcentury affect the lives of the characters. Comparepoints with the whole class.

It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections of exercises atthe back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the LongmanActive Study Dictionary.)

Chapters 1–5barn (n) a large building on a farm for keeping crops and sometimesanimalsdoll (n) a toy which looks like a baby or small child

thorn (n) a sharp pointed thing on a plant such as a rose

Chapters 6–9archbishop (n) the most important priest within a countrycardinal (n) a priest who has a high position in the church

housekeeper (n) somebody whose job is to clean and cook insomeone else’s house

Chapters 10–12sugar cane (n) a plant from which sugar is obtained

C o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t i v i t i e s

G l o s s a r y

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P u b l i s h e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d b y P e a r s o n E d u c a t i o nF a c t s h e e t w r i t t e n b y J a n e R o l l a s o n

F a c t s h e e t s e r i e s d e v e l o p e d b y L o u i s e J a m e s© Pearson Education 2000

P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

1 Read the paragraph about the thorn bird in theIntroduction on page v of the book. Use the story ofthe thorn bird to write a parallel story about humanlove. Write two or three sentences.

2 This story is about a farming family and is set in NewZealand and Australia. What do you think life was likethere in the early years of the 20th century, when thestory begins? Talk to a partner.

CHAPTERS 1-5

Chapters 1 & 21 Write a sentence about each of these relationships in

the Cleary family.Meggie and FrankPadraic and FrankPadraic and FeeMeggie and Fee

2 There are six Cleary children at this point in the story.What are their names?

3 Write a short description of a typical day in FionaCleary’s life.

4 Why do you think Frank wants to go to war? Howdoes he feel about life on the farm? How does he seethe future? Talk to a partner.

5 Frank has gone. Fee and Padraic have an angryconversation. Work with a partner. One of you is Fee,the other is Padraic. What do you say to each other?

Chapters 3-51 Answer these questions.

(a) How long has Mary Carson been a widow?

(b) Where were Mary and Paddy born?

(c) How long does it take to sail from New Zealandto Sydney?

(d) What does Mary Carson give Ralph afterwatching him change his clothes?

(e) Why do the crowd laugh when Frank stepsforward to box?

(f) What does Frank learn that makes him go awaywith the boxers?

(g) How much money did Fiona’s father give Paddyto marry her and take her away?

2 How does Mary Carson feel about Ralph? How doesRalph feel about Mary Carson? Imagine you are

making a film of The Thorn Birds . Which actors willyou ask to play Mary and Ralph? Compare yourchoices with a partner ’s.

3 On page 10, Mary Carson says she is going to writeto her brother to offer him the job of farm manager.Write Mary’s letter.

4 In Chapter 5 the Gillanbone Show takes place. This isan annual event and an important social event forGillanbone and the surrounding countryside. If youwent to the show, what would you expect to do andsee? Work with a partner. Make a list.

CHAPTERS 6-9

Chapters 6 & 71 Answer these questions.

(a) Fee has twins at the beginning of Chapter 6.How many children does she have now?

(b) Why does Father Ralph think of Mary Carson as‘an old spider’?

(c) What is the purpose of Mary Carson’s big party?

(d) How does Mary Carson’s will hurt Meggie?

(e) How does it help Ralph?

2 Think of an adjective to describe Mary Carson’scharacter. Use a dictionary if you need to. Compareyour choice with other students’ choices.

3 Imagine that you are in Ralph’s position, with thesecond will in your hand. What will you do? Compareyour decisions with other students’ decisions.

4 Write a few sentences describing Ralph’s character.

Chapters 8 & 91 Use one word to complete each of these sentences.

(a) Lightning ............................... an enormous tree.

(b) Paddy was ............................... by a wall of fire.

(c) Paddy ...............................with his horse and hisdogs.

(d) Drogheda was ............................... from the firewhen the wind ............................... direction.

(e) The fire ............................... for three more daysuntil a heavy fall of rain ............................... it out.

2 Ralph visits Frank in prison. Work with a partner. Oneof you is Ralph, the other is Frank. Use theinformation in Chapter 8 to work out a conversation.

3 Why do you think Fee is such a sad person? Writedown your ideas.

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The Thorn Birds

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PhotocopiableThese activities can be done alone or with one or moreother students. Pair/groupwork-only activities are marked.

Activities before reading the book

Activities while reading the book

S t u d e n t ’ s a c t i v i t i e s

© Pearson Education 2000

P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

4 Do you think Fee will remember her promise to lookafter Meggie better? Can you explain why she seemsto take so little interest in her daughter? Talk to apartner.

CHAPTERS 10-12

Chapters 10 & 111 Read Chapter 10 and think about these questions.

(a) Why does Luke want to marry Meggie?

(b) Why does Meggie agree to marry Luke?

(c) Will it be a good marriage for Luke?

(d) Will it be a good marriage for Meggie?

Discuss your ideas with a partner or a group.

2 Luke neglects Meggie from the very first day of theirmarriage. Find the three worst examples of how heneglects her and write them in your own words.Compare your choices with a partner ’s.

Chapter 121 How do Meggie and Ralph feel about each other

now? Write a paragraph.

2 Meggie says, ‘He’s just a man ... He wants somethingand he doesn’t care about hurting other people to getwhat he wants.’

Talk to another student. Why does Meggie think thisabout men?

3 Imagine you are Annie. What do you think Meggieshould do with her life? Give her some advice.Compare your advice with a partner’s.

CHAPTERS 13-15

Chapter 131 Answer these questions.

(a) Why does Annie send Meggie to Matlock Island?

(b) What three reasons does Luke give Annie for notbuying a farm?

(c) Why does Luke think love is not important in amarriage?

(d) Why does Ralph think he will be useful to thechurch at this time?

(e) After their time together, Ralph tells Meggie thathe has never been so happy or so unhappy?What does he mean?

2 Who do you think is more cruel to Meggie - Luke orRalph? Say why.

3 What do you think drives (a) Luke (b) Ralph (c) Meggie? Write down your answers. Compare themwith another student’s.

Chapters 14 & 151 What mix of emotions do you think Meggie feels

when she sees Drogheda again? Write four adjectives.

2 Imagine that Ralph returns from Rome to visit Meggieand that Meggie decides to tell Ralph that Dane is hisson. Work with a partner. Write the conversationbetween Meggie and Ralph.

3 Why does Jims tell Meggie never to let Dane leaveDrogheda?

CHAPTERS 16-18

Chapter 161 What parallels are there between Meggie’s life and her

mother’s?

2 What does Fee predict will happen to Meggie?

3 Are these statements true or false? Correct the falseones.

(a) Ralph recognizes himself in Dane’s eyes.

(b) Justine is afraid of Ralph because he is acardinal.

(c) None of Meggie’s brothers is married.

(d) In his later years in prison Frank was very violent.

(e) When Frank arrives, he is a very sad, lifelessfigure.

Chapters 17 & 18Answer these questions.

(a) Why do you think Meggie refuses to go to Rome?

(b) How does Dane die?

(c) Why does Meggie go to Rome after Dane dies?

(d) Why does Meggie have no pity for Ralph (page 84)?

Talk to another student. Discuss these questions.

(a) Just before he dies, Ralph thinks back over his life,knowing now that Dane was his son. What do youthink he would do differently if he could live his lifeagain?

(b) Do you think The Thorn Birds is a good title for thisstory? Why/why not?

(c) There is a saying that ‘history repeats itself’. Howdoes history repeat itself in this story?

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F a c t s h e e t s e r i e s d e v e l o p e d b y L o u i s e J a m e s

Activities after reading the book

S t u d e n t ’ s a c t i v i t i e s

© Pearson Education 2000