第五次作业.doc

The Reading Report of the Thorn BirdThis is a work of fiction and any resemblance between the characters in this book and real persons is coincidental.A portion of this work originally appeared in Family Circle.And at first of all I want to tell you something about the author, Colleen McCulloughs sweeping saga of dreams, struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback has enthralled readers the world over. This is the chronicle of three generations of Cleary, ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterness, frailty, and secrets that penetrate their family. Most of all, it is the story of only daughter Maggie and her lifelong relationship with the haunted priest Father Ralph de Bricassartan intense joining of two hearts and souls that dangerously oversteps scared boundaries of ethics and dogma.A poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit, Colleen McCulloughs acclaimed masterwork remains a monumental literary achievementa landmark novel to be cherished and read again and again.Then lets see some details in this book.The story starts with the Cleary family in New Zealand: the father Paddy, his wife Fee, and the children, the most prominent being the eldest son Frank, and the youngest (and only daughter) Maggie, who becomes one of the two central characters in the story. They move to Drogheda, where Paddys sister Mary lives. She hires them to take care of her estate. Mary is the richest person in the area. Ralph, a handsome, ambitious priest stuck in the outback tries to befriend her, to gain her money and to help him advance in the Catholic hierarchy. Ralph takes care of Marys relatives, and takes a liking to Maggie. Ralph is the centre of young Maggies life, and Ralph has never felt so strongly about any other girl. Maggie is happy, with Ralph and her dear brother Frank. However, Franks relationship with his father Paddy has never been peaceful. In an argument, Paddy blurts out the truth about Frank: Frank is not Paddys son. Fee, when a young woman, had an affair with a married politician, and the result, Frank, was already eighteen months old when Paddy married her. Fee had always more loved Frank than other children and given more attention to Frank than any of her other children. Stunned, Frank runs away to become a boxer. With Frank gone, Maggie clings to Ralph. Mary dies, and she leaves all her money in the control of Ralph because of a kind of love she had for him. Ralph treats the Cleary family generously. He pays them generously and makes sure that they are well taken care of. He himself gains the attention of the Church, and is promoted to Sydney. Before he leaves, Maggie confesses her love for him. Ralph refuses her because of his duties as a priest and he entreats Maggie to find and marry a beau. Then he leaves her. Paddy and Stuart die in natural disasters. Maggie then courts Luke, who has recently come to Drogheda. He looks remarkably like Ralph, and Maggie takes a liking to him. He marries her and takes her away. He works as a sugar cutter, and he leaves Maggie in a poor place to work as a maid. Maggie is lonely and distraught, and she bears a child, Justine. Ralph visits her once during her labor, as she was yelling his name and not Lukes. Ralph wants to say goodbye because he is leaving Australia, but Maggie yells and swears at him. He leaves her again. Maggie is getting weaker and weaker, and the family she is staying with pities her greatly. They send her to a quiet summer resort for rest. Ralph comes back on a holiday to find Maggie. The family tells him where she is. He joins Maggie, and then a revelation comes over him. He loves Maggie more than God, and he is indeed only a Man, no matter how Godlike he had tried to become. They spend a few days together, and he is forced to return to his position. Maggie leaves Luke, but does not divorce him, because she is now pregnant with Ralphs baby. She names the child Dane. Fee knows who the father is because of her own experience. Frank is in jail and her heart is in pieces. Maggies relationship with her mother improves. As Dane grows up he wants to be a priest. Fee tells Maggie that what she stole from God, she has to give back. Justine wants to be an actress and leaves Australia and seeks her dream. Dane goes to Ralph, who is now a Cardinal, but Ralph does not know that Dane is his own child. He takes great care of him and because of their resemblance, people mistake them for uncle and nephew. Ralph and Dane encourage the rumor, so Ralphs close relationship with Dane is not mistaken for favoritism. Dane drowns in Greece, whilst a civil war is going on. Maggie needs to find her child. She seeks Ralphs help. He refuses to help right away, but Maggie tells him the truth about Dane. Immediately, they fly together to Greece and bring back Danes body back to Drogheda. Soon after Danes death, Ralph passes away. Justine believes that the death of her brother was her fault. The book ends with her living happily with Rainer, a distinguished German who loved her from the beginning and had the patience to wait for her to recognize that she loved him. The books title refers to a kind of bird that searches for thorn trees from the day it is born. When it finds the tree, it pierces its own heart on the thorn, and sings the most beautiful song ever heard on earth as it dies. Pain is the price to pay for the very best.After reading this book, it makes me know something about family and love, for example, some people maybe think that there