Is Fee a better parent than her own father? Explain.ĭo Fee and Paddy treat all their kids the same way? What do you think of Fee and Paddy Cleary as parents? On Character Analysis and some themes (parenting, sacrifice, relationships, growing up and old age) Have you ever been in a situation when you had to sacrifice what is most important to you for the well-being of others? How did it feel? Is there another text that The Thorn Birds reminds you of? Explain.ĭoes Meggie remind you of any other character (from other books perhaps)? How so?ĭo any of the characters in The Thorn Birds remind you of yourself or someone you know? In what way? It very closely mimics the first half of the story, so I could have done without the repetition. Plot: I didn’t like the last two chapters of the book: Justine and Dane. Suggested Theme Topic: In this novel, McCullough suggests that women have an extraordinary amount of tolerance and exceptional ability to endure sufferings for the well-being of others: their parents, siblings, lovers, and finally, their children. It’s entertaining and keeps the reader engaged however, it’s also very interesting because it discusses popular themes such as family, relationships, commitment, religion, growing up, etc. I enjoyed it, especially the first part of the novel which is about Meggie’s childhood. While reading the book, I kept thinking about “torn” as “torn apart”. Some Book Discussion Questions to think about Whatever you decide to write about, you’ll have to ask questions. Let’s say you’re writing an essay and you wish to write about the use of irony in the text, or about a theme discussed in the novel.

In this brief analysis I’m going to focus more on critical literacy and show you how I engage with texts when I read critically. If you’re looking for a summary of this great text, you can find it online. Can I make a text-to-world connection here? Is there a hidden message in this text? What is the author telling us about politics, race, gender issues, etc.? – Questions like these will get you thinking about the broader picture and that is a part of critical literacy. For example: What kind of language is the author using here? Does it reveal something about the character or the plot? Who is the narrator? Although I’m reading a story, I know it’s not just a story. However, if you read the text and ask questions to understand or reveal deeper meanings, then you’re reading critically. If you read a text, you understand it and you are able to summarize it – that’s reading.

To simplify things for you, this means to look at the texts more closely and from various perspectives. Search it up and you’ll find lots of definitions on critical literacy. What is critical literacy? What does it mean to read critically?

The thorn birds paperback