Abstract:

This paper, taking the weaknesses in humanity, namely the lust for power, material desire and sexual passion as the core, conducts an analysis of the characters’ act of choice in Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Bird. Ralph’s love affairs with Meggie could have ended in happiness but for his single-minded pursuit for power. His vacillating between desire and divinity pushes Meggie to the brink of abyss. As Meggie’s husband, Luke’s irresponsibility for his family and his abnormal passion for money reveal the ugliness of human nature. His greed ruins himself and the family as well. Neither a traditional good wife nor a responsible mother, Meggie’s inextricably bogging down in the abnormal romance with Ralph even after she married Luke results in the difficulties of the family and the negative side to her daughter’s character. The paper concludes that the weakness in our nature is the thorn which penetrates our bodies, causing the pitiful tragic ending in an indirect way.

Key words: The Thorn Birds ; humanity; weaknesses

摘要：

本文以权欲，物欲和情欲为人性核心弱点，对考琳•麦卡洛《荆棘鸟》中人物的选择行为进行分析。如果不是拉尔夫一心追求权力，他们的爱情本可以以幸福收场,他在欲望和神性之间摇摆不定将梅吉推到深渊的边缘。作为梅吉的丈夫，卢克对家庭的不负责任，以及他对金钱的过度热衷揭示了人性的丑恶，他的贪婪毁了自己也毁了他的家庭。梅吉，既不是一个传统的好妻子，也不是一个负责任的母亲，即使在她与卢克有了婚姻后她还是与拉尔夫难舍难分，深陷情感泥潭不能自拔，致使家庭难以维系,也对她女儿性格造成一定消极影响。本文得出的结论是，人身上的那根刺正是人性的弱点，它穿透我们的身体，间接造成了悲惨结局。

关键词：荆棘鸟；人性；弱点

1.    Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough is one of the most influential contemporary writers in Australia. She was born in a work family on an animal husbandry in Wellington, the southern of New South Wales of Australia on June 1st, 1937 and migrated to Sydney at the age of twelve. Before immigration, the whole family lived a nomadic life. Colleen McCullough showed her remarkable artistic talent as a child. She began to compose poems, tell stories and learn painting at the age of five. However, the great blow to the work family brought by the Great Depression enabled her to realize that literary arts was difficult to ensure the family have enough to eat and wear early. It is her talent and interest in mathematics and natural science that lead her to undertake a job totally different from the literary creation.