Subject: Nature of Human Life and depiction of the same in Novels.
Book in reference: The Thorn Birds- Colleen McCullough.

Theme of the Book: A small girl(Cleary Meghaine- called Meggie), falls in love with a priest(Father Ralph) in her childhood and continues with that throughout her life. She marries another man, bears children for him, couldn't live with him, goes back to the priest, conceives a child from him, returns to her mother, raises the kids- and the story goes on......

Well, the point I am trying to make is not regarding the story line...I am fine with living as it suits you...if you find a relationship going no where, it is much better to let it go, rather than clinging to it...(but be sure that, it doesn't go anywhere..) and before let it go, try your level best to see reason in whatever you do...and then let it go...I am not in favour of sustaining a realtionship that doesn't understand you- doesn't deserve you..So, my point of discussion is not relationships.

So, what is my point of discussion?..It is the depiction of human lives and thought process that goes alonog with it. The book and the author seems to have been convinced that human life is all about fighting pain and sorrow...The book is replete with instances of a person loosing a beloved. I agree that loosing your beloved is painful...but to glorify it...to atone it, for some sin...to justify losing..that is absurd...

Is Human life to be atoned for anything?..Is Human Life a piece of sin?..Is Life miserable, to be lived with wailing, cursing self, shunning happiness? Or is it to be lived with true joy, peace and sense of pride?..I strongly belive that nothing in Life is worth more than the Joy of living. Nothing is more worth than my peace and my happiness.

And to depict Love as Painful- that is more absurd than telling, a race car runs on flat tyres. To say that, Pain is what makes happiness, to justify Pain coz, then you can feel happiness- this is ridiculous. The argument goes likes this- It is only because of Pain that you know what is happiness...it is the Pain that shows you, what Happiness is...so, glorify pain..

I don't agree with this point of view...it is not the presence of Pain that makes you know what is happiness....it is the absence of happiness, that makes you feel the Pain. For example, It is the absence of Love that makes you feel Lonely and not the presence of Loneliness, that makes you think of Love...There would be nothing called Lonliness, had there been Love- isn't it?

So, to glorify a non-existent hallucination and to justify its presence- isn't it bhasphemy?

The author says that the most beautiful song comes from the Thornbird that dies with the thorn in its breast. I might agree- the song might be beautiful..but the bird..it is dead...isn't it?..so what is the use of the song...If you think that you can listen to the song, when the bird itself is dying, ask yourselves do you deserve it....rather the bird needs to ask, does the listener deserves the song that consumes it's life...

If I were the bird, I would never sing!