Conflicts And Harmony:an Interpretation Of The Thorn Birds From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds expresses various ethical themes through its vivid portrayal of main characters and detailed description of family relationships in Cleary family.Most of scholars mainly focus on the theme of love and fate,religious color,female consciousness and writing techniques in The Thorn Birds,but few of them interpret the novel from the perspective of family ethics.On the basis of close reading,the thesis clears out the complicated family relationships of Cleary family by applying views of ethical literary criticism,such as ethical environment,ethical identity,ethical taboos and ethical responsibility and so on,and further explores the conflicts and harmony in these relationships and related ethical factors,to reveal the appeal for family ethics in the work.This thesis mainly discusses the conflicts and harmony of three generations in Cleary family from three aspects: marital relationship,intergenerational relationship and sibling relationship.It firstly analyzes marital relationship in Cleary family.The marriage of three generations is caught in either silence or deception,but ends up with love and responsibility,which presents different marital status.In addition,it explores intergenerational relationship of Cleary family.Two extremes in mother love and hatred in father-son relationship are the main forms of intergenerational conflicts.When two mothers take the initiative to assume the responsibilities endowed by their identities,the conflicts of intergenerational relationship are resolved.Finally,two types of sibling relationship are discussed.Mary and Frank's selfishness causes the alienation between brothers and sisters.On the contrary,in the sibling relationship between Justine and Dane,mutual care and duty help them to create the harmony of brotherhood.It can be concluded that ethical environment of patriarchy,family members' indifference to their ethical identities and the loss of responsibility are the main causes for family conflicts in the work.Women's independence and the fulfillment of ethical responsibility are effective ways to solve these family problems.Women's spiritual and economic independence helps in achieving gender harmony and improving marital quality.The establishment of ethical responsibility contributes to the minimization of family conflicts and the realization of family harmony.Through the analysis of the conflicts and harmony of family relationships in the work,it is found that Colleen McCullough expresses her reflection on family ethics and ethical concern for human existence,to call for more harmonious moral environment and ethical relationships.The thesis intends to deepen the interpretation of the theme of family ethics in the work,which is beneficial to readers' understanding of the novel from a new perspective.Meanwhile,it expects to help readers reconsider the concept of family and provide certain practical significance for their family relationships.