Point of View

The Thorn Birds is written in the third person past tense, with an omniscient point of view. Each of the 7 books focuses on a single character, and is told primarily from that character's point of view, although the inner thoughts of other characters are also occasionally included. McCullough employs internal information and shifts in point of view to introduce material or thoughts to develop character and plot. Some of these shifts are inevitable, as in Book 6, where after Dane's death the point of view shifts to Justine. Others are employed to introduce new material for major or minor plot points, which the book's primary point of view character is unaware of, as in Book , page 55 where Paddy's thoughts are shown too illustrate his understanding of his difficult son Frank. Near the end of Book 2, the point of view shifts from Ralph to Mary Carson, to explain...