Sarah Thornhill

As a species, humans are social creatures who crave a sense of belonging, often resulting in the compartmentalizing of a diverse population into sub-groups of ethnicities, genders, sexualities, faiths, and a myriad of countless other ‘genres’. A fickle kind, humans are quick to say they are this or that, black or white, yet when faced with the possibility of feeling the burden of guilt placed on his or her sub-group, will suddenly distance themselves from their own group, shedding its label in order to claim innocence. In the interesting case of Sarah Thornhill, she is an inactive participant in a bloody race war, with her father at the helm of a mission resulting in devastation and death. Her finger may not have pulled the trigger, but because

The security and safety she experiences are luxuries that the aboriginal people of New South Wales were incapable of having. When she finally uncovers her father’s secret, Sarah is stunned. The image of her father in her mind is shattered, much like the image of Australia its proud citizens have. She encountered the same shock that many others had when she learned of the carnage and destruction that forged her prosperous homeland. However, instead of distancing herself from the blame, she understood the role she played in the mistreatment of Aboriginals. She even admits guilt when speaking to her father by saying, “Here I am, you daughter who knows what kind of father she’s got. What legacy you left her” (Grenville, 257). Although she knew that she never beat someone because of their skin color, and that she had on occasion defended Jack and others like him, Sarah also knew that had never made gallant efforts to ease the Aboriginals’ suffering. Sarah says that, “I hadn’t done it, no. Hadn’t lifted the gun…[but I’d] never known a day’s hunger or cold, never asked where any of it come from” (Grenville, 254). Therefore, upon discovering her father’s actions, her guilt and remorse moved her to pay homage to Rachel at her wake in New Zealand. She tells her father,“What you did, that can never be