In the early parts of when Thornhill arrives in Sydney, he immediatly hates Smasher but respects the ways of Blackwood, however, as the novel progresses, the tides turn and he begins to become more and more like smasher. Why is this? Thanks. :)
He is desperate to not be treated lowly just like he was in London, he wants power and he wants a place to call his own. His desperation to live in Thornill's point, with Sal leads him to joining the massacre. If the Aborigines stayed in Thornhill's point, Sal would move out with his children and he would be a lone man stuck with the Aborigines in Thorhill's Point. He wants to get rid of them to enjoy his power, although later in the epilogue we do see that Thornhill does have a guilty conscious. He regrets being a killer and constantly looks out for the Aborigines as he knows they are out there, they are supposed to be out there. He even takes pity in Long Jack. Still, we see he refuses to accept that the land is Long Jack's and not his. It is this stubborness and hunger for power that led Thornhill against Blackwood's virtues and towards Smasher's.
