The novel “Fifth Business” was written by Robertson Davies which was published in 1970. The novel is about Dunstan Ramsay the main character in the novel and is written by first person of view. In the novel the main character is shown as twice born. As he tells the story it starts from an incident of throwing a snowball. Where after the incident, he carried the lack of guilt for rest of his life. Later, in the story it also indicates that no one is innocent nor innocuous.
There are many different themes that relate to the human condition evident in the novel “Fifth Business” by Robertson Davies. This novel shows that there can be two sides to a person a good side and a bad side. “Fifth Business” shows both side in almost every character in
	Robertson Davies’ novel, Fifth Business, revolves around guilt, competition, and two men who are foils of each other. Although Dunstan Ramsay and Percy Boyd Staunton are parallels to each other, they contrast in a great number of ways. Their awkward relationship plays a significant role in the number of elements which make Fifth Business such an interesting story.
Guilt can take on many forms. It is a powerful force to overcome, and a majority of people collapse because of it. In “Fifth Business”, by Robertson Davies, guilt is the intended study that is portrayed throughout the novel and impacts a number of lives. Davies demonstrates this by having one character feeling guilt and tries to confront it, a second character ignoring it and a third who tries to run away from it. Davies introduces the reader with Dunstan Ramsay and Percy Boyd Staunton who are parallels in competition with each other. Percy throws a snowball containing a small rock at Ramsay. Who jumps aside, causing it to miss him and strike Mary Dempster, which then we are met with the premature birth of Paul Dempster. In this novel the study of guilt is shown through experiences of the characters as Dunny felt guilty for the premature birth of Paul, Boy appearing not as to be affected by the incident but later on feels guilt for the death of Leola, and Paul Dempster feeling guilt for his mother, Mary, which later made him run away from home. Guilt essentially is what drives the characters of Fifth Business and in the end determines the final conclusion. Lastly, although Boy and Dunstan are parallels of each other Davies uses their awkward relationship to create a major element in Fifth Business which is what makes it an interesting story. Thus, the story revolves around the idea of competition and guilt.
Surrounded by emotional and psychological cripples, Duddy mistakens his goals in his apprenticeship and does not complete what he should do in order to become a complete person. Duddy’s peers, business associates, and family members all have distorted views of how to approach life, therefore they are unsuitable to preside as Duddy’s masters in Duddy’s apprenticeship in the field of life.
Fate and my own character for the vital though the never glorious role of Fifth Business!” (Davies, 7)
Fifth Business is a fictional memoir of Dunstan Ramsay, a small town boy from Deptford, Canada whom we get to see evolve into an intellectual man looking for meaning in life. Dunstan has an innate ability to read people upon first or second meeting, but never seems to get a true read on himself. He is relatively successful financially, and is proclaimed a war hero after receiving the most prestigious English award; the Victoria Cross. He was raised well, and has an intelligence that exceeds his small-town upbringing. All these things seem like they would lead Dunstan to a happy, satisfying life. However, at the beginning of the story Dunstan goes through a major life-changing event. His best friend and biggest rival Percy hits a pregnant woman with a snowball intended for Dunstan. This sends Dunstan into a life full of guilt, eventually leading him to a life without any significant other or true friendships.
Thwarted love. Ambition. Guilt. Sexuality. Fifth Business is rife with these life lessons. However, the most dominant themes in the novel are ambition and motivation. It is well known that excessive ambition and motivation can destroy someone, but, used correctly, can skyrocket someone to happiness, as in the case of Dunstan Ramsey, Percy Staunton, and Paul Dempster. These two qualities not only give these characters the will to keep on living, but also enable them to rise above the masses during the Great Depression. Right in the beginning of the novel, Dunstan displays his superior motivation and ambition through his learning of juvenile magic.
The main goal in life is to discover ourselves. Many psychologists have thought of ways to explain the process on how to achieve this goal, one of which is Carl Gustav Jung. Jung came up with breakthrough theories that dealt with knowing yourself, and in many people’s eyes surpassed the theories of others. His most famous theory was the process towards achieving self-awareness, also known as individuation. According to Carl Jung there are four main aspects to completing the journey of self-awareness, they are, the Persona, the Shadow, the Anima, and the Self. Each aspect, better known as an archetype is crucial to reaching self-awareness and each archetype relies on the one before it. This view on self-awareness was widely publicised and had an impact on many people, one of whom was Robertson Davies, the author of the fictional memoir “Fifth Business”. Davies used this concept of the journey towards self-awareness in his novel, and inflicted it upon the protagonist, Dunstan Ramsay. Dunstan undergoes this journey throughout the course of the novel, and is cast into the role of the outcast, the role of Fifth Business, in which the title suggests. When someone is Fifth Business, they are the outcast in their own lives, not being the person in control, and Dunstan fits into this role perfectly. Fifth Business “knows the secret of the hero’s birth, comes to the assistance of the heroine, when she thinks all is lost, keeps the hermitess in her cell, and may even be the cause for somebody’s death”(Davies,218). This explanation of Fifth Business fits into Dunstan’s life with a high degree of accuracy, vaguely yet precisely outlining the events of his life. Dunstan achieved self-awareness by embracing his role of Fifth Business....
She presents two contradictory images of society in most of her fiction: one in which the power and prevalence of evil seem so deeply embedded that only destruction may root it out, and another in which the community or even an aggregate of individuals, though radically flawed, may discover within itself the potential for regeneration. (34)
...el, The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson accentuates the fact that society’s expectations of a character causes negative impacts upon their lives through the creation of a struggle to achieve his goal. Ian is an impeccable example of this because he is prone to adolescent tendencies due to youth. Ian struggles to achieve his goals due to the following expectations: to leave Struan, for a superior opportunity to become successful; to strive for a medical career, since he excels at the trade already; and to … Society is too abrupt in its assumptions of an individual, these assumptions often catch one unprepared, spreading chaos and confusion through one’s mind. It would be substantially more beneficial if society did not place expectations at all.
It subtly exposes the tragedies that people with instinct of self-interest could control their own fate in the unpredictable future, while others who paralyzed in past success and unrealistic fantasies could not. It also shows how those who were unable to update themselves from 1.0 finally became the prey of those 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and so on. It is a story about self-interest is the winner.
The ethical standard in this book is that of understanding and belief. It was almost impossible to understand the clues that Fiver gave everyone about the particular place they were at and what could possibly end up happening. In real life, the position Fiver was in was very similar to something I have seen and experienced a few too many times in my life. Of course the outcome is always right for me because I am usually in Fiver's position. I do not know if I can name off how many times I have been there for someone or helped them get their life straightened up. I guess I can be called a good analyst of how to control and help people out.
While growing up we encounter many problems in our lives. The book “The Fifth Agreement” by Miguel Ruiz, Jose Ruiz and Janet Mills explains five agreements that if applied to your life can help make your life better. It can help you make the life that you want to live by making you aware of how you think. It can help you look differently at what you think is a problem or something negative and teach you how to look at it differently so it is not a problem. In the words of Johnny Depp “the problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?” In this essay I will discuss the five agreements and how I have learned them while growing up.
Michael Henchard’s constant exercise of jealousy, pride, immature actions and overwhelming emotions bring him to his tragic end. Although Henchard might have you think he is a victim, the reader can see that his personality leads to the conclusion of his downfall and that Henchard’s inability to learn from his first mistakes takes him down a path no one wants to face. He might have been able to survive his mistakes had he not been so self-destructive. But because of the combination of his personality traits and the complexity of his character’s mind, he is eventually led to the nothingness that engulfs him.
Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.
As the novel can not exist without character, character can not exist without problems. This incontrovertible perspective leads to the analysing of every character which results in the unearthing of inevitable problems which the characters try to overcome. In Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, characters like Ryan Oberoi, Hari Kumar, Alok Gupta, Prof. Veera and Neha Cherian play their part in order to find solution for the crises.