The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing The character of Ben Lovatt in Doris Lessing's "The Fifth Child" is one that is very powerful, and also extremely interesting. He is violent, and unbelievably strong, yet he would not be able to fend for himself in the "big, bad World". Doris Lessing's use of a very effective mixture of characterisation, symbolism and language use result in a very intriguing and fascinating novel. At the start of the novel, the reader is lulled into a sense of happiness