Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
analytical Essay
638 words
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
In the essay Fifth Business, each of the main character traits is developed more and more clearly throughout their lives. Childhood characteristics are evident in the characters of Dustan Ramsay, Percy Boyd Stauton and Paul Dempster. All paranoia, and memories of the town of Deptford are resurfaced in each of them after they all had left to start lives on their own. It was childhood that scared or marked them as people and the fact that parents often have influence on children so, there is no question that these characters were definitely influenced by the parents in Deptford. Also, it is evident that each character seems to run away due to the insecurities that they faced as children. Dunstan ran from his guilt, Percy for his status and ego and Paul from his challenges as a misfit. Each seemed to wander like nomads throughout their lives, while these insecurities where never faced or challenged so they could change their point of views. It was what seemed to be instilled within them like, the theory that the first five years of childhood shape the personalities of individuals. This is certainly evident in the novel at the beginning to the end. Dunstan ?s childhood was affected deeply through each situation he faced as a young man, to a highly respected professor.
He felt he was the center of all bad things, which occurred around him. Mrs. Demster?s accident was the main influence of his guilt because he felt that he was additionally...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the characters of dustan ramsay, percy boyd stauton, and paul dempster are influenced by the parents in deptford.
- Analyzes how dunstan felt he was the center of all bad things, which occurred around him. he lived with the guilt because it was his punishment, but more so, the punishment that percy would not accept.
- Analyzes how percy's childhood was affected in conjunction with dunstan and paul?s lives. he changed his name to boy staunton, and it suited him admirably.
Related
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- The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorneanalytical essayHester Prynne, the wearer of the scarlet letter, conveys a couple of different ways in which guilt can affect individual’s lives for worse and for better. Depending on the emotional depth of the sin and how it affects the society, one of the worst results of sin is the feeling of being an outcast. “Much of the marble coldness of Hester’s impression was to be attributed to the circumstance that her life had turned, in a great measure, from passion and feeling, to thought. Standing alone in the world,–alone, as to any dependence on society, and with little Pearl to be guided and protected,–alone, and hopeless of retrieving her position, even has she not scorned to consider it desirable,–she cast away the fragments of a broken chain.” (Hawthorne 112) In this quote, Hawthorne describes Hester’s emotions of desertion and the ignominy of being alone. For Hester, these sentiments reach a point to where they are almost unbearable. After some time passes, she realizes that in order for her life to continue on, she needs to change the way she is living. “She wanted–what some people want throughout life–a grief that should deeply touch her, and thus humanize and mak...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how hawthorne uses hester, dimmesdale, and chillingworth to symbolize the effects of guilt and how destructive a life full of remorse can be.
- Analyzes how hester prynne, the wearer of the scarlet letter, conveys a couple of different ways in which guilt can affect individual’s lives for worse and for better.
- Analyzes how reverend dimmesdale's heart is conflicted between veracity and continuation of living in falsehood.
- Analyzes how roger chillingworth, hester's husband, is oppressed by a vengeful and unforgiving spirit that possesses his heart.
- Analyzes how hester, dimmesdale, and chillingworth are used throughout the scarlet letter to signify just how caustic or consolidating the effects remorse can have on an individual’s life.
1222 wordsRead More - Fifthe Businessanalytical essayGuilt is defined as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime or wrong committed. Guilt is a major theme in the novel Fifth Business. Dunny has been raised in a strict Presbyterian household which has encouraged him to feel guilt about many minor things. Even though Paul was not born at the time of the snowball incident, Paul Dempster still feels guilty towards his mothers simple mindedness. Percy Boyd Stautons repressed guilt does considerable damage and ultimately recoils on himself. In Fifth Business many characters feel guilt due to the snowball incident.
In this essay, the author
- Defines guilt as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime or wrong committed in the novel fifth business.
- Analyzes how dunny ramsay feels extremely guilty because he had anticipated that percy would throw one final snowball at him before dinner.
- Analyzes how when paul dempster is old enough to understand, he blames himself for causing his mother simple mindedness. the townspeople worsened his guilt by keeping a distance from him.
- Analyzes how percy boyd stauton feels no guilt throughout the novel. when ramsay confronts him with the responsibility, he takes no responsibility.
- Analyzes how davies uses guilt to affect the lives of dunny ramsay, paul dempster and percy boyd stauton, through the snowball incident.
513 wordsRead More - Guilt In Hamlet And Fifth Businessanalytical essayDempster's situation, his isolation is rooted in his guilt of being obsessed with caring for her. Dunstan is wanting to have a relationship with Leola, however his life has become completely devoted to Mrs. Dempster. Dunstan expresses his frustration with his life when he says, “Mrs. Dempster was beginning to fill my whole life, and the stranger her conduct became, and the more the village pitied and dismissed her, the worse my obsession grew” (Davies 30). Dunstan is expressing that because of his enormous guilt, it results in much of his life being dedicated to Mrs. Dempster. As people become more annoyed with her behaviour, Dunstan is feeling increasing amounts of guilt. By alleviating some of her problems it might help with the amount of guilt he feels for letting her get hit by the snowball. In the early days, looking after Mrs. Dempster starts out as a chore for Dunstan, but it eventually becomes an obligations as he feels it is his responsibility for her situation. Dunstan sacrifices his youth in order to care and take on the responsibility to “make right” of what state Mrs. Dempster is in. Consequently, the root of guilt causes isolation in both Hamlet and Dunstan’s life even though they were not responsible for what originally
In this essay, the author
- Explains that true and false guilt have a destructive impact on people. hamlet and dunny feel responsible for actions they did not commit, which isolates them.
- Analyzes how hamlet feels an obligation to avenge his father's murder that is driven by guilt which should not be his own.
- Analyzes how when dunstan dodges the snowball and it hits mrs. dempster, he feels guilty and chooses to take responsibility for what percy has done.
- Narrates how they were alone with their guilt, and it tortured them.
- Analyzes how dunstan's entire life has been shaped by guilt since the snowball encounter. he should not have taken on the guilt of mrs. dempster.
- Analyzes how hamlet's heavy burden of guilt results in his isolation from ophelia because he has not yet avenged his father’s death.
- Analyzes how hamlet is implying that he will kill his uncle in order to honor his father and instructs ophelia to go to a nunnery.
- Analyzes how dunstan's isolation is rooted in his guilt of being obsessed with caring for mrs. dempster.
- Analyzes how hamlet and dunstan are ridden with guilt for an action that they did not commit and isolation is only way to cope. guilt is an emotion identified with doing an offense or crime.
1235 wordsRead More - Role Of Guilt In Macbethanalytical essayGuilt has the potential to crumble even the most powerful of people. The Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth reveals the consequence of immoral action: guilt. William Shakespeare portrays the idea that the downfall of one may transpire as a result of this regret. Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are negatively affected as they are overwhelmed by realization that they have violated their moral standards; this causes them guilt. The two attempt to conceal the remorse they experience but, despite this, their misdeeds take their toll. The affects most prominent throughout the play are the development of depression, paranoia, and emotional detachment. Ultimately, it becomes obvious that guilt is capable of bringing ruin to any individual.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the shakespearean tragedy macbeth reveals the consequence of immoral action: guilt. the two attempt to conceal their remorse but their misdeeds take their toll.
115 wordsRead More - The Agency by Y.S Leeanalytical essayHistorical fiction shapes a plot and characters on real events, settings, and people that happened in the past. Y.S. Lee’s The Agency, is an example of historical fiction which is based in the Victorian era. In the text, a female detective agency exists whose goal is to expose the scandalous secrets of some of the wealthiest in Britain. The plot is created through combining historical facts with fiction which makes it believable for the reader. Beginning with examining the narrator is crucial for beginning the analysis of this novel. The narrator, along with the principle characters, have a contemporary view on the world which makes it simplistic for the reader to comprehend. The Agency requires the reader to think critically about what would happen if a non-english female detective existed in the Victorian era. How the reader interprets this novel is affected by their own life experiences. Historical detail in Y.S. Lee’s The Agency generates a believable plot line that is simplistic for a reader to understand and makes the reader analyze and think critically about the Victorian era of Britain.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how historical fiction shapes a plot and characters on real events, settings, and people that happened in the past, such as y.s. lee's the agency.
- Analyzes how y.s. lee's use of necessary anachronism creates a believable plot in the agency.
- Analyzes how the narrator in the agency is familiar to the reader, which makes the style of the novel not challenging. mary's views are sophisticated for her time and this adds more of a mystery to her.
- Analyzes how y.s. lee uses common stereotypes to enhance the mystery of her novel and provide a different perspective to the challenges of the chinese in britain.
1046 wordsRead More - Examples Of Guilt In Hamletanalytical essayGuilt is a powerful word that takes over one’s life until the source of the pain is relieved. Guilt builds up inside of a person, and causes major damage to oneself. One is only able to contemplate how to eliminate its misery. Its origin stems from the fact that someone else suffers due to the actions for which one is responsible for. The actions can either be ones that an individual committed or ones that they thought about but have not followed through with. An example of guilt in Hamlet, is when Hamlet creates the mousetrap play to expose Claudius for being guilty of killing his father. Claudius cutoffs the play in order to pray for forgiveness in his room and plead his guilt for his action of murdering his brother so that he could take
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how guilt builds up inside of a person, and causes major damage to oneself. hamlet's mousetrap play exposes claudius for being guilty of killing his father.
307 wordsRead More - Shame In The Scarlett Letteranalytical essayGuilt, shame, and humiliation are just a few emotions that are often connected with a great act of sin. One great act of sin can have an effect many any lives. In Nathaniel hawthorne’s novel, The scarlett Letter, Hawthorne shows us ways one sin,can have an effect on many lives. Hawthorne teaches this lesson through, Hester Prynne and how her one “moment of weakness”, which was considered as a siin affected three main characters: Robert Chillingworth, Pearl Prynne and Minister Dimmesdale. These characters go through their lives struggling to cope with their shame, guklt, and sadness, brought by Hester’s sinful actions. Over the course of the novel, we watch how Hester’s sin affected many people in her life; it changed and damaged her long-lost husband Chillingwotrh, it physically and emotionally ruined her lover Dimmesdale and affected Pearl’s childhood
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how nathaniel hawthorne's novel, the scarlett letter, shows us how one sin can have an effect on many lives.
- Analyzes how the scarlett lttter opens with a prison scene of hestr prynne being mocked and humiliated for her "sin", adultery. hester was marked as an adulterer as well as her daughter pearl.
- Analyzes how dimmesdale was highly respected and loved in the puritan community, but he still had a heart full of hate and guilt.
- Analyzes how chillingwroth was described as a kind scholar in the beginning, but once hester's sin was revealed, he was heart broken. he vowed to not rest until hestr committed her adulterous act.
416 wordsRead More - Hypocrisy In Scarlet Letteranalytical essayThis is also ironic because it is later seen that many of the same people who mistrust her are also guilty of sins and possibly could have been in the same position had they not hidden theirs. Later, the letter begins giving Hester a “sympathetic throb” when she comes near some people, especially ministers and magistrates, as if they have done things just as wretched as Hester has, if not worse. (Hawthorne 39). Hester’s letter is telling her that even the town’s leaders are hypocrites, just as guilty of sin as herself and everyone else in town despite their act of being so high above all them. This instance conforms to the Romantic idea of civilization being corrupt and impure extremely well. As the story progresses, Dimmesdale feels more and more guilt but because the town in a way idolizes him and he is a coward; he cannot confess to anything to them in this state so the feeling takes a large toll on his health as he deteriorates away. His sickness, and eventual death, is entirely caused by their society’s strict ideas of being clean, untainted, and the concealment of his sin. His downfall highlights how important it is that he should have come forth and revealed the
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the contrast between the woods and the town in nathaniel hawthorne's the scarlet letter.
- Analyzes how hawthorne portrays the town of hester, pearl, and dimmesdale as pure and void of sin but in reality, it is just a facade.
- Analyzes how pearl is rejected by society because she is the product of adultery, which leads to her not having the childhood she really deserves.
- Analyzes how the forest around boston acts as a safe heaven for pearl, hester, and dimmesdale wherein the truth no longer needs to be covered.
- Analyzes how hawthorne uses the romantic idea of nature being superior to civilization and the emphasis on the character's inner experience is noticeably exaggerated. hester discarding the scarlet letter shows how she has come to accept herself and now be free from her guilt.
- Analyzes how hawthorne's portrayal of lies and deception can destroy even the best people. honesty can save lives from falling to misery.
1180 wordsRead More - Dream Job By Thomas Bartlettanalytical essayA article published by Thomas Bartlett “what cost Chris Dussold his dream job?” Bartlett examine Chris Dussold who is a professor at southern Illinois University at Evansville. Bartlett explains the professor was fired for copying another professors teaching statement. Dussold claims that was not the real reason to why he was fired. He believes it was a rumor saying he had slept with a undergraduate, a rumor supposing to be false according to both Mr. Dussold and university investigation. Now he’s on a mission to restore his reputation.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how thomas bartlett examines chris dussold, a professor at southern illinois university at evansville, who was fired for copying another professor's teaching statement.
- Explains that mr. dussold's love for math led him to pursue a dream job at edwardsville.
- Narrates how a colleague of mr. dussold asks him what if ms. peyla is in one of their classes.
440 wordsRead More - Hester and Dimmesdale's adultery caused much grief and torment to both them and Hester's husband, Chillingworth. From beginning to end, guilt transformed these characters. Nathaniel Hawthorne thoroughly developed the main
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how nathaniel hawthorne's the scarlet letter goes into the lives of the main characters and shows how each decision affects all the others.
- Describes hester as a beautiful woman who had committed adultery. she was shamed by the scarlet a', which made people look at her differently, but she didn't care.
- Explains that hester's scarlet letter was meant to punish her for eternity. she was to wear it till she died and then it was going to be engraved on her tombstone.
- Analyzes how roger chillingworth had a "slight deformity of the figure" which later reflected the transformation his soul would make.
- Analyzes how arthur dimmesdale, the minister and pearl's father, had no way to relieve his guilt. he could not show any emotion towards hester or pearl while in town, but he was passionate and openly accepted pearl as his daughter.
- Analyzes how hester and dimmesdale's adultery caused grief and torment to both them and chillingworth. nathaniel hawthorne thoroughly developed the main characters.
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