Understanding The Diversity Of A Friend/Enemy
When reaching the understanding of how two people may contrast in an impactful way, Charles Dickens, an English writer and a social critic once explained: “There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast” (Charles Dickens). In most situations it is often a difficult task to state the contrast between individuals. In relation to Fifth Business, Dunstan and Percy maintain a relationship unlike any other while facing challenges as their journey proceeds up until the end of the novel. Some may acknowledge their relationship from a friendship perspective while others may see it from a nemesis point of view. In Robertson Davies's Fifth Business, the contrast between
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The most prominent way where Dunstan and Percy contrast is values. Seen throughout Fifth Business, Dunstan is trying to discover who he is and wants to become while what Percy wants is more obvious. Dunstan is a character that wants to seek spiritualistic values such as his faith and the good he sees in others and himself. “Where Boy lived high, I lived – well, not low, but in the way congenial to myself. I thought twenty-four dollars was plenty for a ready-made suit, and four dollars a criminal price for a pair of shoes. I changed my shirt twice a week and my underwear once. I had no yet developed any expensive tastes and saw nothing wrong with a good boarding-house” (Davies 113). The spectacle observation Dunstan makes about Percy reveals that even though Percy was living a high quality life with more than enough to live off of, Dunstan could care less. Through the perspective of Dunstan's perception of faith, he is considered someone who holds the values of inner spiritualistic desire and outer …show more content…
Percy wants more control and materialism, while Dunstan's mind is somewhere else. This is a temptation of eagerness that Percy seeks that occurs throughout Fifth Business and never changes. Percy is impressed and seeks for more money and greater autonomy. As expressed by Percy; “I don't mean you should have secret drunken weeks and a widow in a lacy flat who expects you every Thursday, like some suburban ruffian. You are a lot more than that. But every man has a devil, and a man of unusual quality, like yourself, Ramsay, has an unusual devil. You must get to know your personal devil” (230). Rather than the value of spirituality Dunstan holds, Percy holds the values of control and materialism and at the same time enjoys the rush he gets when he is having a thrill of a good time. Not only is Percy a character of greed and self-autonomy, but he also shows this characteristic in a more oblivious way. As an example, the position both Dunstan and Percy had in the war greatly reiterates the fact Percy has more power than Dunstan, hence the term “queer” (196) said by Percy to Dunstan. As Dunstan gets his leg blown off, Percy gains an overwhelming amount of authority as an officer and stays away from all danger. Another well argumentative reason to reveal the values Percy contains is seen through what other people may see in him, a “womanizer” because Percy enjoys womanizing and has several affairs. As
Dunstan Ramsay is one of the main characters in the novel Fifth Business. The novel is based on his point of view. Dunstan is from an honorable family. Dunstan was disciplined by his mother who shaped Dunstan’s anima.
Friendship is a necessity throughout life whether it is during elementary school or during adulthood. Some friendships may last a while and some may last for a year; it depends on the strength of the bond and trust between the two people. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main characters, Gene and Finny, did not have a pure friendship because it was driven by envy and jealousy, they did not feel the same way towards each other and they did not accurately understand each other.
The novel Fifth Business, written by Robertson Davies, is about Dunstan Ramsay’s life. The novel begins with Parker’s newsletter that offends Dunstan and triggers him to write about his life to the headmaster. Davies uses Carl Jung’s archetypes to develop his novel Fifth Business, which explores the archetypal figures, archetypal hero’s journey, and fifth business. Robertson Davies is a wise old man, great mother, and wise old woman who plays a significant role in Dunstan’s life. Firstly, the author portrays Padre Ignacio Blazon as the wise old man for Dunstan Ramsay because he is on the quest to prove Mary Dempster is a saint.
Incidences that occur in one's childhood tend to affect them possibly for the rest of the rest of their life. This applies to the novel Fifth Business and the characters Dunstan Ramsey and Boy Staunton. Throughout the lives of these characters Dunstan lives in the shadow of Boy due to feelings of guilt and responsibility as a result of one winter evening in the town of Deptford.
Even though friends are often tested. In the relationship between Victor and Thomas, Thomas often gives in to peer pressure and abandons theirs friendship. This allows the reader to get a personal attachment to the characters and understand the emotional development that happen with each character.
Percy Percy provides the novel with the perfect parallel to Dunstan. He does, however, contrast in many ways to Dunstan. They are best friends, but Percy rivalry results in the formation of the main setting of the novel. Percy also feels more of an attachment to material goods than Dunstan does. He thinks only of himself and is in constant pursuit of total and utter control. Percy was low moral standards in comparison to Dunstan and in some ways, feels he is of a higher stature than other human beings. This awkward relationship between him and Dunstan forms the basis of the novel.
Percy is always afraid that his friends might die. He is constantly questioning his “own powers” (29, Riordan) and is unsure he can save his friends. The protagonist is unable to complete his missions properly, because he is always battling his own self confidence. Anyone who is incapable of having confidence in themselves will not obtain their goal. Moreover, when Percy realizes he is able to “destroy” (79, Riordan)
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.
Percy’s and Dunstan’s characters contrast in many ways. The most prominent way in which they contrast is their values. Dunstan values spiritual things, while Percy values only material things. Percy is impressed by and yearns for money, while Dunstan could care less about it. Dunstan explains his lack of desire for materialistic things:
This man cares more about the wants and needs of the people around him then his own. Percy is brave in the toughest of situations, and stands up for what is right. Percy Jackson has even saved the world twice, by leading armies he organised on his own.
Percy Jackson is the main character in this story, who is a demi god, who mortals are after. His name is short for Perseus and his father is one of the big three gods, Poseidon. He is suffering from dyslexia and ADHD, which could be deliberately added to the character by Riordan, to show he is meant to be a hero, and not to do well in school. This shows that school is not what he is good at, and he is destined to be a hero and save people. The character Grover, who plays Percy’s best friend, parallels a Satyr who is human from the waist up and goat from the waist down and is a companion of wine God, Dionysus, who we later learn, is the camp director for Half-Blood Camp.
novel, Dunstan’s public front that he portrays is the role of Fifth Business. He is characterized as such
Friendship, Role model, Boyfriend/Girlfriend- all these are examples of a relationship. Everyone sees them constantly begin and end throughout life, but they are still always there. In this short story, Frances and Michael are having a problem with their marriage because Michael can’t keep his eyes off other women. “This is the story of a troubled relationship of which only one climatic moment is overly depicted” (Giles 5). This quote shows how Frances stayed in this relationship for many years, even though Michael looking at other women is a reoccurring problem. Frances stayed in this relationship because she was afraid to lose her romantic relationship.
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.
Wistrom, Elizabeth . "Percy Jackson: Character Analysis." Bright Hub Education. N.p., 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.