Fifth Business Essay: Guilt

Moral intentions can be explored while contemplating bits of memories. As the narrator reflects upon his past relationship with his father, he starts to acknowledge

Guilt, a word with some very negative connotations. Things that immediately come to mind may be simple mistakes on an essay, or an eternal grief that you must bear. The narrator in “The Scarlet Ibis” feels an immense guilt for his poor decisions. In James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” readers learn the dangers of guilt through one man’s tragic loss of his handicapped brother, even after he watched him grow up to defy doctors’ predictions by walking, talking all on his own.

Guilt is an emotion that affects everyone in a different way. In The Yellow Birds, by Kevin Powers, John Bartle, one of the main characters, struggles with guilt over the death of his friend Murph. It is not until the end of the book, the reader discovers the horrific truth about Murph’s death and why Bartle feels so guilty. Bartle had a good moral compass at the start of the book; somewhere he went off his righteous path of thinking through his decisions. Although Bartle is a good person, he is lead to make terrible decisions that ultimately leading to his demise. Bartle’s emotions caused him to make atrocious decisions that happen to have damaging consequences to his decisions and his actions.

Guilt is a nerving feeling that one has had at least once in their life time. Dwelling on the past can set one back majorly in life. Guilt is a major theme that has led the protagonist Dunstan Ramsay to live a unique life in Roberton Davies' novel Fifth Business. Percy Staunton is Dunstan's best friend and worst enemy. Diana Marfleet has given Dunstan the proper care one of like a mother to Dunstan. Finally, Mrs. Dempster going "simple" has led Dunstan to live in the past. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the characters Percy Staunton, Diana Marfleet and Mrs. Dempster have given Dunstan Ramsay's life excitement, meaning and adventure.

Guilt is the regret one experiences when they realise their action was not appropriate according to a lawful or moral standard. In Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies, guilt was a major theme and was essential throughout the novel. Davies used the three main characters, Dunstan Ramsay, Boy Staunton, and Paul Dempster to illustrate the different effects of Mrs. Dempster’s incident. The way one is raised, the key disciplines they have developed and their way of thinking reflects how they deal with guilt.

Ethics and moral obligations are issues we all encounter at one time or another. In the professional setting, all people should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. To be ethical, one has to determine their obligations, moral ideas, and moral philosophy (Boatright, p. 19, 2009). The case analysis involving Jacob Franklin was a perfect example of how an individual can face the dilemma of doing what is right or wrong. Businesses have their own code of ethics, and the employees within the business have to determine whether or not they will follow the company’s code of conduct. I will discuss several ethical issues in the case analysis including; failure to report information, remaining silent regarding faulty equipment,

Lastly, her family betrayed her by not listening to her side of the story after her sister told lies about her, and they betrayed her when they acted as if they did not care if she moved out of the house. In all of these actions, the family itself and certain members of the family are portrayed as uncaring, unsupportive, disrespectful, conniving, deceitful, and hateful to Sister. Through every action of the family, Sister is treated harshly, and she tries to not let this bother her. Yet, anger and bitterness build up inside of her until she cannot take it anymore. Consequently, it built up so much inside of her that it severely affected Sister so profoundly that she moved away from her home to get away from her family.

Guilt is part of people that convicts them for actions and thoughts. Guilt can lead a person to try and fix damage in relationships, change their behaviour, and see people differently than before. The feeling of guilt has changed Dunstan and Paul. Paul sees his mother differently and has to make decisions in his life because of the guilt caused by Mrs.Dempster’s insanity. Dunstan blames himself because of what happened to Mrs.Dempster during the snowball incident and lets the feeling of guilt control his actions and decisions. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, guilt impacts Paul and Dunstan to make important decisions that changes their life drastically throughout the novel. The guilt caused by the snowball incident,

What is guilt? Guilt is defined as "the fact or state of having done wrong or committed and offense." (Definition, 5) In Fifth business Guilt is considered to be a theme placed within the pages of the Novel, Fifth Business. It is shown through main events taking place, as well as being shown through the main characters of the story. For many guilt can be a powerful emotion, leaving people to question the fact on why they are feeling "Guilty". It can be considered as the "price we pay" (letting go of guilt, 4) after doing something in the wrong. "Guilt can also be considered psychological relating back to a previous childhood event or actions".(4) For most guilt is a feeling/ emotion that is completely unavoidable.

Because she begins recalling her childhood, the attachment that she feels towards her brother causes her to dismiss her brother’s disorderly conduct. So even when her brother was out committing crimes, getting drunk, and more, she did not feel that it was important to brood over, because the image does not fit with the perception that she has of him.

One’s moral duty is often conflicted with an emotional drive or a strong passion. The drive it takes to deviate from knowing what is right and wrong can lead to unfavorable outcomes, such as suffering. Not only does this engagement establish a war within the mind, but it also hinders certain responsibilities. In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the protagonist, Ethan, encounters a dilemma: his strong feelings for his wife’s cousin, Mattie, compels him to reconsider his devotion to Zeena. Ethan allows himself to seize feelings for Mattie, through which he disregards his moral duties to his wife, typifying that addressing a private passion over responsibility can lead to suffering.

“Guilt” means that a person feels regret after doing harmful to other people or himself. This can be found through the feelings and behaviours of a person. In the novel of Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the theme of guilt is demonstrated through a number of events happened in this story with many characters. First of all, the incident of snowball leads to a great guilt to Dunstan.

Guilt can be the most damaging force to people who have morals. Guilt is a force that can control people’s lives and even kill them. In the novel The Fifth Business by Robertson Davies he develops the theme that during a characters search for meaning and redemption in their life it can bring upon them large amounts of irrepressible guilt . Davies develops this theme through the use of the character Dunstan as he faces massive amounts of guilt throughout the entire novel in his search for absolution.

She even believes that she shares in the blame for her abuse, for she shows an apologetic attitude others (Allison 116). Through her feeling of isolation, she learns to depend on herself, especially on her imagination. She imagines herself with strength enough to fight back against Daddy Glen with “hands…a match for his” (Allison 109). She also visualizes other

an action can't be right if the people who are made happy by it are outnumbered by the people who are made unhappy by it.