Fifth Business

He was often punished when his brothers weren 't, even if they were doing the same thing. He was able to be adventurous but instead was stuck with guilt. Throughout his years he also faced the emotional toll of abuse in many ways. One way his mother did this was by no longer calling him by his name, and not referring to him as a human. Dave states in his book, “that death would be better than my prospects for any kind of happiness. I was nothing but an “it”.” Children and adolescents go through a stage where they are trying to figure out who they are. With an abusive mother who takes away your identity it would be really hard to figure out who you are and you would be confused on what roles to play. Erikson’s stages emphasize family and culture. Erikson noted that psychological conflicts, especially in childhood within families, affect people lifelong.

Human growth and development over a lifetime shows how a person evolves from birth to the time of death. Psychologists study the development of children teaching influencing their future. My childhood experiences influences my adulthood, but I have to show maturity. Does this mean that I do the same things I did as I child? What kind of growth did I show from elementary age to high school age? How much of my child will influence my decision-making as I move forward in my developmental stages? Does my spiritual have an impact on how I view myself? I have to take a step back into my past to view my challenges and obstacles. My

Hart – one of the gray-haired men who like to say "Now there's a boy" – gave him a guest card to the Sherry Island Golf Club for a week-end. So he signed his name one day on the register, and that afternoon played golf in a foursome with Mr. Hart and Mr. Sandwood and Mr. T.A. Hedrick. He did not consider it necessary to remark that he had once carried Mr. Hart's bag over this same links, and that he knew every trap and gully with his eyes shut – but he found himself glancing at the four caddies who trailed them, trying to catch a gleam or gesture that would remind him of himself, that would lessen the gap which lay between his present and his past.” In the end, Dexter used his astuteness to make something of himself; however, in doing so, he regressed who he truly was. That is how he dealt with his nostalgia, by suppressing it.

“It was characteristic of Boy throughout his life that he was always the quintessence of something that somebody else had recognized and defined” (Davies 113). He believes that he is in control of every situation, but inside he cannot control his guilt that is still buried deep inside himself. Contrary to Dunstan who feels responsible for problems, Boy runs away from his problems by keeping himself busy. The death of Leola, his wife, clearly shows Boy’s fear of facing problems, for his does not show up for her funeral, “Boy was in England, arranging something or other connected with his Ministry, and duty and the difficulty of transatlantic flights in wartime kept him there”(Davies 194). Boy still yearns for fulfillment even though he achieves greatness in terms of his financial success and his outward appearance. He says, “I feel rotten. I’ve done just about everything I’ve ever planned to do and everybody thinks I’m a success… But sometimes I wish I could get into a car and drive away from the whole damned thing.” (Davies). Boy knows that deep inside he is very unsuccessful. As he gets older, he is supposed to be wiser, but his commitment to achieving the external greatness has stopped him from being fully satisfied. There is an immense difference in the lives of Boy and Dunstan. Boy’s focus on his external being causes him live an unfulfilled life, like a ‘boy’ who cannot see that there is

There is a little bit of darkness in everyone, but if you accept it and learn from it, you can grow, but if you repress it and never deal with it; then there will be severe consequences. By examining Robertson Davies’ novel, Fifth Business, one can see that Dunstan’s perspective of the snowball incident, Boy’s encounter in the gravel pit, and Willie’s death, demonstrate Dunstan’s struggle with the psychological truth behind literal events, resulting in Boy and Dunstan’s dark desires to reveal themselves, because they were never accepted. These three incidents cause Dunstan lifelong internal battles that he has trouble shaking off.

In the novel, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Dunstan Ramsey’s life choices are greatly impacted by his guilt. At the young age of ten years old, Dunstan’s life was changed by association with a traumatic experience, Mrs. Dempster, a pregnant woman, was hit by an incoming snowball thrown by Percy Boyd Staunton meant for Dunstan. This snowball caused Mrs. Dempster to go into labour, 80 days before she was supposed to, as well as causing life changing brain damage. Mrs. Dempster was forever labelled as simple by the people of the town. Percy showed no emotion towards this event ever occurring and because Dunstan felt someone should be responsible for this incident, he put the blame on himself.

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies explores the theme of Psychology through several characters. Each character has a certain archetype which will affect how they think, showing different psychological effects. Specifically, the archetypes mentioned are the introverted, the confidant, the egotist, and the saint. These four archetypes correlate to being the side character, the secret keeper, the self-absorbed brat, or the painfully charitable woman respectively. Davies attempts to explore the relation between an archetype and the psychology behind it.

Mary has a huge role in the development of Dunstan. Firstly, because of the snowball incident, which Mary was part of, Dunstan carries around the guilt from that day his entire life. He thinks it is his fault and that leads to him trying to take care of Mary. While he was taking care of her, he grew attached to her. The biggest inspirations for Dunstan to go down the path of Hagiology was Mary Dempster.

If you look closely at both stories in Fifth business and Hamlet; these two stories have different plots, but we as readers notice how the main characters face problems about their parents specifically the mother figure. For instance, in fifth business Dunstable struggles to find a stability with his mother because of Mary Dempster the priestess wife. In a way, Mrs. Ramsay wants her son to always stay the same no matter what, a good and young religious boy. However, When he started spending time with Mrs. Dempster; Dunstan and his family lose their reputation towards the town of Deptford. Because of this, it causes tension and that's why he joins the army. For Dunstan this is the opportunity of a lifetime, he gets to start all new without any restrictions whatsoever and he can be whoever he

Events are imagined to include or create. In Fifth Business, the fictional characters are what make the novel strange. Dunny’s perspective on different events and characters are strange to the other characters. His belief of Mrs. Dempster being a saint due to the miraculous events she was involved in. The first event would be the “revival” of his brother, Willie.

Paul D is left in shock and denial claiming, “That ain’t her mouth,” attempting to obscure the reality where Sethe did indeed kill her baby (154). The once idealistic woman who Paul D had known and loved for years has turned to do something so evil, leaving him in dismay. He did not understand Sethe’s motives; no one truly did. No one could draw the line of connection between the idea of saving one’s children by killing them. As Stamp Paid continues to read the news clipping, Paul D goes into a frenzy, shaking his head in disbelief. The look on Paul D’s face was so full of terror that even Stamp Paid thought that “the stranger the lips in the drawing became” as Paul D continued to shake in apprehension, questioning if the event really did occur

Describing the anecdote of the birth of his brother, but as he embraces the reality of Doodley's condition, his inspiration of living a dynamic lifestyle with Doodley, vanishes, leaving only an incomparable feeling of disappointment.

237). By riding his rocking horse Paul is able to predict the winner of horse races at the track. He uses this ability in an attempt to provide for the family. In doing this he tries to assume his father’s in an attempt to please his mother and the household’s constant whispering the need for more money. “I started it for mother. She said she had no luck, because father is unlucky, so I thought if I was lucky, it might stop whispering.” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, pp. 240) even as Paul is dying he is still consumed with trying fill the role of a provider for his mother, “I never told you, mother, that if I can ride my horse and get there, then I’m absolutely sure – oh, absolutely! Mother, did I ever tell you? I am lucky!” […] “But the boy died in the night.” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, pp. 245). Paul’s death was a sacrifice to please his mother, who put her desires for money and material things above the love of her children.

The mother figure in Dunstan’s life is very violent, as she is seen beating Dunstan after she catches him stealing an egg for a magic trick. The beating was a method of discipline, but at the time, Dunstan’s is just beginning to find himself and his talents. Consequently, the violent altercation with his mother is something that will linger in his mind for the rest of his life. Dunstan describes the situation: “It must have been a strange scene, for she pursued me around the kitchen, slashing me with the whip until she broke me down and I cried” (Davies 29). The hostile situation which Dunstan experiences as a preteen is vividly stamped in his mind. The mother chasing him around the kitchen while beating him is as if they were playing as kids, which shows a lack of maturity and composure from the mother’s standpoint. Dunstan realizes this and reminisces on those moments, and comes to the conclusion:

Paul was a young man. He was getting a teacher’s education. He was a good student and a wonderful sportsman. He lived with his mother, Mrs Burgess, in Belfast. She was quite unsociable and reserved. The first five years of his life Paul had spent in the North of England. He had very good relations with his father, Rees; they loved to spend time together. Later his family moved to Wortley. When they lived there, his father died because of a railway accident. Soon after