Oryx And Crake, Fifth Business, And Hamlet's Hamlet

Dempster's downfall as a mother and wife. The misfortune of being hit in the head by a snowball led to her having her baby prematurely and going "simple." Mrs. Dempster has greatly impacted Dunstan's life since that fateful night. First, Mrs. Dempster has led Dunstan to write multiple books and become a famous author, based on Saint hood. Dunstan's fascination with saints started when he was just a little boy. Dunstan's passion has led him to believe that Mrs. Dempster is a saint herself. Mrs. Dempster has completed three miracles in Dunstan's mind such as bringing his brother, Willie, back to life after he was nearly dead due to a very bad flu. Mrs. Dempster's second miracle was saving the life of a tramp which caused him to turn his life around after their encounter. Finally, her third miracle was her face appearing on the statue of a saint in the war when Dunstan was close to death. Next, Dunstan thought of Mary Dempster as if she was his own mother. Dunstan says, "Leola I wanted as a trophy of success, but Mrs Dempster was beginning to fill my whole life," (Davies 24). Dunstan was constantly with Mrs. Dempster, helping and playing with Paul. Dunstan was constantly sneaking off to visit her and suffered through the torment and teasing of his school peers because he was always by her side. Even the day his brother died, he immediately ran to her which led to her bringing him back to life. A scared teenage boy at the time, Dunstan and the town were searching for Mrs. Dempster after she went missing, “I was afraid and did not know what I feared, which is the worst kind of fear," (Davies 41). Finally, Mrs. Dempster has caused Dunstan to live a life of guilt. Dunstan felt as if he was responsible for her state even though Percy was the one to throw the snowball. "I had made her what she was, and in such circumstances I must hate her or love her. In a mode that was far too demanding for my age or

Boy Staunton and Dunstan Ramsay are the only characters who know the truth about Paul’s birth, which “is the cause of so much that [follows]” (13). As a young child, Boy throws a snowball at Dunstan that misses and hits Mary Dempster in the head, causing brain damage and the premature birth of Paul Dempster. This is the initial conflict of the novel, that casts Dunstan into the role of Fifth Business because he keeps his knowledge of the accident a secret for most of his life. Paul is considered the hero in Fifth Business because he is the product of this incident that causes the rest of the story to occur. Shortly after Paul’s birth, Dunstan approaches Boy about his

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the stage was used as a way to break the barriers of gender norms. In his creation of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the voice of Ophelia as a means to battle the gender norms that had been placed on Elizabethan society. A good women was seen as someone that was quiet and submissive. If a man could not control a woman’s tongue, there would be no chance that the man would be able to control her body. Though Ophelia’s character was more than capable of exhibiting reason, the control that her father, Polonius, held over her let Ophelia to the the madness that would claim her life by the end of the play. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Hamlet, a prince that should be have been more than capable of

In his account, The involvement which he mentions is in reference to when his friend, Percy Staunton, threw a snowball at him which accidentally hits Mrs. Dempster in the head and causes her to fall. To make matters worse, Mrs. Dempster is pregnant at the time and this incident causes her to enter labour early in which she eventually gives birth to a premature son. Even from the beginning of the novel, Dunstable is concerned about how this one seemingly minor event can have drastic impacts on not only the direction of his life, but also the effect everyone involved. As the novel progresses further, you begin to realize that Dunstable is essentially a spectator who explains accounts of other characters, eventually leading to his own discovery of his place in the hierarchy of life. From his innocent experiences as a child, to his enlistment in the Canadian military to fight in WW1, to his various ventures to Europe and South America to gain knowledge about saints and magicians, Dunstable is constantly an observer of others lives as well as his

William Shakespeare once said that “brevity is the soul of wit.” This is heavily evident in regards to Hamlet and all of his short, witty comments throughout the play. In Act I Scene II Hamlet 's wit comes out in full force during a discussion with his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle/stepfather, Claudius, with Hamlet’s very first words in the play:

One of the biggest influences on Dunstan Ramsey is his childhood friend and rival, Percy Boy Staunton. Throughout the novel, Dustan and Boy constantly compete against each other, but maintain a rather odd friendship. After the incident involving the snowball, the two boys deal with the situation in very different ways. Dustan feels extremely remorseful and guilty for his involvement. Boy, on the other hand, completely emancipates him from the situation and convinces himself that he had no hand in what happened to Mary Dempster: “I threw a snowball at you and I guess it gave you a good smack.”(Davies 16) Dunstan is appalled at Boy’s perversion of the incident, but becomes caught between his own impulse to reveal the truth and Boy’s idea of how they should handle the situation. His inability to sort out these conflicting values leaves Dunstan to bear the guilt alone. The difference in the boys’ values may be attributed to their upbringings. Dunstan, who was brought up a Presbyterian household by a strict mother, understood that there are consequences for every

The Fifth business story by Robertson Davies and The Hamlet play by Shakespeare are both strikingly remarkable stories; Notably, teaches the readers and audience lessons about life based on adversity. However, The most impactful part of both tales is that the main characters experiences parenting problems mother issues. Nonetheless, The need to be accepted, and how relationships are solely built on trust.

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, there were many important characters just like Hamlet who show up in more than three-fourths of the play; but there are also characters that don’t necessarily show up as much but still have a strong role. One of the characters that didn’t get as much screen time but was still important was Ophelia. Ophelia was a sister, girlfriend, and daughter that so many people loved. Therefore, Despite the lack of presence of Ophelia, she ultimately played a big role in the lives of a lot of the characters.

Finally, throughout the novel, Mary Dempster has an impactful role in the growth of Dunstan Ramsay. Mary teaches Dunny to disregard the moral rules of society, and to behave in a manner that is unselfish and for the betterment of others. Dunny admires Mary

She is a source to the development of Dunstable for a couple of reasons. A link emerges between Dunstable Ramsay and Mary when she is hit in the head with a snowball thrown by Percy Boyd Staunton, which was intended for Dunstable. The snowball that hit Mary causes her to go into labour, and she gives birth to her premature baby, Paul Dempster. Dunstable is forever filled with guilt although he had no control whatsoever when the incident occurred. This guilt eventually leads to Dunstable developing feelings for Mary Dempster, even though she is ten years older than him. His loyalty for Mary Dempster is at the same degree as his mother, or perhaps more. When Dunstable is at the Third Battle of Ypres, he loses his leg after he takes down German snipers. While Dunstable lies down wounded, he sees Mary Dempster’s face on the statue of The Little Madonna. “But what hit me worse than the blow of shrapnel was that the face was Mrs. Dempster’s face”. (Davies, 74) Almost half a year after, he wakes up from a coma in a hospital where he meets his nurse, Diana Marfleet. He recollects what happened during the war and becomes a hagiographer. This is a significant facet of the person that he grows to be. Furthermore, when Mary Dempster's illness aggravates, aunt Bertha who was taking good care of her passes away. Aunt Bertha hands Mary’s fortune to Dunstable, and he must take legal custody of her as a

No two human beings that have ever inhabited the earth were, are, or will ever be alike. Every individual possesses his or her own looks, qualities, morals, personality, and much more. Comparing two characters from arguably, two of the greatest stories ever written, is quite a feat to accomplish. One could already relate the two main protagonists of Hamlet and The Great Gatsby just by looking at the titles of the novels! Hamlet and Jay Gatsby are two characters, who can easily be overanalyzed without truly researching into their own stories and unveiling just who these two gentlemen are, for they are enigmas, and can be scrutinized into being more similar than one may think.

Once the world’s inhabitants are wiped out, Snowman is left with the task of taking care of the Crakers. Whether it is the fact that Snowman wants to be the parent he never had, or if he just simply doesn’t want to lose his only somewhat human interactions, it is evident that he cares about these creatures. In the time of crisis he exhibits a compassionate reasonability toward the Crakers because it is his duty to look after the new race of humans. Perhaps the only positive by product of his dysfunctional childhood is that he knows what it is like to be deserted and left uncared for so he strives now in his adulthood as Snowman to protect the Crakers as best he can. Even though Crakers original vision for these creature was to make them Godless and without art, Snowman taught them things in there “childhood” that contradicted there original thoughts. Snowman teaches them about the world and tries to make them understand their surroundings better, even though his explanations make him feel isolated and alone; reminding him of the sad childhood that he had. He gives them something to believe in and he teaches them right from wrong. He becomes the parent that he wishes he had had.

Mary Dempster into premature labor and caused her to become 'slow' as a result. This sends Ramsay into a pit of immense guilt, whereas Staunton refused to acknowledge his part in the accident. This would leave Ramsay according to his words “alone with my guilt, and it tortured me.” (Section 1: Line: 168). As mentioned earlier this marks their divergence. Throughout the rest of the novel the guilt tears through Ramsay. He is in search of a way to cope with his guilt, but more than that; he's looking for redemption. As the story of Ramsay's life moves forward the sense of guilt over the Dempsters remains, he continues to care for Mrs. Dempster until her death. Though throughout it all he begins to see Mrs. Dempster as a saint for what he considered to be her three miracles reviving Willie, her face appearing on a statue of Mary and turning the life of a homeless person around . Perhaps this is just his way of coping with guilt. Making connections where there are none and viewing them as miracles to elevate Mrs. Dempster from a pitiable creature to sainthood. As the story continues the theme of guilt continues; transcending the Dempsters. Many years later into the story Leola the wife of Staunton attempts suicide after reaching her breaking point as Staunton drew farther and farther away becoming more and more abusive, and more and more engrossed with money and power. She leaves a note that states “Dearest Dunny: This is the end. Boy does not love me and you don’t either so it is best for me to go. Think of me sometimes. I always loved you Love, Leola”(Section: 4 Lines: 200-204). This sends Ramsay into another fit of guilt while Staunton attempts to draw away yet again appearing almost indifferent to the situation. This again forces a divergence between the two men. The entirety of the novel touches

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, it is clearly evident Prince Hamlet is overcome with “madness” due to his father’s murder and other malicious actions taken against him. Throughout the play, there are many examples of how Hamlet displays his insanity due to certain situations he experiences and how he handles them. Hamlet shows his madness through the killing of Polonius, his treatment of Ophelia, his thoughts of suicide, and the treatment of his mother Gertrude.

Shakespeare believes that without any purpose in existence, life can be worthless. An example that portrays how Shakespearean characters question life and death is illustrated in Hamlet’s soliloquy, To Be Or Not To Be. Hamlet begins his speech by saying; “To be or not to be,