Understanding Dunstan Essay

Since our founding in 1869, Dillard University has been committed to providing a quality liberal arts education. We are proud to have alumni and matriculating students who are culturally aware, concerned with improving the human condition, and able to meet the demands of a global economy and technologically advanced society. We broadly educate to produce global leaders.

The pair of twins sat down in their homeroom class. One was gentle and charming, and the other was intelligent and had a great future in store. Being twins one would think they were very alike but secretly they were different. Sitting in homeroom no classmate would think that they were sitting next to a new definition of evil. In The Devil in the White City by Erick Larson, he decides to include different styles of ambition and appearance vs. reality to illustrate, that ambition can break one or make one and everything is not what it seems. Larson’s style is to add to irreverent stories together so that the two major protagonists highlight each other’s traits, one trait is their ambition. Both Holmes and Burnham are ambitious but in two

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

Mr.Dempster lost his job,Mrs Dempster went mad and Peter was born premature which led him to live a life full of intimidation and bullying. Dunstan spent his whole life is driven by guilty he never recovered from his role in negatively affecting the life of many people.He spends his entire trying to appease his guilt; he takes care of Mrs Dempster and spends his life trying to prove that she is saint.Later on in the novel he learns to deal with the guilt but always carries the rock that caused it all as reminder of what he did.

T- 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.

It’s been two days since they disappeared. Two days since the neighbors got their mail. Two days since the news anchors appeared on television. Two days since I last saw anyone over 16. I don’t know what the FUCK is happening! I woke up and they were all gone. Everyone! Cops… Teachers… Parents… EVERYONE. I’m keeping a journal. If this all goes to shit… I want someone to know.

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

one should have to go through a moral dilemma. I feel as if I was

In his room in Mexico City, Liesl confronted Dunstan with his true nature and forced him to understand himself. She used Fifth Business as a metaphor for explaining Ramsay to himself, and it was not until this moment that Dunstan carried this role out knowingly, such as when he revealed the secret of the snowball and the keeping of the stone to Staunton and Eisengrim (Monk, 34-5). Towards the end of the novel, it is clear that Dunstan reached individuation by stating, “Dunstan Ramsay counselled against revelation, but Fifth Business would not hear” (Davies, 263), as well as “Fifth Business insisted on being heard again” (Davies, 264). Both these quotations occurred when Dunstan Ramsay overcame his ego and shadow, when acknowledging the secret of the snowball over fifty years after the incident had taken place. It is important to acknowledge Dunstan’s use of third person when speaking.

The Fifth Business by Robertson Davies is told in the form of a letter written by Ramsay on his retirement from teaching, “a character essential to the action but not a principal” that was affected by or had an effect on the other characters of the play. The life of Dunstan Ramsay is the backdrop and the thread connecting countless subplots and themes, but as his very evident passion for hagiology sets him out to discover the difference between materialism and spirituality, the actual importance of women is brought about in the novel by his interactions since childhood onwards and we see how these women mould, scar and

Mrs. Demster´s accident was the biggest influence of his guilt because he felt that he was responsible for not stopping Percy with throwing the snowball. ¨Hell and torment at once; but at least you know where you stand. It is living with these guilty secrets that exacts the price.¨ (Davies,18) It was simply the fact that Dunstan lived with the guilt because he felt that it was his punishment. he took the punishment that Percy would if not could handle so he accepted it on his behalf.

Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.

In Walter Wangerin Jr.'s beast fable, The Book of the Dun Cow, two roosters have the unusual distinction of being Lords of their own manor. Webster defines a Lord as a "person having great powers and authority, a ruler or master," where as a manor is defined as "the district over which a lord holds authority and domain" (Webster). Chauntecleer is introduced to the reader as the leader or Lord of the Coop and the ruler over the animals in the surrounding land. On the other hand, Cockatrice takes over as leader of his Coop and land after he kills his father, Senex. Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are two very different roosters who lead and rule their domain in stark contrast yet they are both labeled as Lords of the manor.

Analysis of Macbeth Macbeth, is one of the greatest tragedy plays written by William Shakespeare. It is a rather short play with a major plot that we had to follow it carefully to understand its significance. The play is a tragedy about evil rising to power, which ends up corrupting the main characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the opening of the play Macbeth is introduced to the audience as Thane of Glamis and is respected. The witches also play a major part in the play, as they predict the future.

Erikson’s stage that I am choosing to explore is the sixth stage, known as intimacy vs isolation. This is the stage when young people learn to make personal commitment to another spouse, parent, or partner. Throughout this stage, one also tends to seek love. One starts to wonder whether he or she will be loved or will he or she be alone. Ideally, this relates to my own personal life because recently, I tried to pursue a relationship with someone who did not have interest me. These feelings developed based off my interpretation of love. When I venture out to find love, I look for someone who offers me happiness. As a result of my own beliefs, I thought this person liked me back. Little did I know, I was totally wrong. This accusation resulted in me creating