Robertson Davies

Boy Staunton, the antagonist in the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, is a very successful business man. Boy Staunton is motivated by self-distraction in life which he believes will rid himself of remorseful feelings. Although it may appear that he is “living the dream,” the guilt from traumatizing childhood events slowly torture and eventually destroy him. Boy’s decision to commit suicide is greatly influenced by Mary Dempster, Leola Cruikshank and Dunstan Ramsay because they are constant

Robertson Davies' Fifth Business In the novel 'Fifth Business', the author Robertson Davies is successfully able to relate both the themes of magic and religion throughout. He achieves this relationship between the themes primarily through the characters and their actions. Dunstan Ramsay, Paul Dempster, Mary Dempster and Liselotte Vitzliputzli all help to illustrate the close relationship between magic and religion. One of the characters that Davies uses to relate the theme of magic and religion

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

you chose sparked by a particular moment from your youth? Or was it different incidents that have occurred throughout your life? These are a few of the questions I am left with after reading the novel Fifth Business written by Canadian author Robertson Davies. Originally published by Macmillan Canada in 1970, this book is approximately 273 pages in length and takes about a week to complete. The novel focuses on the story of the life of Dunstable Ramsay, a small town boy from Deptford, Ontario who

reclusiveness. Its symptoms are irrational behaviour, lying, anguish, lack of self-esteem, and in extreme cases, thoughts of suicide. It is guilt. In both novels The Fifth Business and The Manticore by Robertson Davies, guilt is a reoccurring theme throughout the novels and is a major force in one’s life. Davies demonstrates this by having both character feeling guilt. While both novels demonstrated themes of guilt, Guilt comes from terrible Childhood experiences is a topic that keeps running all through

Within the novel Fifth Business, author Robertson Davies uses the role of secondary characters to lead the main character in discovering their meaning in life. The protagonist, Dunstan Ramsay is desperately in search for self-identity, secondary characters, Diana Marfleet, Padre Blazon and Liesl help provide Dunny with a sense of self-knowledge. Diana initiates and guides Dunny in his discovery of himself by changing his name, and the time she spends with him allows him to realize what he desires

To believe or not to believe that is the question. Robertson Davies’ depicts a novel in which two opposing characters strive for self-completion. The journey of completing one’s self is one of Jung’s archetypes. According to Jung, completing both the body and soul lies within the characteristics of the psyche. The psyche is composed of three parts: the collective unconscious, ego and the personal unconscious. The collective unconscious is what people come into this world knowing, how children are

Whilst reading the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Dunstan Ramsey has developed many relationships with the characters whom are mentioned in the novel. One who stands out particularly is his relationship with Mary Dempster, the lady he has known for decades. As it is shown in the novel the author Davies has a theme of displaying different archetypes for each one of his characters, including Mary Dempster who identifies to be “The Innocent”. Examples include when she was hit in the head

Comparing the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is clear that both main characters place power and personal ambition above all else. Throughout the novel and the play readers are able to experience, what happens to Percy Boyd Staunton and Claudius as they place power and their own personal ambitions above all else. When characters place power and personal ambition above all, they become more distant from loved ones, lose the ones they love the

necessary in explaining the world, and can be depended upon for guidance with one as reliable as the other. The idea of place, with its inherent myth and history, is an important factor in one's identity because place shapes character and events. Robertson Davies' Fifth Business, E. Anne Proulx's The Shipping News, Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion, and Jack Hodgins' The Invention of the World use myth and lore to describe the obstacles which the protagonists and others must get over or confront