Prompt : To what extent does a character’s obsession lead to his success or failure in Fifth Business?
Simplified: To what extent does Dunstan’s obsession lead to his failure?
Thesis: As a result of Dunstan’s obsession with key events that happened throughout his life, he has failed in establishing permanent relationships with people throughout life.
Directional Statement: His inability to form meaningful relationship stems from his obsessions of caring for Mrs. Dempster, keeping the secrets of people around him, and the saints.
Topic Sentence
Throughout Dunstan's life, his obsession with Mrs Dempster not only further alienates him from society, but absorbs a large portion of his social life.
Example 1
"Being unofficial watchdog to the Dempster family was often a nuisance to me and did nothing for my popularity" (Pg 22) This reveals that Dunstan's role of looking after Mrs Dempster and Paul is taking a toll on his social image.
Example 2
"She had forgotten, or perhaps she never knew, that her husband had warned me away. I never saw her without a pang of guilt and concern about her. But for her husband I had no pity" (Pg 38) Throughout admitting his attachment to Mary, Dunstan in a way accepts that he is the only person that is truly capable of looking afterher, and decides to adopt that role.
Example 3
"I was grateful to Boy for his financial advice...which would in time make it possible for me to do better for Mrs. Dempster and to arrange a broader life for myself" (Pg 184) This line exemplifies the level of devotion the Dunstan administers towards Mrs Dempster. As well later on he says that Mrs. Dempster would be his, in not allowing Boy to pay for her medical hospital.
Conclusion
As a result of Dunstan's childhood incident with Mrs Dempster, his obsession has only grown, allowing him to assume the role of caretaker and limiting his progression throughout society.
Topic Sentence
Dunstan's obsession with the secrets he keeps about people around him adds to his inability to make meaningful relationships, his biggest failure.
Example 1
"Ah, if dying was all there is to it! Hell and torment at once; but at least you know where you stand. It is living with these guilty secrets that exacts the price." p.18
This foreshadows a life of "Hell and torment" for Dunstan, in which his obsession with the guilty secrets he keeps prevents him from having permanent and trusting relationships.
Example 2
"If I spoke up for her I might find myself her champion, and a man who champions any womanagainsther husband had better be sure he means business." p.154
Dunstan keeps the secrets of Leola and Boy's dysfunction from anyone else and never fights for the woman he once loved. Therefore he never allows himself to be able to have the relationship with Leola that he always wanted.
Example 3
"But had not Paul edited his memories so that only pain and cruelty remained? I began to wonder what I had erased from my own recollection." p.267
At this moment in his life, Dunstan realized the negative effects of bottling up negative emotions because they can have negative effects on one's experiences, which is whathappenedto him.
Conclusion
Dunstan Ramsay, through keeping many secrets in his life, prevents himself from opening up completely to people and therefore prevents him from having healthy relationships.
Topic Sentence
Dunstan’s obsession with saints leads him to become more introvert and to ignore his exterior surroundings that leads him to his failure of friendship and accompaniment.
Example 1- Fool Saint
“Ever hear of a fool-saint? I thought not. A fool saint is somebody who seems to be full of holiness and loves everybody and does every good act he can, but because he is a fool it all comes down to nothing- to worse than nothing, because it is virtue tainted with madness, and you can’t tell where it’ll end up. Did you know that Prudence was names as one of the Virtues? There’s the trouble with your fool-saint, y’see-- no Prudence. Nothing but a lotta bad luck’ll rub off on you from one of them. Did you know bad luck could be catching?” Page 138
Example 2- Saint Uncumber
“So I jaunted cheerfully about the Continent on my apparently mad mission, hunting up Uncumber in remote villages as well as in such easy and pleasant places as Beauvais and Wissant, and once positively identifying an image that was said to be Uncumber as Galla, the patroness of widows, who is also sometimes represented with a beard.” Page 135
Example 3- Madonna Immaculate Conception
“The little Madonna was a bee in my bonnet; I wanted to see her againt, and quite unreasonably, I kept hoping to find her.” Page 115
Essay outline
To what extent is a character’s dedication to a sense of responsibility a principal motivating factor in a Fifth Business?
Intro
*explain snowball incident*
At an early age Dunstan’s guilt consumes him and creates a sense of responsibility which lives with him, even after her death. Dunstan’s dedication to Mary, highlighted by the theme of guilt, motivates him in his career, his social life, and his position as fifth business.
Topic #1
As a child, Dunstan understood the consequences from the snowball incident and thus felt responsible for the well-being of Mary and Paul Dempster.
p.269 “A form of piety, a sense of guilt unexpiated. Indolence. I have always been meaning to put the guilt in some proper place, but I haven’t found it yet.”
Topic #2
Spending time with Mary exposed Dunstan to her spirituality, ultimately leading to his curiosity in hagiology.
-miracles 1,2,3
-p 74 the war, seeing Mary’s face
Topic #3
Even posthumously, Mary persists to fill Dunstan with a sense of responsibility, motivating him to no longer hide the secrets of Paul’s premature birth.
- The final conversation between Dunstan, Paul and Boy serves as a way for Dunstan to free himself of the secrets surrounding the snowball incident.
Conclusion
Throughout his life, Dunstan allows his all-consuming guilt and sense of responsibility towards Mary Dempster directly effect the actions he takes throughout his life.
Fifth Business Essay Outline
Prompt #7: A character’s unique personality has both strengths and weaknesses. In Fifth Business, evaluate the role personality plays in a character’s ultimate success or failure.
Introduction:
Hook: To be successful in life you must develop traits that will help you succeed.
Thesis: Through Dunstan’s journey his personality traits are what control the outcome.
Directional Statement: It is Dunstan’s vulnerability, obsession, and introversion that lead to his ultimate success.
Argument #1:
As early as his childhood in Deptford, Dunstan is isolated from his peers when his guilt forces him to tend to Mrs. Dempster. (Page 29 - “Being unofficial watchdog for the Dempster family was often a nuisance for me and did nothing for my popularity. … I knew they’d say enough behind my back.”)
His strained relationships with women – a reflection of his own dysfunctional relationship of his strict Presbyterian mother - is another demonstration of his isolation. (Page 88 – “But I wanted my life to be my own; I would live henceforth for my own satisfaction. That did not include Diana.”)
Dustan’s obligation to Boy as “secret keeper” isolates him emotionally from his friend, and prevents him from forming a genuine friendship. (Page 225– “You put up with subtle insult and being taken for granted by a boyhood friend – this big sugar-man who is such a power in your part of the world.”)
Conclusion:
Dunstan Ramsay has a very complex nature to him that hints a little towards hope when he is in a situation of weakness. Some may assume that if one has nothing but failure’s and weaknesses their whole life, they will ultimately fail at the end. Dunstan is a perfect example of how people can make a situation go in a completely different way. As a result of Dunstan’s vulnerability, obsession and introversion, he was lead into multiple situations of weakness, yet consequences guided his fate to a more hopeful breakthrough that was individuation.
ESSAY PROMT #6
Thesis: Dunstan’s quest to overcome the unbearable guilt he possesses directly influences his enlightenment as a character
Directional statement: In his involvement with the saints, his relationship with Boy and his time spent with Eisengrim’s Company Dunstan’s character continues to evolve
Paragraph 1:
Lead Sentence: The guilt Dunstan experiences sparks his desire to further his study of the saints influencing his character dramatically
Support:
-Finding out about saints brought Dunstan closer to Mrs. Dempster (Blazon and the fool saints)
-The Madonna
-Intelligence
Ever since the snowball incident, Dunstan had the uncontrollable need to give back to Mrs. Dempster. When Dunstan was on his quest to find more out about the saints, it furthered his study in how Mrs. Dempster could or could not be a saint, bringing him closer to her. By doing so, Dunstan felt like he was giving back to Mrs. Dempster, giving her a present of being a saint. He finds out that she is a “fool saint” but this does not change his love for Mrs. Dempster. He is determined to give back everything he took away from her. Through his study’s with the Saints, Dunstan’s mind was cultivated, as in order to read certain ancient scriptures; he had to learn numerous languages. Blazon taught Dunstan that his individual beliefs are powerful enough to become whatever you desire
Paragraph 2:
Lead sentence: Dunstan’s relationship with Boy engaged him in things that he would not otherwise have done, permitting his character development.
Support:
-Financial state
-Employment
-Responsibility (Kids)
-Tamed his character
Explanation:
Since Boy is incredibly smart with money, he aids Dunstan in obtaining some of his own, which helped him to travel and experience new things. Boy also was the main reason that Dunstan became the head of the history department, instead of Headmaster. Boy had numerous distractions in his life, including his many affairs and his work that Dunstan quite often would quietly look over his family. He had to take responsibility to do the things that Boy could not, including caring for the children at Leola’s funeral. As a child, Dunstan envied Milo’s sharp tongue, however even though he had lots he wanted to say to Boy, he tamed his emotions and managed to stay at bay.
Paragraph 3:
Leading sentence: During the time that Dunstan spent with Eisengrim’s company, he developed characteristics he would not have had otherwise.
Support
-Faustina
-Indiscreet talker
-Autobiography
-Eisengrim
-Liesl
Explanation:
While with Eisengrim’s company, Dunstan notices a few changes within himself. He is in love with Faustina, who is beautiful but animal-like and unintelligent. This is someone he would never have fallen for before, and it suprises him that he contains romantic feelings for her. He notices as well that he had once been very conservative and wouldn’t share his secrets with people, but now finds that he reveals everything on his mind to Liesl. He decides to write an autobiography, an opportunity that he received because of Paul Dempster. This helped him gain recognition as an author, and made him happier psychologically.
Conclusion:
Restate thesis: Dunstan is greatly enlightened as a character through his quest to overcome his guilt.
Restate 3 points: Due to his involvement with the Saints, his friendship with Percy and his experiences with Eisengrim’s company, Dunstan’s characters is clearly altered.
Final sentence:
Group Essay Outline
Prompt #4:
With reference to Fifth Business, show that the author develops a central theme through a character who is unable to change his/her course of action.
Introduction:
Thesis: Boy's obsession with his desire for external materials and his appearance prevented him from changing his course of action ultimately causing him to be unable to reach self-fulfillment.
Directional Statement: His self-fulfillment is prevented because of his obsession with the image he is trying to project in his personal life, at his workplace, and in society.
Paragraph 2:
Marriage:
Boy's image of the perfect wife for Leola is a only a part of the image he obsesses for himself.
"He wanted to make her into the perfect wife for a rising entrepreneur in sugar, for he was working hard and fast, and now had a foot in the world of soft drinks, candy, and confectionary." (124)
Children
Boy's image of ideal children were pushed upon his own children, David and Caroline.
"With little Caroline, Boy was humorously gallant. 'How's my little sweetheart tonight?' he would say as he kissed her small hand. When she had been brought in by the nurse, to be shown off to a roomful of guests, Boy always followed them into the hall, to tell Caroline that she had been by far the prettiest girl in the room. Not surprisingly, David had been a confused lad, pitifully anxious to please, and Caroline was spoiled rotten." (185)
Dunstan
Boy's relationship with Dunstan had also been kept as an addition to his perfect image.
"Having me [Dunstan] in the dining room was almost the equivalent of having a Raebum on the walls; I was classy, I was heavily varnished, and I offended nobody." (184)
Paragraph 3:
Corporation Homosexuality
"It was what I thought of as Corporation Homosexuality...Whenever he discovered one of these, [young men] Boy would 'take him up'--ask him to a luncheon at his club, to dinner at his home, and to private chats in his office. He would explain the mystique of business to the young man and push him ahead and as fast as possible in the corporation, sometimes to the chagrin of older men who were not clean cut but were merely capable and efficient." (186)
Alpha Corporation
"He was the President and managing director of Alpha Corporation, a much-respected company that made nothing itself but controlled all the other companies that did." (149)
Minister of Food
"His growth as an industrialist with figuratively speaking, his finger in hundreds of millions of pies, not to speak of other popular goodies, made him a man of might in the national economy, and when the war demanded that the ablest men in the country be pressed into the national service, who but he was the obvious candidate for the post of Minister of Food in a coalition Cabinet?" (193)
Paragraph 4:
Politics
"It seemed to me that everything about Boy was wrong for politics: he was very rich and rich men are not loved by the majority; he was handsome and handsome men are not popular in politics, even with the women; he had no political friends and could not understand why they were necessary." (238)
Prince of Wales
His obsession with aristocracy had led to the desire of having a relationship with the royal family in any sort.
"His ambitions did not rest in finance alone; he had built firmly on his association with the Prince of Wales, and though in hard fact it did not amount to more than the reception of a monogrammed Christmas card once a year it bulked substantially, though never quite to the point of absurdity, in his conversation." (151)
ColbourneCollege
Boy's image of himself was more important to him compared Dunstan's job and hard work as Headmaster.
"'Parents nowadays want someone more like themselves [Dunstan].'
'A Headmaster in their own image, eh?'" (199)
Conclusion:
- Boy was never able to fulfill himself completely due to his preoccupation with superficiality.
Essay Outline
4) With reference to Fifth Business, show that the author develops a central theme through a character who is unable to change his/her course of action.
Boy - obsession with the external
Thematic Statement: An individual’s obsession with external values can lead to one neglecting his inner self.
Thesis Statement: Due to Boy’s obsession with external things, he is unable to reach self-realization, thus ultimately leading to his demise.
Directional Statement: Boy’s numerous obsessions with external factors, such as sex, wealth, and his public image, lead to untimely demise.
Point 1: Obsession with sex (as in, with women, and with regards to gender roles)
- “Sex was so much of the very grain of Boy’s life that he noticed it no more than the air he breathed. Little David must be manly in all things…With little Caroline, Boy was humorously gallant…When she had been brought in by the nurse, to be shown off to a roomful of guests, Boy always followed them into the hall to tell Caroline that she had been by far the prettiest girl in the room.” (p. 184)
- “He was explicit about his sexual needs; he had to have intercourse often, and it had to be all sorts of things--intense, passionate, cruel, witty, challenging--and he had to have it with a Real Woman…So there were two or three women in Montreal…whom he visited as often as he could.” (p. 185)
- “A man of my physical needs can’t be tied down to one woman…who doesn’t give anything, who just lies there like a damned sandbag.”