Fifth Business Essay Outline
June 5, 2009
Prompt #3: Show that a conflict based on morals or values is used to develop a central
theme in Fifth Business?
Introduction
Theme:
Repressing one’s true feelings and values during childhood results in loneliness
and confusion of one’s true self.
Thesis:
Throughout Fifth Business, Dunstan Ramsey fails in understanding and accepting
his true values and self, which develops as a consequence of the conflicting values
between himself and the people whom he is exposed to during his youth.
Directional Statement:
Conflicted between his own values and those of his friend Boy, his mother and
the Deptford society, Dunstan experiences a conflict of values within himself throughout
his life.
Body paragraph #1
Topic sentence:
Because of Dunstan and friend Boy's opposing views of the Dempster family
during their childhood, Dunstan is faced with a lifetime of uncertainty concerning the
meaning of his relationship with Mary Dempster.
Support:
1. “I was contrite and guilty, for I knew that the snowball had been meant for me” (p.3)
2. “I thought in a flash it must be the crowned woman in Revelation – she who had the
moon beneath her feet and was menaced by the Red Dragon. But what hit me worse than
the blow of the shrapnel was that the face was Mrs. Dempster’s face” (p.74)
3. “…and then I wept. I had not done such a thing since my mother had beaten me so
many years before…and it frightened and hurt me” (p.249)
Explanations:
1. Because Boy is unable to experience the same sense of culpability from the snowball
incident, Dunstan’s own feelings of guilt are intensified. And although he wishes to
reveal that it was him and Boy who caused the premature birth of Mrs. Dempster’s son,
he is unable to do this because of threats from Boy, and is therefore conflicted between
staying true to what he feels is the right thing to do and Boy’s ideas about how they
should handle the situation.
2. By seeing the face of Mary Dempster in a time where he should be concerned about his
own life, Dunstan demonstrates the strong connection he feels toward Mary despite
others’ negative perceptions of her. His surprised reaction shows that he still feels some
confusion towards understanding the nature of their bond, not fully comprehending why
he sees her face rather than the face of someone closer to him. This reinforces the conflict
between his true values and those that were instilled in him by Boy as a child.
3. Dunstan is unable to refrain from crying after Mary Dempster’s death, which causes
him to doubt his own values. Feeling ashamed for having not cried after his own mother’s
death, the quote reveals that Dunstan looks down on himself for not having felt the way
that he believes is the proper way to feel, and ties into the way Boy made him feel about
Mary during their youth.
Conclusion sentence:
Boy and Mary Dempster both being a large part of his life, Dunstan remains torn
between which relationship he values more, and is thus confused of his own values.
Body paragraph #2
Topic sentence:
Initiated from the strict values that his mother tried instilling in him as a boy,
Dunstan is not able to develop complete relationships with women during his life.
Support:
1. “I know I’ll never have another anxious moment with my dear laddie” (p.30)
2. “I had no intention of being anybody’s own dear laddie, ever again” (p.85)
3. "I had survived my boyish love for Diana, and I certainly had survived anything I ever
felt for Leola." (p.190)
Explanations:
1. Dunstan’s mother says this after chasing Dunstan around the house attempting to hit
him with a whip for stealing an egg. This quote demonstrates the over bearing nature of
his mother by the way she intimidates him to never disappoint her ever again. His mother
is responsible for his hesitation to women latter in life for he never want to be in his
childhood situation ever again.
2. This quote represents the significance of Dunstan’s mother’s impact on his relationship
with Diana. He feels as though Diana feels responsible for him which is too similar to his
mother overbearing nature which is represent by the fact that he never wants to be an
“own dear laddie” again. The repetition of “laddie” also echoes the theme of his
childhood values still being present.
3. The firm denial of the thought that he could ever love Leola is absurd to Dunstan
because he has forgotten how to love and couldn’t imagine living his life with another
person. This shows that even when Leola was begging him to love her he refuses to do so
Conclusion sentence:
Despite his desire for affection, Dunstan is unable to give or receive love from
those women who care for him, and is left feeling ashamed of himself and incomplete.
Body paragraph #3
Topic sentence:
Stimulated by the conflict between his own values and those of the Deptoford
society, Dunstan becomes concerned with how he is regarded by society.
Support:
1. “This increased my sense of isolation- of being forced out of the world I belonged to
into the strange and unchancy world of the Dempsters.” (p. )
2. “Society had decided to regard me as a hero, and though I knew that I was no more a
hero than many other men I had fought with, … I determined to let society regard me as
it pleased.” (p.85)
3. “I heard myself talking boastfully, lying shamelessly. I blushed but could not control
myself.” (p.218)
Explanations:
1. Because the Dempster family is alienated from the rest of the Deptford society as a
result of rumours concerning Mary’s odd character, Dunstan himself is alienated from his
friends because of his association with the Dempsters. He understands this, and is
therefore conflicted between conforming to society’s values concerning the acceptable
characteristics of a proper family, and his own value of not ignoring the people he enjoys
simply to be accepted by others.
2. By accepting the title of hero because of his contribution during battle in the war,
Dunstan receives acceptance and recognition that he was not given as a child, therefore
showing a lack of humility. He reveals through his thoughts, however, that his values are
indeed humble, which reinforces that he experiences doubt about the validity and
genuineness of his own values as a result society’s views of respectability he was
exposed to in childhood.
3. Having worked hard on the famous Eisengrim’s biography and having inputted many
ideas towards the magician’s performances, Dunstan feels that he deserves some
recognition for his contributions. He does not want to admit to his true feelings to others
because he understands that they are not respectable and is embarrassed because of them.
Dunstan is thus faced again with the conflict between humility and revealing his true
feelings, that society could regard as perhaps conceited and unadmirable.
Conclusion sentence:
Dunstan demonstrates that he cares about society's opinion of him, and is
therefore unable to reveal and accept his true self.