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Examples Of Maturation In Fifth Business

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Maturation is a natural phenomenon experienced by everyone. It starts from the day birth and continues until death. Although this process is natural and will happen inevitably, different people in a person’s life can hasten it. For example, a person can be spurred away from home by his family and forced to mature prematurely. As well, someone could say something to make one see the world a different way. Also, a friend or neighbour could teach a person a lot about themself that they did not know before. In Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business the static characters of Mrs. Ramsay, Mary Dempster, and Liesl influence the mental maturation of Dunny by providing him with encounters that change his perspective on life and himself. Dunstan’s mother acts …show more content…

After the war when he is recovering from his injuries, Diana nurses Dunstan back to health. Over time, one thing leads to another and they get involved romantically. It is during their relationship that Dunstan loses his virginity to her. He recognizes this as an “important step towards the completion of my (Dunstan’s) manhood.” It is a maturing experience because he discovers a new side of himself and in doing so gets to know himself better. Secondly, Diana suggests that he change his name from Dunstable to Dunstan. Dunstan likes the idea and goes through with it because “it suggested a new freedom and new personality” (FB, 90). The name change gives Dunstan a psychological push to complete his transformation from the little boy he was to the man he wants to be. As part of this transformation, he decides that he needs to leave Diana because she represents too much of the Mother archetype that he is trying to flee from. Diana helps Dunstan with his individuation process and with his transformation into the man he wants to …show more content…

She helps Dunstan unite is consciousness and unconsciousness and in doing so, discover his inner Self. First, she tells him the role that she believes he plays in the world, which is Fifth Business. She describes Fifth Business as, He is the odd man out, the person who has no opposite of the other sex. And you must have Fifth Business because he is the one who knows the secret of the hero’s birth, or comes to the assistance of the heroine when she thinks all is lost, or keeps the hermitess in her cell, or may even be the cause of somebody’s death if that is part of the plot…you cannot manage the plot without Fifth Business! (FB, 217) Finally, Dunstan is presented with the truth that he had not been able to discover for his whole life. Next, Liesl suggests that to be truly happy Dunstan must “shake hands with your (Dunstan’s) devil” (FB, 217). In other words, he must do something selfish as opposed to making his life revolve around others. He ends up doing this by way of having sex with Liesl. Afterwards he says, “Never have I known such deep delight or such an aftermath of healing tenderness!” (FB, 218). For the first time in his life he feels truly happy and at peace. Dunstan’s maturation is completed when he fully discovers himself with the help of the insight gained from

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402 Words | 2 Pages

Lastly Diana influences Dunstable to begin a new life. To begin with Liesl acts as dunstables person devil and influences him to be more cautious with people. On one encounter with Liesel she entices him to let his own inner evil out. “You should take a look at this side of your life you have not lived. Now don’t wriggle and snuffle and try to protest.

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316 Words | 2 Pages

Carl Jung once said that every individual has a shadow, which is the negative part of our personality. In the novel, Fifth Business written by Robertson Davies dedicate the connotation of life through Jungian archetypes. Primarily in the beginning of the novel, Percy Boy Staunton obscure the stone inside of a snowball and pitched it to Dunstan Ramsay due to his anger. Dunstan Ramsay elude and dodge the snowball and accidentally hit Mary Dempster.

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1531 Words | 7 Pages

Through speaking with Liesl, he learns about his role as Fifth Business and the hidden parts of his soul, such as his inner violent and sexual urges. This realisation helps Dunstan to finally begin to acknowledge his subconscious, and start to work past it. It is due to his exchange with Liesl that Dunstan goes to confront Boy about throwing the snowball, and through this he finally starts to break the Fifth Business mould. Additionally, while Liesl helped Dunstan to become more self-aware, Dunstan’s travels to study saints shape his personality. Dunstan’s interest in saints develops Dunstan’s character though inspiring and encouraging him to find joy and interest in his life.

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87 Words | 1 Pages

Davies story "Fifth Business" is based from his personal experience which he incorporates into his novel by somewhat reliving through Dunstan. The first parallel is that both men both grew up in Canada and although they've lived in other places they always ended up back home where they felt a sense of belonging even with their towns critics. The second parallel is both men had an interest on magic and the stage it fascinated them. The third parallel is both men were novelist successful writers and

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675 Words | 3 Pages

Personal experiences often shape how people see the world. This can be said for people’s views of love and what love means to the individual. In Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie searches for love and what true love is to her ever since she first got married. As Janie lives her life, she experiences marriage with three men: Logan Killicks, Jody starks, and Tea Cake, each of whom she initially believes she loves. However, as the story continues, she realizes that she does not truly love any of them except for Tea Cake.

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585 Words | 3 Pages

When he had made his daughter sad, he eventually apologizes to her like a real father. When his daughter is at her first day of school and nervous with anxiety, he calms her down and tries to cheer her up before letting her go off. He shows good fatherly traits with morals especially after his injury. He discovers that his wife cheated on him a while ago and when he first finds out he is furiated. Eventually, he remembers his character and his past actions and realizes that it was because of him.

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This protective nature is even more evident in this moment because she does not know where her son has gone, and not wanting to lose anyone else she is harsh towards Denwood. Miss Kathleen is a compassionate and protective woman, these traits make her a complex

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In society most people have to come to terms with maturity and leave behind their innocence, but those who fail to do so perish in their identity, and those who succeed are greeted with an evolution of identity. In John Knowles’, “A Separate Peace”, characters Gene, Finny, and Leper struggle to come to terms with an evolution of identity. All of them are portrayed going through trial after trial, attempting to mature as people and ultimately find themselves evolving or perishing. Gene does succeed in evolving his identity, however Finny and Leper are not so lucky; fail to evolve and ultimately perish. In John Knowles’, “A Separate Peace” there are prime examples of those who evolve into their newfound identities and those who perish in their old ones, unable to move on.

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In John Collier's "The Chaser," Alan Austen is roused independent from anyone else’s adoration. This short story of yearning, control and future homicide conveys all the characteristics of egotistical affection. His narcissistic perspective of adoration is confirm in his yearning to be the object of Diana's fixations, his eagerness to seek after affection through fraud, and through the story's anticipating of his unavoidable come back to purchase the harmful "life-cleaner" giving an approach to murder Diana. The story first demonstrates that Alan is spurred without anyone else's input love when he communicates his pleasure at turning into the object of her fixation.

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These actions show a colossal change in character development from a shy individual to an audacious young man beginning to grasp the understanding of

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Dunstan “despises almost everyone except Paul’s mother” (pg. 208) when “he should have spread the affection amongst fifty people.” (pg. 208). Moreover, according to Liesl it is their fault Dunstan befriended loneliness and took the role of a stranger in his own life. Dunstan do not marry because of his guilt, which leads him to think he does not deserve love. As Dunstan is tortured by guilt he

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719 Words | 3 Pages

Every child at some stage in their lift begins maturing. For many it takes place when a child becomes with a mentor and begins to get a sense of direction in their life. When I was young my Dad and I grew close, this helped keep me out of trouble. My dad got me fascinated with business and engineering. Ever since I have known where I want to go in life.

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969 Words | 4 Pages

Innocence and Self Discovery In All The Pretty Horses As every person starts innocent and pure, time slowly picks away at that purity through relationships and new experiences. The journey made to find themselves reveals the hard truth that youth can’t be forever. John Grady Cole’s repetitive image of innocence throughout his journey explains his maturity when he returns home.

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542 Words | 3 Pages

As they go through this stage young people will begin to solve problems more easily and have an appreciation of other people’s views and opinions. However as they are still inexperienced in life a young person may appear immature at times with regards to their ways of thinking and speech. During the Emotional Development stage, a young person will begin to spend less time with their parents and want to spend more time with their friends socialising instead. A young person may also feel conflicted at times, as they will want the affection from parents, however this is usually short lived as the young person will then also reject it when it is given.

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1303 Words | 6 Pages

A maturationist is defined as someone who believes that the role of education is to inactively support the growth of a child rather than actively fill the child with information. Arnold Gesell was considered to be a maturationist in developmental psychology. According to Gesell’s Maturational Theory, a child or teenager will progress only according to what they have programmed in his or her genetics. He came up with a series of stages in which

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