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Fifth Business Guilt Quotes

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Guilt is a dangerous emotion that everyone has felt at some point during their lives. Guilt is one of the main themes in the book, Fifth Business. Throughout Fifth Business, it is best to take action to atone for guilt because it builds character and because the suppression or absence of it will lead to severe consequences. The majority of the guilt in this story comes from Dunstan Ramsey, who is overpowered by the guilt he feels towards Mrs. Dempster, but the opposite is also seen, in the form of Percy (Boy) Staunton, who feels no guilt whatsoever for any of his actions. In Fifth Business, guilt is the overarching theme that takes control of the book instantly and never loses sway. Throughout Fifth Business, Dunstan constantly feels guilt …show more content…

This leads him to defending Mrs. Dempster whenever someone said bad things about her, which was a very brave thing to do considering that everyone in the town thought badly of her. Overall, Dunstan’s guilt towards Mrs. Dempster and Paul is proved through these quotes and his actions afterwards, such as doing chores and sticking up for them. Dunstan’s inner longing to atone for his guilt towards Mrs. Dempster continues in his adulthood, as even after the war his guilt leads him to meet with Mrs. Dempster once again. In a conversation with Surgeoner, the former tramp who owes his new life to Mrs. Dempster, Dunstan says: “There was to be no release by muffling up the past.” (Davies, 124). This quote proves that Dunstan has not been able to extinguish the guilt inside himself towards Mrs. Dempster. It also proves Dunstan has learned that there is no point in trying to extinguish his guilt and that he still has to atone for his actions. This builds Dunstan’s character because he decides to figure out where Mrs. Dempster is and meet with her. He ends up meeting with her and her aunt, Miss Bertha Shanklin, and he builds a relationship with them, visiting them every Saturday for lunch for 4

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