Success Acheived by Characters in Fifth Business

Success Acheived by Characters in Fifth Business

  • Submitted By: sbspkk2525
  • Date Submitted: 01/05/2009 4:39 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 552
  • Page: 3
  • Views: 1

Success is defined as the accomplishment of one’s goal but can actually be attained and assessed on many different levels. The characters of Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business each acquire individual successes but not always are their successes considered prosperous by other characters. Several of these characters succeed in ways which are not always recognized by the majority of society but which effectively fulfil the objectives that they have set out for themselves. Three characters who display these successes are Dunstan Ramsay, Paul Dempster and, in a different but equally important way, Mary Dempster. Dunny achieves personal success not only through his studies of saints but also through his encounters at war. Paul manages to escape the reality of his life in Deptford to begin a new experience in a foreign land which leads to an eventual career in magic. The success that Mary Dempster reaches in the novel is limited due to her incompetence as a social figure in Deptford, but has been in fact altered to a different form which aids others to succeed. In the novel, Davies is implying that one can’t succeed when allowing the opinions of others to overpower their own, but in order to attain true success one must ignore the influence of society’s voice and concentrate on personal desires.
Paul Dempster also acquires his successes in life through new experiences which he has encountered. When Paul decides to leave Deptford for a new life in Europe, he himself makes the choice and accepts no input from his family. His character change into Eisengrim brings him success in many ways but perhaps not according to societal standards. People may believe that family is the most important thing that one can have, but because Paul takes a chance and abandons his life and family in Deptford, he reaches success as Eisengrim. The success that he achieves as Eisengrim is based upon the appearance of magic in his career. Paul essentially made a career through one of his passion...

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