In Fifth Business, Boy, Dunstan and Paul all move out of Deptford and take on new
identities. While their lives had been significantly changed, there were always aspects
from their previous lives that they carried with them and eventually succumbed to. Each
character evolved differently and went through a very separate set of experiences, but
eventually it all came back to them trying to find their identity and place in the world.
While they could all be called successful at this, it doesn’t end very well for any of them.
Dunstan’s relationship with his mother as a child and young adult forever changed his
opinion on women. Growing up, Dunstan’s mother was very controlling and strict as well
as competent and dominant. This effected …show more content…
After finding her
in the gravel pit, Dunstan never saw Mrs. Dempster the same way again. Throughout
the rest of his life, Dunstan’s relationships with women were based around his
experiences as a young adult. He never really developed a relationship with a woman
until he meets Liesl and continued having meaningless sexual relationships with women
for the rest of his life.
Paul never really had a fair chance in life, from the time he was born he was surrounded
by trouble. After he was born prematurely due to the snowball thrown at his mother by
Boy, he faces more challenges than any other character. His mother is seen by the town
as an insane woman who slept with a homeless man and cannot take care of or control
herself. He is teased at school for being very small, and his father never has much
interest in him. Eventually this all builds up inside him and he runs away from Deptford
at age 10 to pursue a career in the circus. This is unknown to most until Dunstan comes
across him one day. At this point Dustan is taking care of Mrs. Dempster again and
avoids telling her he has found her son until later on, when she was told this
identities. While their lives had been significantly changed, there were always aspects
from their previous lives that they carried with them and eventually succumbed to. Each
character evolved differently and went through a very separate set of experiences, but
eventually it all came back to them trying to find their identity and place in the world.
While they could all be called successful at this, it doesn’t end very well for any of them.
Dunstan’s relationship with his mother as a child and young adult forever changed his
opinion on women. Growing up, Dunstan’s mother was very controlling and strict as well
as competent and dominant. This effected …show more content…
After finding her
in the gravel pit, Dunstan never saw Mrs. Dempster the same way again. Throughout
the rest of his life, Dunstan’s relationships with women were based around his
experiences as a young adult. He never really developed a relationship with a woman
until he meets Liesl and continued having meaningless sexual relationships with women
for the rest of his life.
Paul never really had a fair chance in life, from the time he was born he was surrounded
by trouble. After he was born prematurely due to the snowball thrown at his mother by
Boy, he faces more challenges than any other character. His mother is seen by the town
as an insane woman who slept with a homeless man and cannot take care of or control
herself. He is teased at school for being very small, and his father never has much
interest in him. Eventually this all builds up inside him and he runs away from Deptford
at age 10 to pursue a career in the circus. This is unknown to most until Dunstan comes
across him one day. At this point Dustan is taking care of Mrs. Dempster again and
avoids telling her he has found her son until later on, when she was told this