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5th


            
            
             Guilt is defined as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime or wrong committed. Guilt is a major theme in the novel Fifth Business. Dunny has been raised in a strict Presbyterian household which has encouraged him to feel guilt about many minor things. Even though Paul was not born at the time of the snowball incident, Paul Dempster still feels guilty towards his mothers simple mindedness. Percy Boyd Stautons repressed guilt does considerable damage and ultimately recoils on himself. In Fifth Business many characters feel guilt due to the snowball incident. Dunny Ramsay feels extremely guilty because he had anticipated that Percy, with whom he had been arguing, would throw one final snowball at him before he eats dinner. He felt Mrs. Ramsay's pain when she was crying. "I had never heard an adult cry in pain before and the sound was terrible for me."(Page 3) Dunny is still very young, and most likely, he has the perception that the adults should be the strong ones. To hear Mrs. Dempster cry must have been very emotionally difficult for him. The guilt Dunny experienced, will forever remain with him and his friend Paul Dempster for the rest of the novel. When Paul Dempster is old enough to understand, he blames himself for causing his mother simple mindedness because it was his birth that caused it. The townspeople worsened his guilt by keeping a distance from him. "The dislike so many people felt for his mother - dislike for the queer and persistently unfortunate they attached to the unoffending son."(Page 34) Paul Dempster is looked at down upon because of his mother's actions that affect him. Once Paul understands his situation, his guilt then lives with him forever, unlike Percy whose guilt is undetected. Percy Boyd Stauton apparently feels no guilt at all throughout the novel. When Ramsay tries to confront him with the responsibility, Percy takes no responsibility when he states, "I threw a snowball at you and I guess it gave you a good smack.


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