Fifth Business
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Themes
All Themes Religion, Faith, and Morality Guilt and Sacrifice The Meaning of Success History and Mythology Love, Family, and Psychology
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Dunstan Ramsay Mrs. Mary Dempster Paul Dempster Mr. Amasa Dempster Boy (Percy Boyd) Staunton Willie Ramsay Leola Cruikshank Liesl Faustina Padre Blazon The Headmaster
Symbols
All Symbols The stone in the snowball Dunstan Ramsay’s leg
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Fifth Business

by

Robertson Davies

Upgrade to A+
Introduction Intro
Plot Summary Plot
Summary & Analysis
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4
  • Part 5
  • Part 6
Themes
  • All Themes
  • Religion, Faith, and Morality Theme Icon
    Religion, Faith, and Morality
  • Guilt and Sacrifice Theme Icon
    Guilt and Sacrifice
  • The Meaning of Success Theme Icon
    The Meaning of Success
  • History and Mythology Theme Icon
    History and Mythology
  • Love, Family, and Psychology Theme Icon
    Love, Family, and Psychology
Quotes
Characters
  • All Characters
  • Dunstan Ramsay
  • Mrs. Mary Dempster
  • Paul Dempster
  • Mr. Amasa Dempster
  • Boy (Percy Boyd) Staunton
  • Willie Ramsay
  • Leola Cruikshank
  • Liesl
  • Faustina
  • Padre Blazon
  • The Headmaster
Symbols
  • All Symbols
  • The stone in the snowball Symbol Icon
    The stone in the snowball
  • Dunstan Ramsay’s leg Symbol Icon
    Dunstan Ramsay’s leg
Theme Wheel Theme Viz
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Download the Teacher Edition
Download this Chart (PDF)
Previous
The Headmaster

Fifth Business Symbols

Next
The stone in the snowball

The stone in the snowball

Percy packs a stone into the snowball that accidentally strikes Mary Dempster’s head instead of Dunstan’s. At the end of the novel it is revealed that Dunstan has kept this stone his whole life, unwilling… read analysis of The stone in the snowball

The stone in the snowball Symbol Icon

Dunstan Ramsay’s leg

Dunstan’s leg is lost due to a wartime injury. The injury occurs during a mission that Dunstan succeeded in only because he got lucky, in which he unintentionally snuck up behind a German Machine gun… read analysis of Dunstan Ramsay’s leg

Dunstan Ramsay’s leg Symbol Icon
Previous
The Headmaster
Previous
The Headmaster
Next
The stone in the snowball
Next
The stone in the snowball

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