The book Fifth Business by Robertson Davies is written from the narrator's point of view; a man named Dunstable Ramsay. From the readers' perspective, we view him as the main character, but as the novel progresses, he and those he meets begin to view it as a fifth company. The novel shows and follows Dunstan Ramsay in his quest for self-knowledge and ultimately fulfilling his role as the "Fifth Company" in the eyes of a number of people. It is evident that throughout the novel he reminds himself and the reader that in fact his life and the lives of those close to him do not necessarily revolve around him, but he still plays a big role in influencing their respective lives. The novel consistently shows instances where guilt and competition play a role in shaping the character's decisions. Thesis: During the novel Fifth Business, the narrator, Dunstan, after meeting a number of important characters, goes on a quest to try to fulfill his mandate. representation of the fifth company; an unopposed secondary character, who is neither a hero/heroine nor a villain, but who still plays a big role in the progression of the plot. There are three characters that stand out as being the main reasons why Dunstan is the fifth company; Mary Dempster, Paul Dempster and Percy Boyd Staunton. During this trial, Dunstan's position in their respective lives will be discovered, showing that he is in fact the Fifth Company. Dunstan plays the role of the fifth company in these people's lives because in the book he talks more about others than himself. Another reason for this is that he is more of an observer and likes to watch things unfold and people go about their daily lives, instead of being emotionally engaged in every moment...... in the middle from a paper ...... r Dunstan's illusionist talents. As soon as Dunstan realized that Eisengrim was Paul, he knew that he had influenced his life and led him on the path he had followed all his life. Body Paragraph 3: Point: A third character who sees Dunstan as the Fifth Company would be Percy Boyd Staunton. . Growing up, Percy was Dunstan's best friend and enemy (they had "foils" for each other), and over time, they grew distant from each other when Dunstan entered at war. However, they never forgot each other. They continued to meet several times later in the book, when they were both much older. A recurring theme between the two would be guilt and competition. This theme was first brought up during their childhood, when they both wanted Leola Cruickshank for themselves. Before Dunstan is Percy's fifth affair as well as Percy and Leola as a couple.