In Robertson Davies' novel Fifth Business is it necessary for the characters to reinvent themselves in order to survive?

ROBERTSON DAVIES` NOVEL FIFTH BUSINESS Student`s Name Name of Lecturer Name of Institution Date of Submission Thesis statement: Throughout the course of human history the recurring theme of change has enabled both our survival and advancement; in Roberson Davies` Fifth Business this theme manifests itself in the book`s characters with varying degrees of success. Introduction Throughout the course of human history the recurring theme of change has enabled both our survival and advancement; In Robertson Davies` Fifth Business this theme manifests itself in the book`s characters with varying degrees of success. These characters forfeit their ideals and identities cultivated in Deptford to either fit in with modern society, advance further socially and economically, or run from their past. The characters Boy, Dunstan, and Paul, all attempt to reinvent themselves throughout the novel. By examining what caused their reinvention, and then looking at how positively or negatively this affected their characters throughout the novel, it can be determined how effective or ineffective the character`s attempt at change where. This book is about the depiction of the non-permanent situation in the world. Things change characters also change significantly throughout the book. The character`s change in the book is deliberate and each of the changes has a purpose. The author adds that the world is more of an enchanted landscape with dissimilarities all over. There is need for the characters in the novel to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Most of the characters in the book including the author had to go through a series of transformations in order to survive. The author for instance, was raised in a Presbyterian Church but later on rejected some of its doctrines that he felt were oppressive. He later on transformed into Orthodox Christianity which greatly impacted his life. A boy in the novel is a man in miniature though in some cases he portrays some notable virtues. He can also be depicted as a schemer, self seeker and a traitor. The theme of being born twice is very prevalent in the novel and has been depicted by several characters in the novel among them: Dunny, Percy and Paul. The three characters change their names deny their past and then transform their characters to show some characters that their parents had never imagined. At the end of the narration, the three characters demonstrate the same boyhood characters that they portrayed several years ago before being transformed into the new beings we saw a few years ago. They can therefore be considered thrice ...