Alessandra Sanfratello

Key Passage Analysis

Mrs. Anderson
January 31, 2017

Dunnys role in Fifth Business is unclear in terms of his inability to clearly fit into a set

archetype and as his character develops through his interaction with others it is becomes

evident that Dunny is fifth business. While characters such as Boy, Paul, and Leola can clearly

be defined into certain archetypes with visible roles, Dunnys role remains unclear throughout

the novel and one looks to his actions, such as his obsession with Mary Dempster and his

ifth Business.
interactions with people in order to decipher Dunnys role or purpose in F

When returning from the war, everyone sees Dunny as a heroic figure and sees past

Dunnys true character in order to fulfill their own desire and need. Dunny wears the mask of a

hero for the public, but realizes that he is not doing it because he truly believes he is a hero, he

is doing it because people seem to need heroes. Once Dunny puts on this mask, Carl Jungs

theory of masks and archetypes starts to become a central theme in the novel.

When the King awards Dunny with the heros medal, Dunny undergoes a revelation

where he sees himself putting on the mask of a hero in order to fulfill their need. In making a

parallel connection to the King and how he similarly wears a mask due to his ancestral duty,

Davies demonstrates each of their roles in terms of how the public views them. We are public

icons, we two: he an icon of kingship, and I an icon of heroism, unreal yet very necessary; we

have obligations above what is merely personal, and to let personal feelings obscure the

obligations would be failing in ones duty (77). It is evident that both the King and Dunny are

both wearing these masks because they feel it is what is necessary and it is what they are

obliged to do because in the eyes of the public it is their duty. Dunny knows, however, that he

has not committed a worthy act of heroism that is notable enough to deserve the award, but in
order to please the people and not disrupt the public opinion and view on himself, he goes along

with it.

Through this characterization of Dunny and development of the central theme that ties

into Jungs theory and psychology, it can be argued that Davies is juxtaposing or challenging

the conceptions of a hero. While the popular conception of a hero might be to say that a hero is

individualized, Jungs theory would suggest that it is just a role being played, complicating the

whole idea of a hero. It is ironic that Dunny is being awarded a heros pin and is being honored

by so many because in looking at Dunnys true character, he would not be one to be praised as

an iconic figure as he is an outcast and outsider to many peoples lives. He only accepts the

medal and plays along with the role of the hero, because he feels it is what is necessary for the

benefit of the people.

Dunnys ability to recognize that he is wearing this mask and that he is not actually

fulfilling the role of a hero, further supports that he is fifth business. He is playing the role of a

supporting character in order to fulfill others needs, even if those needs are not ones of his own

spiritual desire. This makes people question whether or not all heroes, or people in any role for

that matter, are just wearing a mask in order to please others and not because they are truly

fulfilling that role for both their benefit and the benefit of others. Once the lack of fulfillment for

ones self is shown, it is evident that a mask is being worn and their role becomes less praised

and seen as fake and unauthentic.

Through this school of thought, it can be said that all people are wearing masks as

people are constantly trying to please and fulfill others needs and are living out their roles

because they feel it is what is necessary, not what they necessarily want. This makes the reader

question whether or not the rest of the characters are wearing masks and whether or not people

in their own daily lives are wearing masks because it is what society has instilled onto everyone.
 This passage is essential in order for the readers to understand the ways in which masks and

archetypes are carried out throughout the rest of the novel in accordance with Jungs

ifth Business and urges

psychology. Dunnys revelation is what sets up this central theme in F

the reader to complicate previous conceptions they had on the characters in the novel, while still

unfolding Dunnys character as fifth business.