Every person, at some point in his life did something he is not really proud of. After, somebody might experience a feeling of guilt. Usually, it won't last very long. But sometimes, when your action has terrible consequences, you can experience guilt all your life. In the story Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the author shows that guilt can have a big impact on a man's life. After the snowball incident in which Dunstan and Boy were implicated, Dunstan feels guilt while Boy tries to avoid this guilt all his life. This guilt is felt because the snowball made Mary Dempster have an early birth of his son, which is not perfectly healthy. Throughout the story, the author uses characters, contrast and symbols to demonstrate his theme.
             The author reveals the theme of guilt through the main character Dunstan Ramsay. He is an intellectual man who is quite solitary and who feels very guilty about the snowball incident that happened when he was younger. Dunstan, when he was about 10 years old, was playing with his friend Boy. They were throwing snowballs at each other. Boy decided to put a rock in one of the snowballs. He threw it at Dunstan but instead of hitting him, he hit Mary Dempter on the head. She was pregnant and this caused her to have an early birth of her son, Paul. Mary also became a bit crazy and everybody though it was because of the snowball. Boy, even if he threw the snowball, was not feeling guilty. Dunstan on the other hand was feeling very guilty. He could not stop thinking about what he did. He was feeling very bad. His mother convinced him to take care of Mary Dempster. However, all his good actions towards Mary and Paul did not make his guilt go away. "I was of the damned." Dunstan is sure that he is not seen as a good child in the eyes of God. He feels completely hopeless about his situation. He is not quite sure how to get rid of this guilt because he is the only one to face it. Boy do
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