The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing Essay - 1618 Words

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing The character of Ben Lovatt in Doris Lessings The Fifth Child is one that is very powerful, and also extremely interesting. He is violent, and unbelievably strong, yet he would not be able to fend for himself in the big, bad World. Doris Lessings use of a very effective mixture of characterisation, symbolism and language use result in a very intriguing and fascinating novel. At the start of the novel, the reader is lulled into a sense of happiness and perfection in the lives of Harriet and David. The description of the house that they buy gives the impression that they have lots of positive plans for the future. When the house is being described, there†¦show more content†¦She is in constant pain, and unable to do anything at all. The pain even becomes so unbearable that she has to take steroids to mitigate the pain. The baby inside of her is often referred to as the enemy and also a fearful strength. This negative language gives the reader the impression that things are not right, with the pregnancy, and the baby inside of Harriet. Harriet has a really hard time of things whilst carrying Ben inside of her. She is constantly in pain, and thus resulting in her being extremely snappy towards others. This gives the impression that things are on the decline. The fifth child causes David and Harriet to drift further apart. It becomes so extreme that they are sleeping in different rooms. This is a really big sign that the relationship between Harriet and David is waning. This is a big thing because they were a very happy couple before there was any presence of Ben, whether it was inside of Harriet or after he was born. At night, David heard her moan, or whimper, but now he did not offer comfort, for it seems that she did not find his arms around her any help This shows how badly things had become between David and Harriet. Harriets relationship with her children deteriorates, and things become really severe. It goes to the point where she has to secretly visit her children in their beds soShow MoreRelatedThe Fifth Child By Doris Lessing2001 Words   |  9 Pagescan a society both create and deny a monster? In 1989, Doris Lessing published The Fifth Child, a book about a couple who take on way more than they can handle with debt, a large family and an ideal life that they think will make them happy; but in the end, destroys everything. Traditionally, we think of monsters as having evil intent to harm or ugly appearances, but the older we get, the less obvious monsters become. Through her story, Lessing make us reflect deeply on how monsters function in theRead MoreThe Fifth Child by Doris Lessing644 Words   |  3 PagesThe Fifth Child is the masterpiece of Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing. Lessing herself described it as a horror story, but we can also put it into the genre of social –psy chological novels. She declared: I hated writing it. It was sweating blood. I was very glad when it was done. It was an upsetting thing to write - obviously, it goes very deep into me somewhere. It is a brilliant novel which deals not just with the social aspect of family life in England at the end of 19th century but withRead MoreWomens Writing and Writing about Women: Doris Lessings The Golden Notebook1968 Words   |  8 PagesDoris Lessing is definitely one of the most instrumental women writers in the 20th century. In the year 1962, her chef-doeuvre The Golden Notebook was published. It is regarded as the companion volume of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex. The novel soon becomes popular among the feminists because of its realistic description about women’s independence, consciousness and their living condition. This paper has been written with the aim to interpret The Golden Notebook from feminist perspective.Read More Doris Lessings The Fifth Child Essay ex ample3094 Words   |  13 PagesIn her novel The Fifth Child, published in 1988, Doris Lessing examines how one couple’s search for happiness has tragic implications. In this case, the couple, David and Harriet, and the family are slowly destroyed by the presence of the fifth child, Ben, who is unattractive, shows no emotions or attachments to other people, and is destructive. The other children in the family seem to be able to cope on a normal, socially acceptable level, but Ben never seems to be able to grasp acceptable behavior