Works Cited :

• Lessing, Doris. The Fifth Child. New York: Random House , Inc., 1988. Print.

Pg:116-133 Analysis:

• Harriet felt as though she was the scapegoat of the family, the “destroyer of the family” It wasn’t in her nature to leave Ben in the institution and go on with her happy family. After the family drifted apart she focused more on Ben and Paul. Ben started to make friends at first and that relieved Harriet that he was socializing. But Ben was in the wrong crowd, doing things that were illegal. We see that in the end he was only on the search to find someone out there who was just like him. By appearing in the local news he hoped that someone, somewhere in the world, could see that he existed and to come and accept him.

Pg:98-115 Analysis:

• After bringing Ben back the family started to drift apart. The children and David refused to get to know Ben and accept him. Instead of facing the problem they went to live with their other family. That left Harriet with just Ben and Paul who don’t get along well. The happy family that at once was “perfect” was ruined and we see how the perfect family failed. There are controversies that if Harriet did the right thing or not. By bringing Ben back she lost the rest of her family. By not bringing him back Harriet felt as if she failed on her child and couldn’t bear with the guilt. She went with teaching Ben still and using Paul as a mentor.

Pg:86-97 Analysis:

• We see the hard work that Harriet puts in efforts to reach out for Ben. She neglects the other children so she could figure out how to be a good mother to Ben. She try’s to teach him things and spend a lot of her time with Ben. We see how she put special effort in Ben that she didn’t in her other children. She did have some success after a while of teaching Ben to be like the other children. For a while Harriet was just concerned in helping Ben but in the end it was just to make him turn him into the other children so he doesn’t stand out.

Pg:66-85 Analysis:

• It was clear from the beginning, no matter how “nice” the family was to Ben that they didn’t accept him. Since the family couldn’t accept Ben for who he was and show him the love they send him to an institution. Harriet, although she disagreed to, agreed to send Ben to the institution in order to bring the “happiness” back to the family. Later she felt as if she gave up on Ben and couldn’t stand the guilt she felt for giving up. She did what any mother would have done; she brought Ben back from the institution, even though she rejected her family’s opinions.

Pg:47-65 Analysis:

• Before the birth of Ben we see how Harriet doesn’t seem to like her child. She kept calling the baby a “monster” through her pain. After Ben was born Harriet didn’t seem to show love to her child. Even though he was different from the other children she didn’t show the same love to Ben as the other children. We also see how after Harriet’s comment towards Amy brought this in Ben. We also start to see how Ben starts to break apart this “happy” family.

Pg:29-46 Analysis:

• Having four children all in 6 years was indeed too fast. Harriet was pregnant, once again, but this pregnancy foreshadowed the trouble that Harriet and David would face. Even after Harriet and David put off not having more children they ended up being pregnant. This pregnancy wasn’t as easy as the other ones which gives us a sense of panic about what might happen.

Pg:11-28 Analysis:

• After realizing that James, David’s step father, could financially provide for the family that Harriet and David wanted they felt somewhat relieved. In a way they didn’t work hard for what they wanted, they used James to help them achieve their dream. They also didn’t take into consideration what Molly, David’s mother or Dorothy, Harriet’s mother had said. Even after both had thought it was too soon for David and Harriet to have children they continued anyways.

Pg:1-10 Analysis:

• In the beginning of this chapter we see how Harriet and David were somewhat “meant for each other” In that they shared the same views and opinions on matters. We also see how they rushed into having children without a proper plan or preparation for the future.

Pages 116-133 Sumamry:

• Harriet says to David that they were being punished for presuming they could be happy. David didn’t like her tone, and thought they were going to be punished for talking in a negative way. The family talked about selling the house but the thought of Ben in a small house didn’t seem like a good idea. After Ben started to get into another new school at the age of 11 he started to make friends with these big boys. Often they would come over to the house and sit around and watch TV. They looked like a gang type of boys who didn’t have much manners. Ben was the quiet one in this group, who didn’t look as “bad” as the other ones. Yet the boys still hung around with Ben. Ben started to come home late leaving Harriet wondering where he had been. He started to do outside activities like stealing, appearing on the local news as “people to watch out for” Harriet and David discussed selling the house once again yet Harriet felt as if keeping the house was a way to feel as if she hasn’t lost anything. Ben started to drift off with his friends, leaving the house for days and not returning. Harriet and David finally decided to sell the house and live in a smaller more affordable house. Ben continued to hang out with his friends doing and living on his own. Harriet wondered if he had a place to stay, even after she gave Ben the address of the place she was living at, which he didn’t take. The gang supported themselves by theft but it wouldn’t take long before they would be caught. Harriet ended up watching the gang on the TV and noticed that Ben was on a search for someone his own. And who knows? Maybe one day he will find what he’s looking for.

Pages 98-115 Summary:

• After bringing Ben back to the house the children started to stay away from the house. Jane was quiet and to herself but went to her friends house after school. Paul did come home but he was often in tears, whined alot and stared for long hours at nothing. He was too thin because of his malnutritioned appatite. He didnt concentrate on important things, he daydreemed and mooned restlesly.The problem with Paul was that he didn’t have a mother at the time when he was growing, which is why he turned out this way. Ben went to school again and he showed improvement in his learning skills. The teachers observed that Ben does try hard to be like the other kids but he just doesn’t fit in. After a while of peace in Harriet’s life Ben, one day, hurt one of the girls in class. He bend the girls arm until it was broken. Paul, after hearing about Ben’s actions, was hysterical and terrified that Ben might hurt him too. Harriet brought back the memories from the institution to Ben and, in a way, threatened him that if he doesn’t behave he’ll go back. Remembering the memories from the institution Ben really looked like he was terrified, he tried to protect himself for a second as if Harriet would send him to the institution. When Harriet went to Dr. Gilly, a specialist, she stated that the problem wasn’t with Ben but with Harriet. That she doesn’t like Ben very much and to not blame herself. The doctor then stated that Harriet resents the fact that Ben isn’t clever, although slow children have a chance to catch up later. During that Christmas year Luke insisted that he wanted to stay with his grandparents. Dorothy came over for Christmas and took Jane with her. Ben spend time with John cruising around and spending time with the “crew”. Helene lived in Molly’s house and stayed in David’s former room. Paul and Ben were the only children that stayed with Harriet and David. Paul was sent to “talk to someone” every afternoon after school. Paul stayed there for supper and went over to play with the children when he didn’t have time to talk to the doctor. Ben once tried to frighten Paul playfully, although Paul was scared to death. Harriet once again threatened Ben that if he does portray violent actions that he would be send to the institution. One day John decided to go away from home with his “crew” and not intentionally, but leave Ben by himself. After protests from Ben about going along, John left, leaving Ben in Harriet’s hands. David and Harriet had planned on meeting with their children leaving Ben with Dorothy. Harriet tried to teach Ben things through Paul by asking them the same questions. In hopes that Ben would copy what Paul would say to understand and learn, she would teach them stories and ask questions.

Pages 85-97 Summary:

• When Harriet brought Ben back home everyone looked furious. David especially looked at Harriet as if she betayed him. Harriet tried to tell David that they were killing Ben and she simply couldn’t stand to know that they were doing that to her son. He was clear that he tried to forget about Ben but Harriet didn’t, which is why she felt the need to bring him back. The children were all disappointed that she brought Ben back and didn’t look at her. Harried tried to welcome back on her own. She fed him, tried to play with him, read him stories. He cried non-stop for days, he couldn’t control himself. But when he started to calm down and realize that he wasn’t in the institute anymore, Harriet talked to him and said that if he behaved himself that he was allowed to go outside. She set some rules for him, she told him never to hurt someone, and to behave like everyone else. Ben was still traumatized by the institution and it took him a while to get used to the fact that he was home now. The other kids still tried to be nice to Ben by greeting him when he was there. He still sat around observing the other kids to see their actions. Ben didn’t trust David though, he understood that David didn’t want anything to do with Ben. It was clear through David’s actions that he still didn’t understand Ben. Ben got close with a gardener named John. Whenever John came to do the garden Ben followed him and didn’t do anything bad. Ben started to go to school and Harried depended on John to take care of Ben after. John didn’t have a problem with it, and he came over to take Ben places. David took a break from the kids and Ben by taking a break that Harriet insisted on him taking with Dorothy. Even after having Ben Harriet still wanted to have more children. She confronts David on having more children but he’s scared that they might have more Ben’s and he couldn’t even handle one. It was clear that Ben was the last child they were going to have. John took Ben around with him and his crew and they let Ben ride along. Ben started to be more like the other kids, he ate like them, he chewed with his mouth closed and asked politely. Like and Helen wanted to go to boarding school which James would pay for. They clearly didn’t like Ben and therefore they decided to go live with where James was.

Pages 66-84 Summary:

• After killing the Dog Ben kills the neighborhood cat, Mr. McGregor. The family is nervous to leave their kids around Ben in fear of him hurting them also. Ben was emotionless, he just sat around watching the children interact but showed no signs. He wasn’t lonely, jealous, upset; he was just unaffected by anything. Paul was sent to the nursery, so he was kept away from Ben. Fewer people started visiting the Lovatt’s house leaving the house empty without the family. Harried still tried to reach out to Ben to see what he was really thinking. He started talking saying things like “I want cake”, yet still watching the children. He studied their actions, reactions, and their expressions. When the family comes over they reach a decision that Ben should be sent to a institution since he isn’t behaving better. Harriet doesn’t agree to it, she says she needs to hear that Ben isn’t normal from a doctor. The family agrees to pitch in so they can send Ben to an institution. Frederick and Molly agree to look for an institution where Ben can be put in. Harriet still refuses saying that Ben’s her child and David says he’s certainly not his. Ben is sent to the institution the next day and the children start living happier. But Harriet feels guilty and horrified that she gave up on Ben. One day she decided that she had to go visit Ben to see how he was holding up. Even though David opposes to it, she says that she has to. When she went to the institution she see’s that there were all types of children with all types of problems. There were kids there that looked worse than Ben who were on bed’s. They looked like they were on the verge of dying. Harried realized that the people “doctors” who work there experimented on the children to see what goes wrong. When she saw Ben she suddenly saw that he looked ordinary like everyone else. She simply couldn’t leave him in the institution to die. She, in the end, told the doctors that she’s taking her son home. She took the medicine that the doctors gave him which controls his strength and calms him down.

Pages 47-65 Summary:

• After 8 months of pregnancy she went to Dr.Brett so he can induce the baby. Going against her judgment she decided to get medical help, since she couldn’t take the pain anymore. She finally gave birth to Ben who was definitely different from the other children. He wasn’t a pretty baby, he was heavy-sholdered, had a forehead that sloped from his eyebrows to his crown. His hair grew in unusual patterns, his hair was thick yellowish, his eyes were greeny-yellow eyes that had a hard stare on them. He was heavy, almost creature like who didn’t cry but roar.Harriet was bitter that the hospital wasn’t seeing his abnormality, instead calling him a “normal healthy fine baby.” Ben was insatiably hungry; drinking appetite could feed more than 5 babies. Harried stopped breastfeeding Ben and giving him bottles, since he was bruising her. They couldn’t figure out what Ben was, she took him to Dr.Brett again. He still didn’t have a reason for why Ben was that way. Ben didn’t play with the children, and he cried in protest more often which aggravated the children. When the family came over for the holidays they saw the way Ben was. Sarah thought Ben was creepy and that she’d rather have “poor Amy any day” Harriet started to feel remorse since no one could love Ben. David hardly ever held Ben like he did to the other children, he saw Ben as out of the ordinary and didn’t accept that Ben is his son. Harriet tried to comfort Ben and tried to play with him since everyone excluded him. Although she tried he was hostile and angry towards her, though she didn’t know why. However she tried to go to him every day so she could give him the attention he needed. She didn’t go to comfort him in the end, she just wanted to make him ordinary, just like everyone else. One day Paul went to go play with Ben in his room when no one was there, that’s when Ben deliberately bended Paul’s arm backwards leaving his arm badly sprained. The other kids were scared of Ben and made sure they stayed clear of him when he was around. After the incident Ben always stayed in his room, closed in by bars by the window with one to play with. He started to walk now, he did everything on his own by himself. During the holidays someone one brought a dog with them, and Ben couldn’t take his eyes off it. When people were sleeping and no one was near the dog, Ben killed the dog and had a mischievous smile on his face. People started to think twice before coming and the holidays after, the house was half empty. Ben hardly ever slept he always stood by his window staring out. Harried, once again, visits Dr. Brett who claims, still, that Ben is a hyperactive kid and that things are normal. Harriet feels as if after Ben was born she’s been living hell and that with Ben around nothing else exists. She says “I’m not going to let you destroy us, you won’t destroy me. . . “

Pages 29-46 Summary:

• After having four children Harriet and David were happy. They were all a happy family. The family talk about what schools the children should attend and how James would support that. Although they put off having kids by Christmas of that year Harriet was pregnant again. They decided not to tell Dorothy since she was helping Sarah with Amy. David thinks that they shouldn’t have Christmas at the house since Harriet is having a hard time with her pregnancy. However Harriet refuses and tries to find someone to help take care of the kids. After some time Harriet and David realize its time to tell Dorothy, who knew Harriet was pregnant just by looking at her. She was, as they expected, aggravated. David realizes that during this pregnancy that Harriet hasn’t been herself, that she’s tired more, and she needs more help then she realizes. David isn’t use to Harriet’s weeping and her sudden emotional changes, which he doesn’t respond to. She feels rejected by him and finds her own way to comfort herself by keeping tasks to do. Harriet meets with Dr.Brett hoping he can explain why she’s going through a lot of pain and to check the dates. However he says to “take it easy” and she looks around for a nanny to help her. Through a series of different girls to nanny the kids James ends up paying for a nanny, but they couldn’t find one. Harriet starts getting restless and gets preoccupied with running errands to keep her mind off the pain.

Pages 11-28 Summary:

• After realizing that Harriet was going to be pregnant, Harriet and David had to deal with the financial matters. They both knew they couldn’t afford the number of children they wanted. David had to request his father, James, to financially help their family. David and Harriet have Molly, his mother, and Friedrick, her second husband, come over to their house to discuss the situation. After hearing their decision on having numerous children, Molly doesn’t approve of it. She feels as if their still in their youth and they shouldn’t rush into it. After arguing about the situation Molly declares that the only way to financially support the family is to get help from James. Since it isn’t in David’s nature to ask for money, James felt obligated to help. After the first child, Luke, is born the family has a Easter party where all the families gather for the first time at the Victorian home. Harriet was pregnant with the second child, Helen, right after Luke was born. After Helen was born she was pregnant with her third child, Jane. Through this pregnancies Sarah and William were also pregnant with their fourth time, while dealing with their troubled marriage. However the Sarah gave birth to Amy, who had Down syndrome. Everyone looked at Amy different and Harriet felt sorrow for the abnormal baby. Harriet and David agreed to hold off having children for a while to take a break.

Pages 1-10 Summary:

• Harriet, an old-fashioned women, met David, a man who’s just as stubborn as her, at a office party. Both weren’t into the whole party scene and stood off at the sides and watched everyone. They aren’t the types of people who socialize because they are strong-minded and have strong standards. Once they started to talk they realized that they were meant for each other, in that they share the same ideas. They both were in accord for having numerous children and living in a big house to shelter them. Although they put off having children till later, Harriet and David had intercourse, and in the end Harriet was pregnant with their first child.

Themes/Motifs:

Happiness: After Harriet and David got married they were on a search for their “happy” family. Their dream of living in a big house with a lot of children overshadowed everything else. They rushed into having children and finding that happiness.
Fear: After the birth of Ben, the whole family feared him. The family couldn’t accept Ben for who is he and it was clear that they weren’t going to. No matter what they didn’t try to put their judgments aside and talk to Ben as if he was their brother/child.
Achieving the “dream”: Both Harriet and David were well aware of what they wanted. They were thinking the same about their future and how to acheve it. They were so focused on their dream that when Ben was born they didn’t show any love for him.

Symbols:

• Amy’s Down Syndrome
• Ben’s abnormalities
• The Victorian House that served as the “dream” house
• The Institution which served as a source of the fear in Ben’s life.

Quotes/Explanations:

Quotes/explanations:

• "It's because you dont want to. It's not you who is carrying this---" She cut off monster, afraid of antagonishing him. Pg. 47
  After giving birth to four children Harriet is surprised that her fifth child is giving her a hard time. She’s upset and irritated that the pregnancy isn’t going the same as before. Her trouble before the pregnancy foreshadows that things will not go well later.
• "Some of them came back. Not Molly, or Fredrick, who did not forgive her for bringing Ben back; nor will they ever, she knew" Pg. 93
  No one understood the maternal instincts that Harriet has. Everyone was glad when they send Ben to the institute but Harriet felt as if she gave up on Ben without trying. She couldn’t stand giving up on one of her children and living with the guilt.
• “Good God,” James, admiring but awed. “ Well it’s just as well I make so much money”( pg. 26)
  It’s helpful to both Harriet and David that James makes a lot of money because he’s financially supporting their family. Without James and his money the family couldn’t possibly afford the house or the children.
• "You two go on as if you believe if you don't grab everything, then you'll lose it...You'll regret it. in my view" (pg. 15)
  It’s somewhat exemplifies how Harriet and David rushed into things. They didn’t take time in discussing how to support the family financially or how they were going to take care of the children. In the end this quote foreshadowed how the family starts falling apart because of their swiftness.
• “Harriet had said to David, privately, that she did not believe it was bad luck: Sarah and William’s unhappiness, their quarrelling had probably attracted the mongol child…” ( pg. 22)
  After reading more into the book it could be said that Harriet brought it upon herself by criticizing Amy. By talking about how abnormal Amy was from the others she attracted “bad luck” upon herself.
• “ If a dose of some sedative kept the enemy ---of so she thought of this savage thing inside her…” Pg,40-41) Harriet started to dislike the baby before it was even born. By using words like enemy and savage we see how her character changes. We get the sense that she doesn’t want the baby because of her anger towards it.
• “It’s either him or us” said David to Harriet( pg 74)After the birth of Ben David hasn’t even held the baby. He looked with disdain towards Ben and doesn’t take care of him like he does to the other children. By telling Harriet that he doesn’t consider Ben a part of the family he’s making Harriet choose between Ben or the rest of the family.
• She said softly, for him to hear, “All right, I am a criminal. But they were murdering him.”( pg.87) Ben is capable of understanding which is why he clearly showed fear when Harriet asked him that question. Although he doesn’t listen he was clearly terrified by the remembrance of the institution.
• “Ben, do you remember that place you went to in the van? “(101) After going through some days without Ben, Harriet felt like she abandoned her child without trying. When she found Ben in the institution she realized that Ben was different, indeed, yet he was still her child and that she loved him.
• “A hand went up to shield his face, and he looked through the spread fingers as if this hand could protect him.” (pg. 102) Even though Ben is strong he is well aware of the capabilities of the institution that he was send to. He is clearly frightened to death about ever returning to the place. He also is reminded every once in a while that if he doesn’t behave he might go which clearly petrifies him.

Characters:

Harriet Lovatt: Harriet is, what others might want to say, stubborn, conservative, old-fashioned. She is the mother of 5 children and the wife of David Lovatt. She shares the same dream as David; wanting many kids and living in a big house.
David Lovatt: Hard to please, obsolescent, as well as conservative. He is also emotionally fastidious and obsolescent. He works as an architect.
Dorothy: Mother of Harriet who feels like a slave by taking care of the children. Throughout Harriet’s pregnancies Dorothy has taken care of the children.
Fredrick: David’s stepfather who is bulky in appearance and rather comfortable in style. Isn’t rich like James, David’s father, but a “benevolent haystacks” (in David’s opinion.)
Molly: David’s mother who doesn’t approve of Harriet’s and David’s decision on having many kids. Doesn’t think the young couple is ready to have children yet.
James: David's stepfather and Molly’s second husband. He’s bulky man who is untidy, appearance more on the comfortable side rather than the fashionable.
Jessica: David’s stepmother, and second wife of James. Most of the money is hers but she’s happy to help David since money comes easy for them.
Deborah: David’s sister who doesn’t communicate with David. Both have different opinions on ways to live. She chose to live in James’s way of life (a rich life) than Molly’s (working for money).
Sarah: Harriet’s sister who also needs help with her children. She’s having a tough marriage which almost ended numerous times. Has a daughter named Amy with Down Syndrome.
William: Husband of Sarah, almost left her twice. Works in a poor job building trade, and is distressed by physical disability.
Amy: Daughter of both Sarah and William. Is diagnosed with Down Syndrome and brings the parents to understanding because of it.
Luke: 1st child of both David and Harriet.
Helene: 2nd child of both David and Harriet.
Jane: 3rd child of both David and Harriet.
Paul: 4th child of both David and Harriet.
Ben: 5th child of both David and Harriet.
Dr. Brett: Doctor who helps Harriet during her pregnancies. Doesn’t realize the difference between Ben and the children his age. He claims that Ben is normal when in reality he isn’t.
Dr.Gilly: A specialist that Harriet visit's to find out what Ben really is. She stated that the problem wasn’t with Ben but with Harriet
John: A college-aged man who helps Ben stay away from trouble by taking him around with him. Helps Ben feel like he belongs and makes sure Ben doesn’t do anything bad.
Bridget: Helps Harriet take care of the children.
Alice: Cousin of Fredrick, widower who came to help Dorothy. She has three grown up children and grandchildren. Her and Dorothy don't get along well but they still took care of the children.
Angela: Sister of Harriet and Sarah who has 3 children of her own. Feels that her sisters take up all of Dorothy leaving her with nothing.