The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

868 Words4 Pages
The Fifth Child, a criticism of the British society First I’ll write shortly about the different decades, what defined them and how the main characters stand out from the social trends of these decades. Then I’ll write about elements Doris Lessing uses in “The Fifth Child” to make the book go against the political, sexual and social trends in England in the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Lastly I question how they see human variation and how they treat people outside society’s standard. The 60’s are called “The Swinging Sixties”. These were the years for cultural changes, and the economy started to improve after World War 2. The birth control pill was introduced in the early years of the decade. Many took advantage of the possibility of having free sex with minimal risk of pregnancy. At the end of the decade homosexuality was legalised and divorce became more normal. We get to know Harriet and David as old-fashioned, not interested in the lifestyle of their generation. They are not interested in the changes and want to hold on to the family style of the 50s. The 70s started as a great decade with the historical moon landing in 1969 and technology massively progressed. This was the decade of massive changes in political, sexual and social aspects. The Government improved women’s rights, especially /labour, profession, career. As the Lovatt family grows in numbers, Harriet never thinks of having a job outside the house. She wants the husband, David, to support the family and for her to stay at home with the children. The financial growth continued throughout the early 80s. Women took more work outside the home and did not have as many children as earlier years. Harriet and David send Ben of to an institution as they no longer believe it is safe to have him at home with his siblings. But as time goes on Ben is brought back to the family, as Harriet doesn’t think

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