The Fifth Child In the novel The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing, the author asked the reader to determine the true nature of the character Ben. Ben is portrayed as a selfish, brutal, belligerent child. He relates to society in a cruel, aggressive manner. Based on the authors analysis, the reader is lead to believe that Ben’s personality and behavior is a product of genetics, and that therapeutic interventions are not capable of changing this conduct to conform to societies norms. The author illustrates this conclusion by describing Ben’s personality from the time he was in the womb, through adulthood. A