Book Cover Selection

I think the cover that best illustrates the concept of The Fifth Child is the third one. It depicts a young boy with dissheveled hair that is "scribbled" in all different directions on top of his akwardly shaped head. But what really jumps out at the viewer are the child's green-yellow eyes rimmed in an even brighter yellow hue. This detail lets the reader know for sure that the child is Ben, because Lessing emphasizes his menacing eyes when she writes, "They were focussed greeny-yellow eyes, like lumps of soapstone. She had been waiting to exchange looks with the creature who, she had been sure, had been trying to hurt her, but there was no recognition there," (Lessing, 49). This cover also looks somewhat blotchy and has no set pattern of design, which can be seen as a metaphor for Ben's personality. His own mother finds it impossible to relate to him and can not understand his psychotic tendencies. Ben's behavior alienates his brothers and sisters, and everyone he meets is repelled by his personality, just as the uneven pattern repels the eye. Although all four covers evoke emotion, I think the third portrays Lessing's idea the best.