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Nurture vs Nature argumentative essay
Nurture vs Nature argumentative essay
Nurture vs Nature argumentative essay
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In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a man driven by the desire to create something bigger than mankind with the use of science ends up creating a creature he, as well as others, perceive as a monster. Even after two hundred years since the day it was published, Frankenstein still plays a major role in English literature today and incorporates a theme that is still very frequent in today’s society, nature versus nurture. The nature versus nurture dispute is over whether a being’s conduct is based off their environment, such as parental guidance, during their life, or if it is determined by genetics. Mary Shelley addresses this theme by allowing the reader to choose who is responsible for the wrongdoing done by the creature’s hands, Frankenstein …show more content…
Before Victor started to begin his experiment, he proclaims “a new species would bless me as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (Shelley, page 39). This quote shows that Victor wants the full responsibility and glory he thinks he will receive from creating a new species, but he completely aborts this way of thinking as soon as the creature is brought to life because he’s not the perfect, superior organism that Victor imagined. Victor’s whole reason for creating the monster was so he would be the creator of something more powerful than ever seen before, but he never gave the creature the chance to prove his worth. This created an early riff between Frankenstein and his beast from the very beginning, and due to Victor’s unwillingness, it will only continue to …show more content…
Before the creature had even thought about executing any unethical acts, he had already committed the crime of being hideous, and therefore unlovable, to Victor at least. In result, the creature is then forced to survive for two years on his own with no contact between him and Victor, and learn the harsh way of the world. In chapter eleven, the creature recalls his first real experience with a mass of people to Victor and explains how he had barely set a foot into someone’s home before he was being yelled at and chased out of town (Shelley, page 132). Based on this, the reader can assume that this is where the creature’s resentment towards Victor starts. Victor not only deserted the creature and his duties to protect and teach him but had made him so ghastly and vile to look at, that no one could ever accept him for who he was. The people the creature encountered were so mortified by his looks, that they never got to see how intelligent he truly
In Frankenstein, everyone treats Victor’s creation like a monster, including Frankenstein himself. This leads to the creation accepting that title and going on a murder spree. His creation says “When I reflect on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation” (69). Victor’s creation shows that he did not ask to be created, and his existence is miserable.
In a world full of novelty, guidance is essential to whether a being’s character progresses positively or negatively in society. Parents have a fundamental role in the development of their children. A parent’s devotion or negligence towards their child will foster a feeling of trust or mistrust in the latter. This feeling of mistrust due to the lack of guidance from a parental figure is represented in the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his creation in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The creature created by Frankenstein was shown hatred and disgust from the very beginning, which led to its indignant feelings toward his creator and his kind.
Mary Shelley put a new outlook on nature versus nurture in human development. By making the monster’s being a blank slate, and morphing his personality based on the different events that shape his life, Shelley clearly states her support for the nurture side.
The confrontation between the two demonstrates Victor 's weaknesses as an individual. Although Victor is the Creature 's creator, he refers to his creation as an "abhorred monster" (Shelley 68) and is willing to "extinguish the spark which he so negligently bestowed" (Shelley 68) upon him. This demonstrates Victor 's lack of responsibility. His goal was to create life, essentially to play God. Once the monster began to murder those dearest to Victor, he failed to take responsibility for the creature 's actions. Another weakness in Victor 's character is revealed through the dialogue exchanged between creator and creation. Instead of calmly trying to reason with the Creature, Victor lashes back at the Creature. He even suggests that the two "try their strength in a fight in which one must fall." (Shelley 69) The monster, however, maturely and eloquently urges Victor 's "compassion to be moved" (Shelley69). Because Victor is full of "rage and horror" he wants to destroy his own creation even though victor is playing god in recreation of humanity. They both are to blame due to the fact that Victor created the creature as well as the signs of irresponsibility between the two for the Creature killing people and for Victor trying to recreate
Andrew Lustig proposed a great question to the readers of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, “How far should we go in out efforts to alter nature, including human nature? As stewards of God’s creation what are our responsibilities?” (Lustig 1) This question results in theme of nature vs. nurture in the novel. The nature vs. nurture debate is an important topic in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The two central characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he creates; both, characters were raised differently. The nature and the nurture of their upbringing can be a cause of why they are, the way they are. Victor and his creature are subject to very different nurturing styles. Shelley also incorporates the representations of light and fire. This representation is key to the nature vs. nurture discussion in the novel.
In today’s world of genetically engineered hearts and genetically altered glowing rats, the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, seems as if it could be seen in the newspapers in our near future. The discoveries seen in modern science, as well as in the novel, often have controversy and negative consequences that follow them, the biggest of which being the responsibility the creator of life has to what has been created. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a variety of internal and external conflicts stemming from the creation of his monster, which in return also experiences similar problems. Shelley uses these tumultuous issues to portray the discrepancies between right and wrong, particularly through romanticism and the knowledge of science.
Nature (our genes) and nurture (our environment) affect our individual differences in behavior and personality. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley addresses the conflict of nature vs. nurture. Victor Frankenstein creates a "child" whom he abandons upon birth. This brings up questions such as, was the creature genetically inclined to be evil, or did the hostility he encountered turn him evil? Are one's surroundings determined by who they become later in life? Does nurture form one's characteristics that will determine who someone is later in life? Mary Shelley used these questions as an approach to show that the monster is intelligent, but destructive, and had guilt due to his environment and isolation. The monster’s guilt due to its environment made it dangerous to begin with. Each of the sources will discuss the argument of nature vs. nurture, and how they are all connected. Nature is the different influences that contribute to affecting someone’s life and Nurture is the emotional interactions and isolations that affect someone. The Monster's isolation from society expresses a person's traits which are affected more by his or her environment that by nature.
Although the Creature later went on to commit crimes, he was not instinctively bad. Victor’s Creature was brought into this world with a child-like innocence. He was abandoned at birth and left to learn about life on his own. After first seeing his creation, Victor “escaped and rushed downstairs.” (Frankenstein, 59) A Creator has the duty to teach his Creature about life, as well as to love and nurture him. However, Victor did not do any of these; he did not take responsibility for his creature. One of the first things that the creature speaks of is that he was a “poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, (he) sat ...
Victor, at first sight of the Creature, abandons and leaves him to survive on his own. This is insignificant to the creature at the time, but later causes the Creature to have bitter feelings towards Victor. After the Creature discovers Victor’s notes, he becomes enraged, and incriminates Victor for the victimization that he faces; hence accusing him as a perpetrator of cruelty. Through the accusation of Victor one can see that the Creature believes that Victor should be held responsible, and owes the Creature a favor. Additionally, Victor double-crosses the Creature after obliging to create a mate for the Creature. These actions of betrayal demonstrate how Victor is a perpetrator of cruelty and how the Creature is his victim. Victor’s unintentional cruelty reveals how he only wanted what was best for himself and human kind. Victor’s betrayal is seen as an action of cruelty by the Creature, and consequently delivers the final blow that instigates the retaliation of the
American psychologist and well renowned author Jerome Kagan states “Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form.” The topic of nature vs. nurture is highly known to the English literature community and is classified as a major aspect of gothic works. In the novel Frankenstein the author Mary Shelley uses the monster’s constant rejection from society to demonstrate that an individual’s traits are affected more by their environment and their surroundings than by nature.
In Frankenstein, various themes are introduced. There are dangerous knowledge, sublime nature, nature versus nurture, monstrosity, and secrecy and guilt. I chose a main theme as nature versus nurture. Nature is some traits that a person is born with, and nurture is an environment that surrounds a person. The novel indirectly debates whether the development of individual is affected more by nature or by nurture through Victor and the Monster.
From the beginning of Creature’s creation, he was doomed to a life of agony, depression, persecution, and loneliness. His appearance alone gave way to challenges that no human should ever have to endure. Creature’s very creator, Victor, called him horrid, a monster, a demon as well as many other cruel names. Victor’s harassing nature is an incredibly important aspect of this case; therefore it should be taken into consideration when evaluating who the true monster of this story is. Upon the Creature’s first moments of life, Victor stated that his heart was filled with a “breathless horror and disgust” (Shelley 45). What chance did this poor creature have if his own creator, or father if you will, could not even accept or love him. Moreover, Victor’s carelessness upon this creation was of his own purely selfish desires. There was little thought put into the life that the creature would have to live, thus providing us proof, that he did not care that this was a person he was creating. There is no defense for this, especially since Victor himself stated that he
had engulfed. Page 18 of Mary Shelley's book proves this when the creature spoke “This
After many unfortunate meetings with humans, the creature realizes that he will never be accepted by humanity, and therefore will be alone forever. “No Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone” (93). He blames his monstrous behavior on this notion, and he thinks the solution to this problem is for Victor to create a female creature for him. After sharing his life story with Victor, he gives him an ultimatum; “I will revenge my injuries: if I cannot inspire love, I / will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my arch-enemy, because my / creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred” (104). He feels that if he does have a creature like himself to spend his life with, that he will not feel the need to be accepted by humans, because while he will never be like them or have what they have, at least he would not be alone. Victor eventually agrees to this, but then changes his mind and destroys it. The creature is heartbroken, and says to Victor “Are you to be happy, while I grovel in the intensity of my / wretchedness? You can blast my other passions; but revenge remains - / revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food!” (123). This finalizes how he feels about humanity, especially about Victor, and he continues his horrifying revenge plot, which is what makes him the monster he is portrayed
In the novel Frankenstein, the author Mary Shelley uses the monster’s constant rejection from society to show that a person’s traits are effected more by his environment than by his nature. The idea of nature vs. nurture comes into