Frankenstein Nature Vs Nurture Essay

Are nature and nurture required when creating a person? In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the nature vs. nurture discussion is put to the test by the actions of the main character Dr. Frankenstein's creation: a monster. In the novel Dr. Frankenstein is enthralled with the scientific creation of life and creates what he thinks will be a human but actually turns out to have the makings of a monster. Dr. Frankenstein is terrified by his creation and abandons it by running away and leaving it locked up. The monster breaks out of Dr. Frankenstein's confines and goes into the world to explore in his surroundings and hates his creator for not caring for him. By looking at environmental effects on a child's intellectual ability to learn, and a child's inherent sense of direction it is apparent that at birth the human mind is a blank slate.

Children’s intelligence is being shaped everyday by experiences with people objects and events. Frankenstein's monster learned all that he knew from the family he watched after he escaped from the confines of Dr. Frankenstein. “Every conversation of the cottagers now opened new wonders to me” (Shelley 117). Here the monster is shown inquiring about his surroundings and wanting to learn from them. The monster explored the world on his own; he learned language and the nature of the world on his own. He watched human interaction and tried to mimic human behavior. “Men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other’s blood.” (Shelley 156) The author uses the word monsters to describe ordinary people suggesting that their intentions are the same as the monsters.

Frankenstein had good intentions when he created the monster but the monster wreaked havoc. The monster acting out in a negative way may...

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..., but there was another still paramount to that. My duties towards the beings of my own species had greater claims to my attention because they included a greater proportion of happiness or misery."(Shelley 265) This quote reiterates one of the main points of the novel: Frankenstein's decision turns on the good of humankind. Frankenstein talks about the monster saying “He walks about the world free, and perhaps respected.” (Shelley 220) Frankenstein is condemning human nature and the society and institutions that come from it. Frankenstein doesn’t know if he should hold himself responsible for his creature.

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.