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An Analysis Of Nature Vs. Nurture In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Are we as humans formed by ‘nature’ or ‘nurture’? Since the first genetic experiment by Gregor Mendel in the 1860s, eugenicists have tried to determine why some people have certain physical and behavioral traits and some do not. The nature-versus-nurture discussion has continued to thrive as scientists, historians, and sociologists debate why certain people’s behavior follows a trend line while other’s represents behavioral digressions shunned in the societal construct, even in the same environment. The people who diverge from the established societal norm of success where other people flourish typically become stigmatized as ‘the Other’ in a society, an outsider who does not conform to that society's ideal image. These questions are the approach that Mary Shelly attempted to develop throughout her novel. A prominent motif in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is alienation and how alienation sets the wheels of the plot into motion. In Frankenstein, loneliness due to its milieu and isolation from society make the creature dangerously capricious. Therefore, the creature’s isolation from society expresses a person's traits which are affected more by nurture (alienation) than by Nature. Frankenstein grounds its argument in a symmetrical pattern, with social …show more content…

The creature longs for a family, to belong to something and at last be accepted. It has no equal and no lineage; it is just joined together by limbs of different corpses. This also reflects alienation, the creature has human features; the desire to be loved and to love, but still it does not fit into human society. The family symbolizes the creature’s first “school” of human nature, and the lesson it learns is that it does not fit in. This reflects both human and society’s basic view of our fellow creatures. Shelley hereby argues that deviance is not accepted by society and is frowned

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Right when a baby is born, they immediately begin to seek for someone to trust and provide for their basic needs. As an individual grows, they develop their own personality and characteristics, but this begs the question if a human’s personality and characteristics are determined more on nature or nurture. Which leads to the question: what characteristics make a human really a human? In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster from the dead using body parts from the dead. Instantly, Victor abandons the monster who later turns to murder.

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In this novel, both Victor Frankenstein and the creature, who Victor created, suffer from isolation both physically and emotionally. The isolation experienced by both of them would eventually lead to self destruction of both of their lives. In Frankenstein, three of the main characters, Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the Creature, all experienced different forms of isolation. They were all very different people, but their isolation connected them. With the scholarly use of symbolism, allusions, and tone, Mary Shelley utilizes the theme of isolation throughout the duration of the novel.

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Nature Versus Nurture: The Evolution of Frankenstein’s Monster It is natural for a human or other animal to evolve and adapt to the environment around themself, both physically and socially. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature evolves in a similar manner, and almost reaches a human state by doing so, despite not being human. These adaptations are mainly caused by the social rejections he faces and the isolation through which he has to suffer, as he is neglected by his creator as well as everyone around him.

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Nature is the predetermined traits that people are born with, while nurture is the influence that affects people after they’re born. The debate surrounding Nature V. Nurture is how much of a person’s traits is predetermined and how much is influenced by the environment. Mary Shelley's believes in nurture more than nature. Victor Frankenstein has certain traits that he’s born with. Frankenstein is born into a prestigious, wealthy family.

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Shelley’s use of the creature’s abandonment resembles the judgement society subjected orphans to. Shelley highlights the faults in society by using the creature as a paradigm for the innocence the orphans possess as children and the consequences that occur from their mistreatment. Abandonment begins the alienation process of the creature and orphans from society. For most of history those who were endowed with a low social status were forced to endure the censure of society for their entire life, even if a few managed to obtain a higher status, they were still scrutinized. This presents a conundrum for orphans since they can never escape society’s criticism, much like how the creature will never be accepted by mankind.

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Mary Shelley, in her book, Frankenstein, has a reoccurring theme of isolation, in which she isolates the main character, Victor Frankenstein, from the rest of society in order to create a creature. Likewise, the creature that is created is also isolated from the rest of society as he is rejected from his creator as to his appearance. The theme is present throughout the novel as it reinforces Victor’s downfall from a normal boy to a grown man intrigued with creating life as he slowly becomes a madman that everyone soon fears. Isolation causes a loss of humanity as it affects the mind and body. Isolation from society does not teach social interaction, causes regret about oneself, provides one with negative feelings, and causes regretful actions.

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In the novel Frankenstein, the author Mary Shelley shows the everlasting power of nature by limiting the knowledge man can learn about it. Throughout the book there are many times when Victor yearns for nature in order to heal him from the misery and violence in his life. This misery and violence are caused by his determination to learn more about the natural world. The monster Victor creates, due to his loneliness, defies the unwritten rules of nature and exemplifies the supernatural aspect of the novel. Victor’s mood completely shifts when he is around nature and he instantly feels calmer when near it.

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He is aware of his otherness and knows that he is “shut out from intercourse” (84) with the people he holds so dear. It can be argued that this is the point where the creature’s humanity is the strongest throughout the course of story. He has a basic understanding of human societies, he speaks and reads their language, shows compassion and, most importantly, seeks their company and friendship. In his knowledge that social belonging is the missing component to his own happiness, he confronts the people he secretly observed only to, once again, be met with fear and anger (94-95). He comes to realise that he

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Numerous research has concluded that several emotional bonds exist between humanity and nature that can impact everything from attitude to anxiety. Novels of the romanticism period, a significant literary era that encompassed most European works written in the early 1800’s, are most known for describing the impacts that nature has on people and implying that unexpected consequences can arise out of this relationship; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of such a novel. The prime conflict of this 1818 science-fiction story occurs between the titular character, Victor Frankenstein, and a monster he creates through his own scientific innovations. Because of Victor’s abandonment of the monster, it becomes intent on destroying the scientist’s

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As seen in Frankenstein, family plays a key element in the development of each character. Victor Frankenstein was nourished by his family from crib to grave and they served as a support system for him. In contrast, The Creature was abandoned from the day he was created. It was the lack of family that drove the creature to seek revenge on his creator, Victor Frankenstein.

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In the novel Frankenstein,by Mary Shelley, the mysterious and unnatural origins of the character of Frankenstein’s monster are an important element. The Monster, having been created unethically and haphazardly, is at odds throughout the novel, resulting in his alienation from society and prolonged feelings of anger, desertion, and loneliness. Shaping his character, his relationships with other characters, and the meaning of the work as a whole, the Monster’s origins are what define him. The Monster faces rejection and violence every time he attempts to make contact with the new, foreign world he has been thrust into.

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In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen in the novel. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.

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Isolation and abandonment can cause many different reactions from people. In the words of William A. Sadler Jr., a sociology professor, “We often do not know how to cope. It can make us confused, distraught, depressed, frightened, and even outraged” (Sadler 105). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, several of these effects are presented in Victor Frankenstein and his creation. They both suffer from being isolated from their creator, society, and family units.

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Shelly is therefore claiming that one's own nature and forms in which they were nurtured (Frankenstein) have an effect on those of others, and can even cause someone else to be more inhumane than the original person (the daemon). This is seen in human nature, where one who experiences abandonment from a parent because the parent's nature causes them to flee, this person will be more likely to commit crimes due to their loneliness and lack of direction by a parental figure. This translates directly into the plot of the story,

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ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various

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