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Nature Vs. Nurture In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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Nature versus nurture, which one has a bigger effect on who we grow into as people? Nature versus nurture has been a question that has been at the forefront of disputes for a long time. Some might argue that babies are born with a moral code, while others will promote the argument that babies become who they are based on their experiences and surroundings. Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story about a group of boys during World War I that experienced a plane crash and left them stranded on a remote island, leaving them to attempt to make their own government. “Nature vs. nurture” – What is it? The evidence shows environment has a major impact on a person’s life” by David H. Petering is an article yielding significant research to show …show more content…

Both the boys in Lord of the Flies by William Golding and the research explained in “Nature vs. nurture”. The evidence shows environment has a major impact on a person's life” by David H. Petering gives readers an insight to the human brain and how its environment greatly affects how it matures. In the second paragraph of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack was presented with his first opportunity to hunt one of the island pigs; but he could not bring himself to do it. After the pig escaped from the vines under Jack, “he noticed that he still held the knife aloft and brought his arm down, replacing the blade in the sheath. Then all three laughed ashamedly and began to climb back to the track” (Golding 31). This quote supports the statement that nurture overwhelms nature by showing that Jack did not always have the evil urge to kill, his killing obsession stemmed from this specific interaction with the boys. The boys laughing at Jack embarrassed him and after that interaction he was determined to kill a pig so the boys thought highly of …show more content…

1). 7. The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid afore This furthermore allows the reader to see that what Golding’s characters experienced in that scene was influenced by their environment and who was surrounding them in that moment. It shows the audience just how much evidence and research has been done to successfully show how a person's surroundings affect how they develop as a person. A human mind that develops around one type of people will be very different from another mind developing around another type of people. William Golding and David H. Petering both showed the reader that the people others surround themselves with have a crucial impact on how the brain develops. Nature vs. nurture tends to be a subject that is high in differing opinions, but through book characters and extensive research authors have been able to exhibit nurture being a bigger factor in the brain's growth than

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Over thousands of years, the theory upon nature versus nurture has been debated, discussed, and researched. The nature versus nurture debate has to do with whether or not certain characteristics that humans acquire over time result from nature or nurture. However, Shelly and Golding seem to favor nature more than nurture. The monster in Frankenstein and one of the boys, Jack in Lord of the Flies represent the assumption that both authors favor nature over nurture. Through Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the parallel between nature is displayed through the monster and Jack from both of the evils they inherit within their environment.

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Jack shows loss of naiveté as he progresses from a boy afraid of slaughtering a pig to a man unashamed of being responsible for the death of a child. A pig runs past Jack in the forest, but he does not go after the pig because “...of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh… [as well as] the unbearable blood that will follow” (35).

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It is disputed whether nurture or nature is more dominant in forging a person’s identity. Whether a person is happy or sad, kind or cruel, smart or unintelligent is based on their genetics or the environment around them. Of course, both factor into the equation, but one does more so than the other: while people can have genetic differences, the way that they are raised is far more influential on their personalities. Firstly, the book “Lord of the Flies” has many instances where it is clear that outside factors are more prominent than inside ones when it comes to one 's temperament.

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The nature versus nurture debate centers on the contributions of genetics and environmental factors to human development. Much research and from the book “Lord of the Flies,” both prove that people behave as they do and become who they are based on the way in which they were raised/environment or simply being born the way they are. Jack, in “Lord of the Flies,” and his tribe become more and more violent throughout the book. This leads many to think whether Jack was raised or born a savage. Reflecting on this, research has determined that children’s genetic makeup is determined in many ways by their own experiences in their environment.

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William Golding compares Jack’s jungle and Simon’s jungle to show their clashing characteristics giving the reader a clear representation of their motives and who they really are. Jack is a strong character, and has been from the beginning of the story, his personality differentiates

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Trent Gordon Wessels Adv Literature 12 April 2023 Nurture in Lord of the Flies While being trapped on an abandoned island, the heat and hunger sets in, and as time goes by, people show their true selves to stay alive. The longer the young boys remain on the abandoned island, the less ordinary and civilized they become. At the start of the novel, the boys stick together in one tribe, this soon comes to an end. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the underlying theme of nurture is exposed throughout the novel. Soon after the boys are exposed to an environment without any rules or regulations, the boy’s are converted into versions of themselves they no longer recognize.

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Exploring One's Nature. Human nature is very fascinating. Everyone is driven by a large number of instincts, emotions, and desires. We have both traits of kindness and cruelty, and love and hate. The contrasts of those traits shape one's behavior and interactions.

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The boys’ willingness and even desire to do violent things destroy order and common sense. After Jack returns from hunting and slaughtering a pig, he reminisces wistfully about the power he had held over that creature. The narrator observes that “[Jack’s] mind was crowded with memories …[the] knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it..." (84). Jack’s apparent thirst for blood and violence leads to the rise of pain and suffering on the island. Killing for survival is one thing, but killing for the pleasure of it is what differentiates a hunter from a serial killer.

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During the course of the novel, Jack becomes a hunter and starts to be obsessed with hunting. When he first started he could not kill a pig, he could not take another life. He feels like a coward because of the fact he cannot kill the pig and starts dedicating all of his time to killing a pig. He starts painting his face to blend in with the trees and sneak up on these pigs. It's almost like a game to him, however, he still feels cowardly.

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Golding’s novel clearly shows the demise of virtuous characters into more diabolical beings as they lose guidance from their parents and the structure they once had. The boys, in the beginning, have a sense

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Through this novel, Golding is trying to convey a message that although humans have the capability to balance

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The nature vs. nurture debate centers on whether human behaviour and personality are inherited (nature) or acquired (nurture); in other words, whether a person’s environment or a person’s genetic inheritance determines their behaviour and personality. Goldsmith and Harman (1994) adopt a neutral position, in which both nature and nurture influence people, stating that they “believe that the fundamental issue concerns the interplay between characteristics of the individual and of the relationship” (54). Goldsmith and Harman discuss temperament and attachment for infant, with temperament being linked to the nature side of the debate and attachment being linked with the nurture side; as a result, the infant’s temperament influences the attachment bond between the infant and the mother, but the attachment bond influences the temperament of the child as well. Therefore, both nature and nurture interact with each other to produce people’s behaviour (Harman et al. 54). Andersen and Berk (1998) take on the nurture perspective, while Leary (1999) claims that nature is the determining factor of a person’s personality.

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