The Nature Of Nature And Nurture In Frankenstein

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. These murders help him to cope with the isolation he feels from society and his creator. The monster is more human than Victor because he shows compassion, courage, and the need for human connection. Throughout the story, the monster shows considerable amounts of compassion for others than Victor does. The monster says, “...the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for the

When the monster first settled down near the cottage, he began to steal food from the poor cottagers. After a few days of stealing, the monster notices the negative impact he has inflicted on the cottagers. Anonymously, he begins to gather firewood for them. Compassion is displayed by the monster by gathering firewood for the cottagers, and he does not show this compassion for his own personal reputation. After watching the cottagers for a while, the monsters says, “The gentle manners and and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to me: when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joy” (Shelley 79). The monster feels sympathy and compassion for the events the cottagers experience. In life, humans generally feel for others when they hit rough patches which causes