The story about Frankenstein and his monster raises many questions. One of these questions is still unanswered. For example, people cannot decide what is more important in making a person, nature or nurture. The monster people were afraid of felt the beauty of the world with its “cheering warmth” and “the rustling of the leaves,” but he ended up killing and causing sorrow (Shelley, 2018, p. 215) The study about the creature of a talented but irresponsible scientist shows that nurture is central to the process of personality development.
Philosophers, scientists, and average individuals tried to understand whether the environment is more important than some traits and physical features a person has. Some say that genetic codes make a person whose character and behavior depend on biological things. Others believe that the environment is more important as it influences the way some traits develop and other features are never displayed. Shelley provides her own answer, which is close to the truth. Frankenstein creates a being that looks ugly and frightening, but who wants to be happy (Vargo, 2016). However, this creature does not find a friend or anyone who could support him and guide him in this difficult world. Shelley created a Romantic character who was all alone and beautiful inside, but this beauty went unnoticed and went destroyed. Old and blind DeLacey was the only person who tried to help the creature and make him less wretched (Haggerty, 2016). However, this was not enough, and when the creature decided to go back to his creator in his search for compassion and support, he understood that the world was hostile to him. The creature was lost and did not know what to do, which led to several deaths. Hence, the environment is more important than some biological features as people’s character, and behavior is formed by society.
References
Haggerty, G. F. (2016). What is queer about Frankenstein? In A. Smith (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Frankenstein’ (pp. 116-127). Cambridge University Press.
Shelley, M. (2018). Frankenstein: The 1818 text. Penguin.
Vargo, L. (2016). Contextualizing sources. In A. Smith (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Frankenstein’ (pp. 26-40). Cambridge University Press.