APPLICATION FRANKENSTEIN ESSAY
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English Composition II
Frankenstein Literature Analysis Essay
5 October 2015
Nature vs. Nurture in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
The argument over whether nature or nurture is responsible for a person’s development
and behavior is an enduring question that is centuries old. The nature vs. nurture debate is at the
forefront of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . Through her creature , Shelley examines whether a
person is bo rn evil and malicious or if he gradually become s that way because of life
experiences. While Frankenstein and the creature each have distinct nature s, both are nurtured
differently. Some may argue that their nature s differs as much as the way they were, or w eren’t,
nurtured; however, t he creature is human, like Frankenstein, based on his genotype; although
abnormal and not typically classified in any human species category, the creature is still social
with a distinct need of acceptance, validation, and compa nionship. In Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein , Shelley adequately supports the notion that nurture presides over nature because
while the creature is kind an d benevolent at first, Frankenstein ’s lack of proper nurturing and
society’s constant shunning turn him evil, much like the cur rent debate over bullying in schools .
Shelley begins by having Frankenstein describe to Walton just how he came to study
anatomy and the causes of life and death leading up to his ultimate discovery , recollecting,
“After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of
generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless
matter” (Shelley 49) . Frankenstein goes on to expound upon his genius and believe s his creation
would “bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their
Commented [A1]: Strong thesis. The objective of this essay is to explain how and how well Shelley addresses one of the themes from the assignment instructions. Before you begin this essay, choose a theme fro m the assignment instructions. Then, develop a claim regarding that theme based on your understanding of the novel (Your thesis should not simply mention the theme —“Shelley addresses the nature vs. nurture theme” —instead, you must make a claim regarding th at theme). For instance, if you want to discuss the nature vs. nurture theme, you need to determine if you think Shelley favors one over the other or if she addresses both equally. The claim in relation to your chosen theme must be part of the thesis. Next, find a broad situation from the novel that exemplifies your claim that you can break down into specific scenarios. For example, if you say Shelley favors the nurture over nature theory, your broad example for the thesis might be, “…because the monster acts destructively as a result of Victor’s poor nurturing .” In the body paragraphs, you can easily break that down into three specific examples, each in its own body paragraph, to help support your claim. Finally, consider a real world application such as a popular news story or research study that parallels and supports your claim about the theme. For example, if you think Shelley favors the nurture theory over the nature theory because the creature turns to bad behavior after the society around him treats him poor ly, your real world example might report on a study where twins were separated at birth and raised by distinctly different families only to develop in the way in which each was raised by the respective families, supporting your claim about the idea that nu rture has a stronger influence than nature. A thesis fo r this paper should (1) include the theme you've chosen in Frankenstein , (2) a) how and b) how well Mary Shelley portrays that theme, and (3) the real world application example you use in the essay t o show how that theme relates to society. For example, “(1) In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , Shelley (2) adequately supports the idea that science can go too far by expressing Victor Frankenstein’s inability to manage his creation, and although the novel wa s originally printed in 1818, (3) current cloning procedures mimic Shelley’s centuries old fear.” Maslankowski 2
being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve
theirs” (51). Yet, when Frankenstein gives life to hi s creature, something he has toiled for and
looked forward to for two years, he forsakes the creature, recalling, “now that I had finished, the
beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to
endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room” (56). Frankenstein
abandons his creature, leaving the creature to fend for himself having not taught him the basic
life lessons every child learns from a parent: eating and drinking, letters and numbers, and
speaking and reading. The creature must learn these things for himself and must embark on his
own quest for human knowledge, starting a resentment inside him he cannot underst and as yet.
The creature finds himself lonely and confused and recalls how he felt after leaving
Frankenstein’s house saying, “I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could
distinguish, nothing; but, feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept” (118). In
their article regarding nature and nurture, Reif, Rösler, Freitag, Schneider, Eujen, Kissling,
Wenzler, Jacob, Retz -Junginger, Thome, Lesch, and Retz agree in that studies have shown
“oppositional and aggressive behavior in child hood is predictive of according offensive,
aggressive and antisocial behavior in adulthood, as are adverse family circumstances like
childhood maltreatment” (2375 -76). Frankenstein ’s inability to nurture his creation , therefore ,
plants the seed of evil in the creature that begins to fester and grow as the creature is treated
poorly b y society.
Similarly , the people of society treat the creature atrociously . In stumbling across a
vill age, the creature is happy to see others like him, but the villagers s ee him and immediately
shun him, as the creature recounts: “children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole
village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many Maslankowski 3
other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped” (Sh elley 122) . Miraculously, even having been
treated so h orribly by the villagers, when the next day the creature happens upon the D eLacy
family living in a cottage in the woods , he is captivated by them. At first, he steals food from
them , but after learnin g about their poverty , how little stores they have, and how hard they have
to work, he sympathizes with their plight , abstains from stealing food , and chops their wood for
them to lighten their work load . T he creature, craving th eir love and acceptance, risks making
contact with the blind father, only to be happened upon by the children when “Agatha fainted;
and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with
supernatural force tore me from his father, to who se knees I clung; in a transport of fury, he
dashed me to the ground, and struck me vi olently with a stick” (160). I nfuriated with the
rejection by the DeLacys and the knowledge they have fled because of him, the cr eature begins
to feel real loss and recal ls, “when I reflected that they had spurned and deserted me, anger
returned, a rage of anger, and, unable to injure any thing human, I turned my fury towards
inanimate objects” (164). This family the creature loves has re jected him like his own creator,
and even when feeling such anger and rage, he still cannot bring himself to hurt a living person .
Furthermore, almost immediately after suffering his loss of the DeLacys, the creature
again tri es to be altruistic; after hearing a young gi rl’s voice and r ealizing she has slipped into the
river, he saves her and “endeavored, by every means in my power, to restore animation” (Shelley
167). He is then seen by a man who promptly shoots him as reward for his benevolence. The
creature then states, “The feelings of kindness and gentleness, which I had entertained but a few
moments before, gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth” (168). Time after time the
creature’ s good deeds and kindnesses are met with horror, pain, loneliness, and segregation from
society. In his article, “Why Nature & Nurture won’t go away ,” Steven Pinker writes that “Man
Commented [A2]: Good support and organization. In the body paragraphs of the application essay, you will include examples from the novel and other credible outside sources that support the claim in your thesis. Consider using each of the first few body paragraphs (one example per paragraph) to show how your chosen scenarios support the claim related to your theme . For example, if you think Shelley favors the nurture over the nature theory, what are three examples from the novel that support this claim? Then, include a real -world example and application in the next paragraph or two . For example, is there a popular news story or historical scientific event that portrays the sam e idea as your claim? What is that event and how does it parallel to your examples from the novel? The essay should be heavy in Frankenstein examples and light in real world applications with one real world example. Please see the paragraph organization fe edback tip below this insert for general paragraph organization guidelines. SAMPLE PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE: M ost of your topic sentences should be argumentative (include a claim and touch upon why) because you are supporting or refuting the author's (Shelley) use and support of a chosen theme in the novel. For instance, “Mary Shelley adequately supports the idea that science can go too far by showing the creature’s destructive rampage, beginning wit h (add one of the creature’s first foul acts).” Then, support that claim with excerpts from the novel as well as details from other outside sources. For instance, “Science experimentation where giving life is the objective interrupts natural flow and order , so when the creature is born without parents and some sort of parental or supervisorial guidance, chaos ensues as its time as a living being progresses. These negative science experimental effects are evident when the creature explains its longing for lo ve, nurturing, and support: (add quote from the novel). Jane Doe, author of “Development Psychology,” also strongly supports the idea that scientific gain is not without hurdles when the experimentation relates to child rearing. Doe explains that (add supp orting quote), which is clearly presented when the creature says, (add quote from novel).” Maslankowski 4
is man because he has no instincts, because everything he is and has becom e he has
learned…from his culture, from the man -made part of the environment, fro m other human
beings” (7). Frankenstein and society have taught the creature that he is horrid, a wretch, and not
worthy of human existence by their actions, or in his case, F rankenstein ’s inaction in not
properly nurturing his creation. The creature does not commit any reprehensible crime until all
these lessons have taken place. Only then does he happen to encounter William, and seeing him
as innocent and unprejudiced , he pla ns to keep him as a companion; however, upon finding out
who his family is, the creature destroys him and states, “my heart swelled with exultation and
hellish triumph; clapping my hands, I exclaimed, ‘I, too, can create desolation; my enemy is not
impregn able; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment
and destroy him ’” (Shelley 170). His revenge against his creator has just begun.
In present day society, nature vs. nurture is still debated in schools as to what r eally
causes a child to become a bully. Is it that he/she is predisposed to aggressive behavior
genetically or is this learned behavior? Most science points to it being a combination of factors,
one ’s propensity towar ds violence; however, Pinker explains t hat that no one is a blank slate
stating, “All behavior is the product of an inextricable interaction between heredity and
environment during development, so the answer to all nature -nurture questions is ‘some of
each’” (6). Bullies manipulate others by means of physical and emotional threats and use
aggressive actions and words to achieve their end game, whether that is domination of another or
just getting their way. Studies have shown that two hormones, testosterone and cortisol, may be
responsible for increased aggression; however, these studies also showed that “testosterone -
related behaviors were dependent on the quality of parent -child relations and not on a direct
Commented [A3]: The essay includes novel excerpts as support. Maslankowski 5
relationship between testosterone and behavior” (Hazler, Carney, and Granger 301). Si milar
studies in girls yielded similar results .
Consequently it seems , even by today’s science, that nurture presides over nature in one’s
predisposition toward violent behavior. Frankenstein ’s creature doesn’t really have a genetic map
one could study to determine his genetic predisposition for violence as there is no uniformity or
predictability that can be gathered from each of t he creature’s body parts. He has many
biological parents; however, the rejection by his creator, his father, and the subse quent shunning
by society teach him that he is a lesser being , and this nurtures rage, anger, and evil within him ,
causing him to commit heinous acts in the name of revenge. No matter what genetic association
the creature may or may not have, genetics can o nly “convey a statistical predisposition toward a
certain behavior” (Reif, Rösler, Freitag, Schneider, Eujen, Kissling, Wenzler, Jacob, Retz -
Junginger, Thome, Lesch, and Retz 2381) ; it does not exculpate them from wrongdoing. They
should have been taught r ight from wrong and impulse c ontrol. The creature, sadly, has no
chance to be good. Frankenstein does not give him the chance.
The theme of nature vs. nurture runs throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , from the
nature of Victor Frankenstein and his desire to be adored by a species of his own creation , to his
ina bility to nurture a creature he created that he abandons to a hellish life on earth with a society
abuses and shuns him . As the creature has no real nature, being that it is made from several
different body parts, there can be no real genetic predisposition towar d violence. The creature
learns this from the environment he is thrown into by his creator. Abandonment and neglect by
his father and abuse and rejection by society teach the creature h e is wretched. Ti me after time
the creature tries to be kind, generous , and compa ssionate to those he encounters , only to be
rebuffed, rebuked, and harmed. This stokes the evil within hi m with rage and anger and causes
Commented [A4]: Great real world example that represents the theme noted in the thesis. Maslankowski 6
him to become evil and malevolent, much l ike adverse parental rearing is, in part, blamed for
today’s bullies in schools. That this issue is still debated today is a testament to the timelessness
of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Maslankowski 7
Works Cited
DiLalla, Lisbeth Fisher, and Sufna Gheyara John. “Genetic and Behavioral Influences on
Received Aggression during Observed Play among Unfamiliar Preschool -Aged Peers.”
Palmer Quarterly 60.2 (2014): 168 -192. ProQuest . Web. 28 Sept 2015.
Hazler, Richard J., JoLynn V. Carney, and Douglas A. Granger. “Integr ating Biological
Measures into the Study of Bullying.” Journal of Counseling and Development 84.3
(2006): 298 -307. ProQuest . Web. 28 Sept 2015.
Pinker, Steven. “Why nature & nurture won’t go away.” Daedalus 133.4 (2004): 5 -17. ProQuest .
Web. 22 Sept 2015.
Reif, Andreas, Michael Rösler, Christine M. Freitag, Marc Schneider, Andrea Eujen, Christian
Kissling, Denise Wenzler, Christian P. Jacob, Petra Retz -Junginger, Johannes Thome,
Klaus -Peter Lesch, and Wolfgang Retz. “Nature and Nurture Predispose to Violent
Behavior: Serotonergic Genes and Adverse Childhood Environment.”
Neuropsychopharmacology 32 (2007): 2375 -2383. ProQuest . Web. 22 Sept 2015.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus . New York: Simon and Schuster,
2009. Print.
