In Cold Blood Nature Vs Nurture

Nature vs. Nurture Every person has a nature instinct and a nurture instinct inside them, but the dominance of a certain one usually depends on the person. Some people have a stronger urge to help and protect others than to better themselves, while other people have the most interest in self-preservation. It is not just what a person thinks or feels that shows their true side, but also moments of quick judgement, snap-decisions, and kill or be killed. In these times of life or death, humans usually resort to instinct, which can be considered nature. What most people may not think about is the fact that natural instinct often includes the urge to nurture. This can be shown in many moments in history, from cold blooded murder to religion to

Unlike Perry, Dick actually had a very nice childhood with a family who loved him. When Detective Nye was questioning Dick’s parents, Mr. Hickock began explaining the life of Dick, starting with him being “‘an outstanding athlete… always the star player. A pretty good student, too, with A marks in several subjects’” (Capote 166). Although Dick had a much better childhood than Perry, he still had a very limited ability to feel compassion compared to Perry’s instinct to nurture. Dick’s lack of consideration is shown greatly when Perry recounts the events of the murder and tells the detectives that Dick said “‘I’m gonna bust that little girl.’ And I [Perry] said ‘Uh-huh. But you’ll have to kill me first… He says ‘What do you care? Hell, you can bust her, too’” (Capote 243). Dick had no regard for other people or how they feel, while Perry intervened with Dick’s self-interest in order to consider the emotions of the Clutters. Even after the murders, Dick felt no remorse for what he and Perry had just done, only feeling that they had “scored” by getting a little bit of money. The life and development of Dick show that even a nurturing environment may not contribute to a compassionate soul. The instinct to nurture may not always come from surroundings, as Dick shows, but beliefs and religions show that nature and nurture are a part of each other and both contribute to the development of a