Frankenstein Nature Vs Nurture Essay

Nature vs nurture has been one of the oldest arguments in history, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley attempts to take sides on the argument by analyzing the development of a new creature in an already critical society. Shelley shows the character’s development from a kind hearted being to a vindictive monster due to the cultural perception of beauty. As the monster builds his identity, he finds himself in a hostile environment, society’s rejection of his physical appearance turns his benevolent heart into a resentful one.
When the creature narrates his first experiences, it is clear that his nature was civilized and benevolent. In the beginning, he admired kindness and affection and was sickened by any thought of violence. When he first

read about the great empires of the world “[he] could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow … [his] wonder ceased and [he] turned away with disgust and loathing" (Shelley 104).

Clearly, the creature did not have evil intentions from the beginning of his existence. He might have gotten life in a horrid body, but his appearance did not determine the quality of his intentions. In fact, most of the time he looked out for others and tried to help how he could. When he sees a little girl drowning in the river he does not hesitate to come to her aid. However, instead of a “thank you”, he receives a bullet in his shoulder. The monster’s pain is evident as he shouts: “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. … Inflamed by pain, I vowed

eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (Shelley 126). Certainly, the monster’s acts of goodwill were overshadowed by his scary appearance. The man who shot him was unable to see beyond the looks of the creature, which made him less civilized than the one he called a monster. Unable to find recognition among the human species, the monster is then forced by the values of society to resent human beings. Essentially, Victor’s creation does not come to life with destructive thoughts, these he develops as he interacts with society.
As the monster grasps a better understanding of how society works, he feels like an outsider in a world where appearances are everything. Throughout the whole story, the author emphasizes the physical descriptions of the characters and places in order to portray an intolerant society. Even the monsters thoughts are influenced by prejudice when he says “[he] love[s] the gentle manners and amiable qualities of [his] cottagers” (Shelley 105). The creature himself judges others by their aspects, ironically enough, this is exactly what separates him from the rest of society. His scary looks distinctly segregated him from everyone else, “when [he] looked around [he] saw and heard none like [him]. Was [he], then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?” (Shelley 105). His appearance certainly avoided any relationships with anyone else, therefore, being the source of his loneliness. Even though he was ugly only in the outside, that was all people could see and all they judged him for. This is evident when the monster first encounters the old blind cottager. When they first meet the old man tells the creature that “[he is] blind and cannot judge of [his] countenance, but there's something in [his] words which persuades [him] that [he] is sincere” (Shelley 119). Since he was unable to see what the monster really looked like, he did not think of him as a threat but as an honest and righteous individual. However, once the other not so blind cottagers got home, they did judge him as wicked and malicious. Although they could see, they were totally blind to the good intentions of a creature who only wanted affection. Their perception of beauty makes the monster feel alone and isolated from society.
The bitter environment in which the creature finds himself in turns him into a remorseful and vindictive monster.

After finding out that his hideous form prevented him from having any sort of company, the monster holds his creator responsible. His frustration is explicit as “ [he] exclaimed in agony. ‘Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?’ ” (Shelley 115). From this day forward the creature plans to make Victor’s life as miserable as Victor made his when he decided to give him a scary appearance. The generosity in this creature’s heart had been replaced by evil thoughts of revenge because he felt rejected by society due to his physical appearance. He did not only despise Victor but also every human being because their species was the source of his solitude. The monster himself admits that the source of his wrongdoing is his inevitable loneliness. He declares that “[he] is malicious because [he] is miserable” (Shelley 130). The creature might have had a benign conscious in the beginning, but at the end he was indeed a malevolent being. Definitely, society turned the good intentions of this creature into bad

ones.
Overall, the environment in which the creature develops his personality changes his character dramatically. At the beginning, his intentions were unharmful, but the constant rejection of his appearance and the loneliness it caused turned him into a vindictive monster. This demonstrates that society certainly changed the monster personality. In this case, the monster was born righteous but grew into a harmful being, proving that nurture has more power than nature.