Similarities Between Nature And Nurture In 'My Last Duchess'

Are we products of nature or nurture? Nature is when an individual inherits features that makes them behave and think a specific way. In contrast, nurture is when an individual’s behavior reflects their environmental factors. One of those factors consist of the people they are surrounded by and the positivity or negativity they receive from them. These two things determines whether or not if the behavior they display is hereditary or influenced.
In the poem “My Last Duchess” the Duke was a product of nurture. He was a product of nurture because his characteristics throughout the poem were jealousy and obsession over his wife. For example, the Duke talked about how his wife would smile at the people in town,but he didn’t like that so he decided

to stop the smiles all together. This resulted in a way of letting the people around him influence the way he behaved. The jealousy he had slowly grew because his wife wasn’t thankful enough for the last name that held royalty in the Duke’s eyes. The Duke’s obsession also revolved around the level of kindness his wife showed between and him and the town’s people.
Also, the story Hamlet was a product of nurture because of the vengeance and destructive motives the characters each had.

King Claudius is a great example of this because in the story his motives reflected out of enviness and anger. His environment caused him to act a certain way because he realized the only way to become as powerful as his brother was to kill him and remove all obstacles. This isn’t a goal that Claudius was born with, but over the years it was something that developed. With that being said, he killed his brother by pouring poison into his ear just to have that power he envied so much. He allowed his anger to accumulate and that’s what caused him to take advantage over the people in his environment.
In the novel Night they used nurture to survive. The Jews had to adapt to their environment as they were being dehumanized. An example that encountered in the novel was when Eliezer was told to stop giving his food to his father. He slowly started to do things others in the concentration camps began to do also in order for them to survive. They all decided to care for themselves at one point in the novel and this is the time where he chose to do the same. Eliezer’s natural intentions would’ve been to continue to care for his father, but as the conditions began to get worst it was one man for

himself.
Ellen was a young white girl who grew up in an awful environment. She had a negligent father and an ill mother who couldn’t do much. Ellen was obligated to care for herself at such a young age and she had experienced so much as a child. She was a character who was a product of nurture as well. She grew up around family and friends who thought lower of blacks and that caused her to think the same. Since she heard that statement so often she also began to believe it herself. She had a black friend, Starletta, who house she would go over and see all the struggles she endured. She wasn’t as fortunate and Ellen felt bad because Starletta lived up to the statement that she have always heard. After she actually talked and worked with blacks Ellen figured she wasn’t any different. She only thought that way because of the things others around her would say, but since she was able to have that experience she had a better understanding. Knowing more about a person will allow others to comprehend more about that individual and their background,
In the Willie Lynch letter it talks about the process of making a slave from a master's point of view. Willie Lynch said in order to make a slave you have to make sure the slave trusts you (slave owner). In order for that to happen slave masters often turned lighter toned and darker toned blacks against each other. They did this so division will take place between them two and they’ll rely on the slave owner. He also said it’s similar to getting a younger horse to trust the owner. If the mother trusts the owner then she’ll teach her child to also trust the owner. It’s nurture because the mothers and fathers are taught to adapt to their environment and they teach their child to do the same. Becoming a slave takes away all independency and strength that the culture had before because now they are obligated to learn a new way of living in a different environment.
In the movie Beyond the Lights the main character Noni had to adjust to living a life her mother wanted her to. Noni was a girl who had a passion for singing and started at a younger age. As she got older her mother allow her to do anything for publicity and money. She was a product of nurture because she had to become someone she didn’t want to be while her mother lived through her. She was forced to be the girl everyone admired when in reality she just wanted to share her talent with the world. She attempted suicide and that was her cry out for help because she no longer wanted to live a life she wasn’t content with. Her mother was still caught up in the idea of fame and exposure and convinced herself it was an accident. Once Noni figured out she could be the woman she wanted to be without pretending she changed and was no longer a product of nurture.
Most of the characters in pieces of writings we have read all seemed to be products of nurture. We, as people, tend to get shaped into individuals based off of experience. The characters we read about all had a reason that explained why they behaved the way they did. I believe we are products of nurture because we all learn different things through our different trials in life. Those experience is what gives us the knowledge we need for other situations down the road that’s soon to come.