Essay on The Theme of Nature Versus Nurture in Shellys...

Nature versus nurture is a debate of importance of one’s qualities when born, or of their personal experiences, leading them to the point where they are today. â€Å"You got your green eyes from your mother and your freckles from your father. But where did you get your thrill-seeking personality and talent for singing?† (Kimberly Powell). Kimberly raises a question that has been asked for centuries, â€Å"Do you learn this growing up, or did you genetically inherit these traits? One of the themes of Frankenstein is nature versus nurture. The author, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, was born and raised in London, England. Shelley’s first and most famous novel was Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein, the main character in the novel, creates a creature using†¦show more content†¦it is still a greater evil to me that I am self-educated: for the first fourteen years of my life I ran wild on a common and read nothing but our Uncle Thomas books of voyage† (19). The nature of every young boy is to be outside and play with their friends. But, since Walton enjoyed reading his Uncles books, he spent a lot of time alone and did not have many friends. This continued throughout his life and even up to the point on the ship. Also, reading about his Uncles voyages gave Walton an ambition to go out and explore his World. Yet, Walton’s father was dying, and his guardian, Walton’s Uncle, did not let him have an adventure of his own, These volumes were my study day and night, and my familiarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as a child, on learning my fathers dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark in a seafaring life (16). After reading his Uncles books, Walton wanted to live a life like his, to go out and make his own adventures. But since Walton’s father was dying, he was held back from what he truly wanted. This made his ambition for adventure greater and greater. Once Walton had inheri ted a large sum of money, it made his dreams possible. Walton had listened to his Uncle and been secluded his entire life, but when the opportunity arose, he was able to go to sea, You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore the disappointment. But just at that time I inherited the fortune of myShow MoreRelatedHuman Cloning Debate: The Fate of Frankenstein1671 Words   |  7 PagesBackground When Frankenstein was adapted for stage in 1823 the productions title was Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein. A Victorian audience was concerned with the theme of a mans ambition to replace God by creating a new species. Equal emphasis was placed on this aspect of the novel in the 1831 introduction of Frankenstein, It is Mary Shellys critique of where such highly abstracted creative powers can lead when put in a realizing scientific context and then driven along by lofty