by The ideas regarding nature vs. nurture and good vs. evil have been debated in science and philosophy for many years. There are many people who believe children should be thrown into experience, and learn from their mistakes, while there are others who believe parents should play a significant role in the development of their children. In addition to this, there are often debates about whether humans can be born evil, or they are always tainted by the environment they develop in. While the creature in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, does not look much like a child, he is forced into the world, with no one to learn from and no one who loves him. This situation that the creature has been put in illustrates many flaws in the world, including the tendency for humans to judge a book by its cover, and the importance of learning from your mistakes and being able to fall and get back up again.
In the novel, the scientist Victor Frankenstein feverishly prepares a creation, with which he will instill the elixir of life. Frankenstein selfishly wished to be the first person to artificially create life, and the being that he was creating had a freakish look. Frankenstein did not care much about the look or at least ignored it, as he tried to spark any life into his creation. When he was finally able to give life to the creature, he was horrified by its monstrous appearance, and shunned it away from him. This first flaw from the scientist Frankenstein had devilish consequences. Cast away from his creator with no one who cared for him, the creature had a series of encounters with some people living in a cabin in the woods. There, the creature slowly began to learn from these people, and he began to respect and care for them. Frankenstein never had any intention to harm these people, as shown from his encounter with De Lacey. De Lacey, a blind man, could not be afraid of his appearance, and he made great conversation with the creature. It is only when the other family members in the cabin see the creature as a monster, and shun him away into the woods. These people came to quick conclusions about the creature solely based on his looks. This event had a significant impact on the creature, and left him incredibly lonely.
Full of feelings of loneliness and despair, the creature went back to Frankenstein in hopes of him creating a partner. At first, Frankenstein obliged with the creature’s request, but abandoned his project when he realized the creature might try and reproduce with his partner. Now rejected by his creator for a second time, the creature’s rage boiled over, and he ended up murdering Frankenstein’s brother William. Although the creature’s actions are indefensible, it is hard not to feel bad for him after being rejected by practically his father. This sheds some light on the pros and cons of nature vs. nurture. Although the creature was thrown out into nature with the necessary skills to survive and learn, this proved dangerous as he began a hatred towards the human race. Frankenstein did not give him any guidance in the world, because he lacked forethought of his creature’s appearance and naivety. The later parts of the novel do not have much relevance to the nature vs. nurture debate, because the creature has already gotten to a point where he can’t apologize.
The good vs. evil debate has always been a very controversial and philosophical concept, and there will always be arguments to both sides. Simply from the evidence in this book, it seems that the creature was born as a neutral being with no preconceptions about humans and society. The evils in the world like judging someone by appearance and loneliness drove this creature to do terrible things. A very telling moment was at the end of the novel when the creature felt terrible for what he did to his creator, and after all these years he finally realized that what he did was wrong. This novel gives a great example of the controversial topics of nature vs. nurture and good vs. evil, as it shows a creature who is cast out into the world with no loved ones and no knowledge.