The Nature versus Nurture debate can be traced back to a few millenniums ago, and to this day it continues to rattle our brains with its complexity. William Golding an english novelist wrote the book Lord of the flies in 1954 under the preconceived notion that every human is born with the propensity to do evil; as opposed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau a philosopher and writer of the 18th century who swears it is our environment that shapes us to be good or evil. Genetic influence over traits may exist; however, the environmental factors are the real origins of our behavior. I agree with Rousseau on the nurture theory of this debate.
Feral Children are a good example of Jean-Jacques theory. Feral children are children that have grown up with …show more content…
William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies really touches on this topic. William was a believer that every human is born with the propensity to do evil. In his book private british school boys’ plane crashes on a desolate Island with the pilot being killed on impact there is no adults to take control so these young boys have to find ways to function, prosper and survive all on their own. Golding writes “([Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him …show more content…
"'We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.'"
Here the author is trying to show foreshadowing since the boys grew up in their strict and politically correct english culture, now that it is gone their primitive instincts and savagery will begin to show. Eventually one of the characters by the name of Simon realizes all of this while they are looking for a monster and says to the boys "'Maybe there is a beast . . . .maybe it's only us.'"
With these quotations from the book we can really get a feel for William Golding’s perspective on this debate. He makes several good points in this famous book while making us aware of our own human nature.
The nature versus nurture debate will always be an ongoing controversy because, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint accurately where the role of genes and the environment steps in. Everyone's genetic makeup and environment is different. There is genetic influence found in traits, but the dominant makeup of someone's personality and behavior is the derivative of their
Feral Children are a good example of Jean-Jacques theory. Feral children are children that have grown up with …show more content…
William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies really touches on this topic. William was a believer that every human is born with the propensity to do evil. In his book private british school boys’ plane crashes on a desolate Island with the pilot being killed on impact there is no adults to take control so these young boys have to find ways to function, prosper and survive all on their own. Golding writes “([Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him …show more content…
"'We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.'"
Here the author is trying to show foreshadowing since the boys grew up in their strict and politically correct english culture, now that it is gone their primitive instincts and savagery will begin to show. Eventually one of the characters by the name of Simon realizes all of this while they are looking for a monster and says to the boys "'Maybe there is a beast . . . .maybe it's only us.'"
With these quotations from the book we can really get a feel for William Golding’s perspective on this debate. He makes several good points in this famous book while making us aware of our own human nature.
The nature versus nurture debate will always be an ongoing controversy because, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint accurately where the role of genes and the environment steps in. Everyone's genetic makeup and environment is different. There is genetic influence found in traits, but the dominant makeup of someone's personality and behavior is the derivative of their