True Nature And Nurture In The Half Husky By Margaret Laurence

Who we truly are and who we are conditioned to be, despite being for the most part intertwined, tend to be incredibly different things. In the short story “The Half Husky”, written by Margaret Laurence, this topic, the topic of one’s true nature vs the nurture they receive, is thoroughly explored. Laurence suggests that despite the personality someone is born with, how they are raised and any significant early life trauma endured can later result in misplaced anger, devious behaviours, and a continuation in the cycle of abuse.

Initially, the main character, fifteen year old Vanessa, was quite sheltered and naive. The “enormous spruce tree [that] grew beside the shed… concealed anyone there” serves as a physical shelter in the story and could …show more content…
An example of this would be how Vanessa believes Grandfather Conner is truly mean, though in her perspective he may be, to others Grandfather Conner would be considered no more than simply unpleasant. Vanessa has never really had to experience a truly mean or abusive person in her life, which can make her quite naive when it comes to the sufferings of others. Though this is of no fault of her own, Vanessa’s sheltered life could be greatly envied by the less fortunate, such as Harvey Shinwell. Her naivety is quite clearly shown at the point in which she finally goes to her mother concerning the issue of the abuse Nanuk endures at the hands of Harvey. “I asked my mother if we could go to the police and get them to warn Harvey off” Vanessa recounts. But having never really dealt with the police before in her life, Vanessa assumes that they would be concerned with such a seemingly small matter. She also seems to have no understanding of how police operate as she doesn’t mention that to get the police involved she would have to press legal charges against Harvey. And finally another aspect of Vanessa’s naivety, which manifests into …show more content…
The event that finally pushed Vanessa to this realization was visiting Harvey’s house after he had allegedly stolen her brass telescope. “[Harvey’s] aunt, with an explosive quickness that made me jerk in every nerve, snatched the wooden spoon out of the bowl of batter and hit [Harvey] across the face” is how Vanessa recounts the experience. Seeing how Harvey is mistreated at home brings her to the realization that, though the way he’s been abusing Nanuk is wrong, Harvey’s home life played a massive role in who he came to be later in life. Having realized this, Vanessa was also able to see why Nanuk turned into someone completely different than the gentle sweet puppy he was before meeting Harvey Shinwell. Abuse and mistreatment turns people and animals into angry, often delinquent, abusers themselves. And as time went on Nanuk got worse, “he had become increasingly suspicious of everyone except the family, and anyone who approached the gate when he was in the yard was met the same way, with the low warning growl. If they attempted to open the gate, he would stand there, poised and bristling, waiting for their next move”. This description of Nanuk is completely contrary to the one in the beginning of the story of him as a sweet puppy in her arms and this change is solely due to the abuse he suffered.