The debate about Nurture vs Nature is whether a person is naturally born with behavior in an inherited aspect, or if the environment and their experiences shape them.  I am a strong believer in the “nurture” method as I believe that a situation that a person is raised in or adapted to molds the person as a whole rather than inherently adopting traits.

For example, a person who was born into poverty with not many material possessions may grow and develop into a person who tends to be appreciative and has an extensive perspective of society.  This view from the bottom allows for an understanding of the material values in society that will stick with the person forever.  This differs from a baby born into an extremely wealthy background and may tend to be out of touch and snobby.  Money is readily available and having the power to do whatever you want changes a child, especially when challenges and obstacles can be hurdled over as they are not being solved by the person, but instead by the wallet.  Environment plays a role in the way that parental influence can change these naturally inclined habits. Parents can raise their children to properly value the haves and have-nots in life.  In the animated masterpiece, “Spirited Away” created by Hayao Miyazaki, Chihiro is a perfect instance of such.  From the beginning of the film, we can assume that Chihiro’s bond with her parents is second to none as she consistently can be seen going to them for comfort when dealing with an uncomfortable situation.  This sense of safety and home within her parents naturally influenced her passionate and beading desire to save her parents throughout the film.  This relates to my argument as finding love and true comfort had shaped Chihiro into a person that finds the values in life in a grateful, wholesome manner.  

Although general behavior is shaped by the situations people are thrown into, nature does play a finite role in constructing a person.  This can be seen especially and specifically in people that have mental disabilities or mental illnesses.  These special conditions can not be avoided or stopped, but rather come naturally.  They force a person to behave a certain way and change how they live due to cognitive dissonance.  The natural and unavoidable applies to the minority of the population as these mental disabilities are less common than likely.  This is brilliantly conveyed in the “A Work of Artifice” poem which shows how naturally women (bonsai) are supposed to grow and be so much more than they are perceived as today, but the suppressors (gardeners) limit them.  This shows the parallel between the natural development of people and their abilities to produce.  Everyone has a natural character or base that has potential.  

The most interesting example of nature and nurture that I found negatively combining is with serial killers, recently mainstream, Jeffery Dahmer.  He was only a boy when he would experience detachment and a lack of presence from his father while dealing with his mother’s mental illnesses.  This terrible parenting would leave Jeffery to be stuck in a situation that leads to him being isolated as a child and never being able to develop as most other children would.  It would later be revealed that he would also suffer from a schizotypal personality disorder which basically makes a discomfort in creating close relationships with others and a hatred for social interactions.  The nature of the disorder and the nurture of the lack of parental presence combined to create a monster that would keep his victims as prisoners to have a sense of control over something in his life.  This relates to the film “Scavengers” as we can see the natural survival instinct of humans killing and abusing animals for their own benefit while staying desensitized to the damage they may be doing to the environment around them.  The lack of humility of a natural savage human combated with the zero consequences that last after killing an animal shape shows how nature and nurtures dynamics.

“Scavengers” on Vimeo

I believe that everyone has their own special experiences in life and was brought up differently, which is responsible for the relationships we are able to build with one another.  People that are taught to have the same values will tend to relate with one another and see each other as companions.  For the most part, people in our high school are able to communicate with each other fairly well as we have the similar and common goal to graduate and become something better in this world.  Our parents have raised us to have dreams and try to surpass them with any means necessary.  This explains the relationships and bonds that are available with fellow students, some more than others as values can differ.  Parents will always act as nurture or in other words, they will facilitate growth and development as people.  When this common trend appears in many families, the students will reflect this when socializing and building.  Families that teach their kids to shoot high and set an example for them will most likely have their children shoot higher as they seek validation.  Families that commonly tend to be lazy and unspirited will have their children follow suit.  The people that surround you will be the people you naturally take after.