Obviously, Old Nick is Jack's father, but will we be able to tell based on Jack's personality? Jack's behavior and personality are clearly very unique, but as far as I can tell, most of this can be attributed to his upbringing in such a closed environment and his contact with only one (two if you count Nick) other human being. Jack certainly draws sympathy from the reader, but nonetheless, it bothers me that Jack supposedly inherited old Nick's genes. In the reading for Tuesday, (Spoiler until the end of the paragraph) Ma's Dad from Australia comes to visit, and he cant look at Jack because he reminds him of Old Nick. Maybe if we didn't have Jack's point of view, this would be a more natural way to think about him. Nonetheless, everyone sending cards seems to be sympathetic. Clearly some people more than others share my apprehension toward Jack's genetics, and some, like Jack's grandpa take it too far.
This ties into the whole Nature vs Nurture Debate. Here is the link to the Wikipedia article in case you want to familiarize yourself with it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture. I think most people, including I, believe that the adult personality is shaped both by a person's genes and through their upbringing. How large of a role each plays, however, is more subject to controversy. On the nature side, I would imagine Jack growing up perhaps slightly twisted, because after all, he has half the genes of a kidnapper and rapist. On the nurture side, I Jack's childhood plays a large role in his adult personality and I would imagine that the first 5 years might have a more detrimental role than expected. Either way, the circumstances are less than ideal, but I hope that the rest of the book will shed a bit of light on what direction Jack is headed. Unfortunately, we are two thirds of the way through the book, and only a week or so has passed, so at this rate, we will not get to see very far into Jacks future. Hopefully, though we will get a clear enough picture to predict how things will end up for Jack and Ma.
Does the fact that Old Nick is a kidnapper and a murder actually matter in the role of genes? I mean I’m no biologist but as far as my little brain can think, I would assume that wouldn’t make a difference right? Old Nick wasn’t born a kidnapper and a murder, and neither was Jack. So why would that affect him? It is often said that children are born clean states, that is, you can mold them into what they become, and the same thing can be seen in the case of Jack. But I do see what you mean by the possibility of him possessing a dark side. We do see him do some weird things such as keeping a sixth gift instead of just the five and not telling his Ma, as well as taking a bath before/after (i.e. whenever he wants to) breakfast. So the question in the end is will this Luke turn into Anakin or not?
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be a balance of Nature vs. Nurture. Old Nick was most likely born just like anybody else, but because of how he grew up, he ended up being a kidnapper and rapist. Also, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure there's not some code in our genes that determines if we become a killer/rapist/thief.
ReplyDeleteNick is shaping Jack's "nurture"--at least during the crucial first five years of his life--in profound ways, simply because of the unnatural and cruel conditions under which he and Ma are kept prisoner. So even apart from the shakier question of Nick's genes and their influence on Jack's development, and Nick's total absence as anything like a "father" to Jack, the fact is that he has shaped Jack's world, his psychology and sense of self, in profound ways. Ma heroically tried to limit Jack's exposure to Nick as much as possible, but she can't do anything about the fact that Jack's entire reality is literally circumscribed by the four walls Nick has put around them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not an expert in this field, but I have looked into stuff like this, and while doing so, the question arises on how children grow without a father figure in their lives. Absence of a father in Jack's life can cause even more emotional, intellectual, behavioral, and social problems in Jack's life. It can even be argued that without a father figure in Jack's life, he can turn to more delinquent behaviors. I'm not saying Ma should of accepted Old Nick into the family, but I would consider either moving in/ becoming very close with Grandpa or find someone that can fill that gap in Jack's life.
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