Examples Of Nurture In Joe Christmas

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Joe Christmas: Nature or Nurture? When it comes to the debate of nature over nurture, it is nearly always impossible to pick the extreme of either side. Most people, typically, settle in a spot that’s in the gray area between the two sides. The general population agrees that both culture and genetics play key parts in the personality and mannerisms of an individual. When this debate is over Joe Christmas, the final verdict is irrefutable—nurture plays the most salient role in his behavior. A quick analysis of Christmas’ character reveals traits such as aggression, impulsiveness, misogyny, racism, aloofness, and borderline sociopathy. Christmas didn’t demonstrate any of these characteristics as a young boy; however, he begins to develop them while still a boy after being exposed to them in his surroundings (e.g., racism).…show more content…
The dietician of the orphanage caught Joe in the same room when she was having sex with the orphanage doctor and later she says to him, “Tell then! You little ni**er bastard! You ni**er bastard!” (Faulkner 125) Additionally, the other children were calling him a “ni**er”, with an obviously negative connotation. No longer blank, Christmas’ slate was now dirtied by the negative behaviors he experienced at the orphanage. This was the onset of his prejudice towards black people. He grew up with the only option being to view those people as the way he was

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