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Is it truly a question of nature vs. nurture?
So, I’m reading this book, Wicker, by Kevin Guilfoile. It’s a really good book. I’m rather surprised, I don’t think most authors would be able to carry this particular theme throughout the book without overdoing it – so far he’s doing good.
“How far would you go to look into the eyes of your daughter’s killer?” asks the front of the book… already an intriguing start to a very interesting idea.
Basically, you have the main character who is a doctor who clones humans (in a future where cloning humans is legal). This doctor has a daughter who is raped and murdered – and he (of course) hasn’t come to terms with her death and the violence before it.
***Stop reading here if you plan on reading the book and want to be surprised***
So you’re still reading? Don’t worry, I haven’t finished the book so I can’t give away the ending. The doctor gets his daughter’s belongings back from the cops, and what do you know? They accidentally included the specimens collected at the crime scene. What does a doctor who clones humans do? Clones his daughter’s killer.
Ok, I know – if you’re actually reading the book, you would have figured out what it was about within the first few pages. That’s why I don’t feel bad including here (even though it was included under the cut tag).
As the story continues it poses the question: what is really responsible for how we are as people? Is it really a case of everything being coded into our DNA or does it depend on our upbringing, our surroundings, and the choices we make?
A good point brought up in the book is: identical twins have been show to lead extremely similar lives even though they are brought up in different families, lifestyles, etc. Their situations are different but there are cases where they end up living less than 5 miles apart, have the same type of job, same number of kids, etc…. and they never knew each other.
A clone is basically your identical twin brought up at a different time – so what do you think? Would the same thing happen if you were cloned, would you have basically the same outcome? At that point, is it really a case of nature vs. nurture, or are our personalities predetermined before they ever really start?
