BOOKS I'VE READ:
A Child Called It:
David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system. (Amazon Review)
David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system. (Amazon Review)
The survivors Club:
Sherwood (The Man Who Ate the 747), a writer for the L.A. Times, travels worldwide to gain insight from people who have survived a slew of near fatal phenomena ranging from a mountain lion attack to a Holocaust concentration camp, and interviewing an array of experts to understand the psychology, genetics and jumble of other little things that determines whether we live or die. Readers curious about their own survivor profile can take an Internet test, which is explained in the books later pages. Sherwoods assertion that survival is a way of perceiving the world around you is enlightening, as are some of the facts he uncovers: you have 90 seconds to leave a plane crash before the cabin temperature becomes unbearable; luck has more to do with personal perspective than chance. But Sherwoods balance of self-help, scientific theories and first-rate reporting is diminished by occasionally overwrought prose as well as the countless survivors stories, which can run together in a touchy-feely stream of faith and optimism. (Jan.) (Amazon Review)
Sherwood (The Man Who Ate the 747), a writer for the L.A. Times, travels worldwide to gain insight from people who have survived a slew of near fatal phenomena ranging from a mountain lion attack to a Holocaust concentration camp, and interviewing an array of experts to understand the psychology, genetics and jumble of other little things that determines whether we live or die. Readers curious about their own survivor profile can take an Internet test, which is explained in the books later pages. Sherwoods assertion that survival is a way of perceiving the world around you is enlightening, as are some of the facts he uncovers: you have 90 seconds to leave a plane crash before the cabin temperature becomes unbearable; luck has more to do with personal perspective than chance. But Sherwoods balance of self-help, scientific theories and first-rate reporting is diminished by occasionally overwrought prose as well as the countless survivors stories, which can run together in a touchy-feely stream of faith and optimism. (Jan.) (Amazon Review)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens:
Based on his father's bestselling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean Covey applies the same principles to teens, using a vivacious, entertaining style. To keep it fun, Covey writes, he "stuffed it full of cartoons, clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world... along with a few other surprises." Did he ever! Flip open to any page and become instantly absorbed in real-life stories of teens who have overcome obstacles to succeed, and step-by-step guides to shifting paradigms, building equity in "relationship bank accounts," creating action plans, and much more. As a self-acknowledged guinea pig for many of his dad's theories, Sean Covey is a living example of someone who has taken each of the seven habits to heart: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win-win; seek first to understand, then to be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw. He includes a comical section titled "The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens," which includes some, shall we say, counterproductive practices: put first things last; don't cooperate; seek first to talk, then pretend to listen; wear yourself out... Covey's humorous and up-front style is just light enough to be acceptable to wary teenagers, and down-and-dirty enough to really make a difference. (Ages 13 and older) --Emilie Coulter (Amazon Rewiew)
Based on his father's bestselling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean Covey applies the same principles to teens, using a vivacious, entertaining style. To keep it fun, Covey writes, he "stuffed it full of cartoons, clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world... along with a few other surprises." Did he ever! Flip open to any page and become instantly absorbed in real-life stories of teens who have overcome obstacles to succeed, and step-by-step guides to shifting paradigms, building equity in "relationship bank accounts," creating action plans, and much more. As a self-acknowledged guinea pig for many of his dad's theories, Sean Covey is a living example of someone who has taken each of the seven habits to heart: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win-win; seek first to understand, then to be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw. He includes a comical section titled "The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens," which includes some, shall we say, counterproductive practices: put first things last; don't cooperate; seek first to talk, then pretend to listen; wear yourself out... Covey's humorous and up-front style is just light enough to be acceptable to wary teenagers, and down-and-dirty enough to really make a difference. (Ages 13 and older) --Emilie Coulter (Amazon Rewiew)
The Lord of the Flies:
William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. (Amazon Review)
William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. (Amazon Review)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas:
This work was set in Berlin, 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But, Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than what meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (Amazon Review)
This work was set in Berlin, 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But, Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than what meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (Amazon Review)
Huckleberry Finn:
Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious. Though some of the situations in Huckleberry Finn are funny in themselves (the cockeyed Shakespeare production in Chapter 21 leaps instantly to mind), this book's humor is found mostly in Huck's unique worldview and his way of expressing himself. Describing his brief sojourn with the Widow Douglas after she adopts him, Huck says: "After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people." Underlying Twain's good humor is a dark subcurrent of Antebellum cruelty and injustice that makes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a frequently funny book with a serious message. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (Amazon Review)
Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious. Though some of the situations in Huckleberry Finn are funny in themselves (the cockeyed Shakespeare production in Chapter 21 leaps instantly to mind), this book's humor is found mostly in Huck's unique worldview and his way of expressing himself. Describing his brief sojourn with the Widow Douglas after she adopts him, Huck says: "After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people." Underlying Twain's good humor is a dark subcurrent of Antebellum cruelty and injustice that makes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a frequently funny book with a serious message. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (Amazon Review)
The Kite Runner:
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try. The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. (Amazon Review)
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try. The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. (Amazon Review)
SENIOR PAPER:
NATURE VS. NURTURE or is it BOTH
Nature vs. Nurture or is it BOTH
Destiny Garner
Yampah Mountain High
When looking at the roles that nature versus nurture play in murderers, I have found excellent views on both sides. Lets define the two sides: nature, meaning that it’s in a murderer’s nature to kill; that they were born that way nurture, meaning that a murderer became a killer by how he or she was nurtured by their parents. There are so many other coincidences just like this one. Many people can’t really explain how the mind really works and why we are the way we are. This is why nature verse nurture is such a hard debate! So why not pick both? Could it be nature and nurture working together to make up the mind of a person? There are so many conclusions that lead to both nature and nurture, so why is it that we spend so much time debating one or the other. Simple facts can tell us that nature and nurture are both part of what makes us human.
Nature verses nurture is a topic that has been debated for years. Both sides tend to have a role. For example, a person could have a more dominant aggressive gene than most people and also have parents that make living hard for them. If a parent sees their child doing a crime at a very young age and pretends to not notice, the child could grow into something worse, like a murderer or just the footsteps of a killer.
On the side of nurture, includes people who believe that nurture is what made a killer a killer. Nurture referring to the questions like, were the parents abusive mentally or physically? What was the household income? Were they in poverty or were they pretty wealthy? Were they neglected? Did they have any friends and/or bullied at school? Just in general, how was the person treated growing up? How were they raised or if they were even raised at all? Things like that can do a lot to the mind to change a person.
How you are raised affects a person more at a young age because that’s when the brain is developing and learning the most. So, let’s say you lived with your parents until you were seven and your parents were very abusive towards you. Then because of the abuse in the home you were placed into a foster home. Then those parents did everything they could to give you a better life, the perfect life, and they did everything they could to make you a happy child; but, because how you were first raised by your biological parents you end up being more like your biological parents, you yourself start to become an abusive person. Such an example leans more towards the nurture side.
Some say that one to one and one half percent of people are just born with no feelings at all. They feel numb from the time they are born. People like that turn out more to be murderers almost naturally. They just don’t care because they have no feeling at all, so those people don’t care if you live or die. They do not feel what a person with feelings should feel. Such an example defends the nature side of the argument.
Most people think that people become the people they are today by nurture. Or they either pick one or the other. Most people don’t think about, what if a person could be made up of both sides? It is very hard to get solid facts on nature alone and how they make a person. That’s why most people lean more towards the nurture side.
So, with serial killers, studies have shown that a combination of both nature and nurture has a great impact on their behaviors. Many murderers have had rough families and rough childhoods. They could also just have a more aggressive, move dominant gene than most people. The combination of the two can make someone mentally ill to the point of becoming a psychopath.
Also, studies have shown that if you are too traumatized as a child, and you finally escape the abuse that you once had, you try and pretend that the abuse never really happened. So, eventually it really does just erase from your memory and you end up feeling numb the rest of your life. Sometimes when that happens it is almost in your nature not to care about anyone or anything else in your life, which could also turn you into a psychopath. Either making you the kind of person who just lay’s around their house all day, or you could either become someone trying to get back at the world and kill many innocent people. Feeling numb can turn a person’s whole life around. That person might not even realize it.
They say that suicidal thinking can run in families, so why not murderous thinking. Like I was saying before a more aggressive, more dominant gene that a person could get from a past murderer in the family could make he or she a murderer.
With killers, you also need to think about their motive of the murder. How that or if at all is involved with nature verse nurture is completely dependent on the motive half the time. What triggered a certain serial killer to kill a person the way he did and why? Did they kill the person for beating his wife because his father used to beat his mother? Did she kill a rapist because she was raped multiple times as a child? Or in the long run was it a murder to save your family? There are so many reasons that can trigger the brain, turning you into something you have never been before. But because of nurture as a child, the chemical reactions in your brain could trigger the wrong way sometimes turning you or possible into a psychopath or the exact opposite. Someone living under a rock, staying cooped up in your room the rest of your life, and being scared of the world.
Another argument supporting the nurture side includes studies have shown that children that were raised by a single parent can end up acting like the parent they have never met or do not remember at all. For example, a young boy named Jared followed in most of the same footsteps his father did. Jared never met his father and yet he laughed like his father, loved track like his father, talked like his father, etc, however, Jared wasn’t raised to act like his father, it was just in is nature. That or is just seemed a little ironic.
Another thing supporting the nurture side that sometimes a person can grow up completely opposite of how they were raised and still show signs of their parents in them. An example of this would be, for example, that the child’s parents are very religious. They go to church Sundays and sometimes during the week. They pray every morning, during every meal and at night. The child also has very strict ground rules and barely gets out of the house. Then as an adult he or she is free from parents and living on his or her own. As he or she is living on their own, they feel better and start to feel rebellious, becoming more anxious and possibly and soon change everything they used to know because they are sick of old habits.
Being in the heat of the moment and killing someone versus planning a murder for months also changes whether it would be nature or nurture. Those types of situations, it is almost impossible for it to be both nature and nurture. If a woman is defending herself in some way, it would more than likely be in her nature to fight back and be cause death to the other person. If it were someone planning a murder for months you would think that would lead to how he was raised or nurtured as a child. Of course the exception being a part of that one to one and a half percent of people born with no feelings at all. If that were the case it could lean more towards nature.
When you visit a hospital and you see all the babies in the baby room, some of the babies are aggravated and screaming, while others cry here and there, and some just lay there peacefully. Some of them probably had parents who did drugs during pregnancy making the baby agitated. And some of them could just be in pain. The main thing is that it is in most of those babies nature to be fussy or upset. They were born that way. It is obvious why people pick sides, but those babies will also get raised somehow. So technically both nature and nurture both work together in a person’s life.
Why pick a side when so many facts can lead to both sides? Scientists have done studies on the brain of murderers that have been imprisoned. The focus on the part the part in your brain that is the common sense part, the part that tells you to stop and think. For some of those murderers, they are missing that entire chunk of their brain. So, instinct is to just kill. There is no wrong in that to them. Nothing will stop them because nothing in there brain is telling them to stop and look at the situation their in. So many people are like that too, and others don’t even realize it. We don’t even stop to think because we are so busy with our lives. It’s not their fault that they cannot tell themselves no, it is just in their nature. As a person the killer could have been raised in a way to teach them to use their head to tell themselves no. If their parents used abuse to get that through their head, right there it shows you that nature and nurture are both equally involved.
It is crazy how the mind works. Every person is different. Nature and nurture both have a play with everything in life. Weather it be people, plants, animals, even non-living things like your home, or even a rock.
With a home nature plays a part by keeping it on the ground. You also have to nurture it like anything else. Clean it, paint it and make it look like a decent home to live in. You try not to stain the carpet or scuff your heels on the hard wood floors. You do your best to nurture your home to the best of your abilities to make it seem nice, warm, and cozy like a home should feel. If you stop taking care of your home, the value value of the home lowers and could possibly eventually never sell and go to waste.
It is the same with everything including people. It is nature and nurture holding a person together and when one or the other stops in some way or another, or even both, we as human beings start to panic. It’s in our nurture and nature!
The reason I keep bringing up the topic of serial killers is because serial killers are the easiest to explain how nature and nurture both work together. With killers most of them are missing the part in their brain giving them feeling or the part in thei0
r brain telling them to stop or telling them to think twice about what they are doing.
When a person is born like that, its in there nature but can change through growth and childhood. If a killer is raised to be passive aggressive them odds are that, that child is going to turn out to be more passive aggressive.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books: Introduction to psychology---Dennis Coon
Psychology for You--- Gordon
How the Mind Works---Steven Pinker
Web:
http://ajas29.tripod.com/massbio.html
http://www.sociology.uiowa.edu/newsoc/awards/papers/larsond.htm
http://julieshapiro.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/quick-note-nature-nurture-both/