Connections to modern culture

[mollyfernandez]

Now looking at the environments of these characters we can compare the characters themselves to see if the environment affected them. Nancy and Kenyon, members of the Clutter family, are responsible, respectful, well liked, and honorable teenagers. The killers on the other hand are disrespectful, untrustworthy, despised, irresponsible, and selfish adults. This proves that there is a direct relationship between the environment one grows up in and the type of person they become. Who’s to say that if Kenyon and Nancy were raised in the killers environment they wouldn’t be just like or even worse than Dick and Perry. Furthermore, children follow the example that is set for them. The Clutter children followed the example of Mr. Clutter who was a one of the most respectable men in the community and one of the most responsible men in the community so through his example, his children became just like him. As a result, Nancy is seen as the most responsible and respectful teenager in her grade and even her high school, leading to her ultimate success. On the other hand, the killers had no positive example and therefore could not be expected to become a good citizen in society, leading to his ultimate downfall. These are examples of how we are products of our environment. Environments have the ability to shape us, motivate us, and define us. One modern example to further this point is the environment that Highlands High School creates. Highlands High School as a whole is an encouraging environment where students are surrounded by highly motivated students and encouraging faculty. This not only produces a good learning environment but also produces motivated students who achieve many academic fetes. If you contrast this with learning environment of a public school in the heart of Cincinnati where few students are successful and even fewer teachers are still motivated to put forth all their energy the results are very different. Very few students are motivated to challenge themselves in the classroom and even fewer students accomplish the main goal of furthering education through college or additional education. Another broader example is how the United States environment has created citizens who feel a sense of entitlement and a sense that they are better than other nations simply because they are American and we are in “Merica”. As a result, other nations look down at us and if you have ever traveled abroad you may have experienced this. Should we be blamed for our attitude just because we were raised to feel this way and have not learned any better? If you say no how is this any different than the killers and their environment.

[ikschultz]

I agree with the idea that we are products of our environent to a certain extent. I believe that just because you grow up in an environment that may not be the best or if you don't have someone to raise you properly as a child doesn't mean one cannot still be a good person. When you look at inner city schools and compare them to Highlands yes we have more motivated students and staff but I don't believe we should generalize all inner city school students. There are many students who work hard to get good grades at those schools because school is the only thing that can get them out of the bad environment they grew up in and live in everyday. They use school as a safe haven from crime and abuse. I think that Dick and Perry could've easily turned their life around if that is what they desired to do. They may not have had a set role model in their life but they have seen what success and true graciousness looks like from the people they hurt or see but aren't aquainted with.

[alextraylor]

I completely agree with Izzy. The environment that you are raised in or happen to be in can create or change your character in many ways. I can see the idea that a persons character could be based off of their environment. But there are so many other factors that go into creating a persons identity. We cannot base a person's identity off of their environment completely as a result of this. As I see, a person's character is their choice. However the environment that the person comes from can hinder what a person chooses to do. While people in inner cities can choose their education over what people would expect them to do based on their environment, things from their heritage, region, or people around them can force them to make decisions. For example, race can be a deciding factor in job or college applications. People can also make bad decisions when having the choice. Dick Hickock is a good candidate for this line of thinking. In Cold Blood says that his mother was a good woman and that she was wary of bad people. A person's environment is vastly made up of their parents' line of thinking. If your environment completely makes your decisions for you, then wouldn't Dick be a good person as well?