Human nature is an instinctive part of our body, as well as a device that plays an important role in literature. Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. It affects your actions, how you think, and what emotions you feel. It is also instinctive, so sometimes, you just can’t help it. As it is also important in literature, it helps us address conditions, characteristics, and feelings that affect all people. Two examples of great books and plays that show specific examples of human nature are The Elephant Man and the Monkey’s Paw. In the Monkey’s Paw, the White family gets a monkey;’s paw that will grant the father 3 wishes, but a tragedy unfolds from the first wish. The Elephant man is actually quite the opposite. It is about a man, who is trying to figure out the condition of John Merick. However, both books have great examples of human nature.
Basically, there’s two sides to human nature: bright and dark. Brightness includes the kind and caring things we do instinctively. It’s the useful, helpful, and good deeds we do, opposed to the bad and mean ones. One example, from the Monkey’s Paw, is realizing mistakes and doing our best to fix them. When Mr. White made a mistake by granting his first wish on the monkey’s paw, he fixed it by the third wish. He knew the consequences of his second wish, and changed it with his third, thus showing that he understands the impact of his actions. Sympathy is also another important human nature trait. When Treves sees Ross advertising a human, he shows sympathy and decides to take him away from his show-box expertise and examine his conditions. This shows that he has sympathy and cares for him. Related to it is also kindness and care, which we can also get from the Elephant Man when Treves takes Merrick away. The good parts and deeds are the ones we should use to the fullest. When a chance comes to use the brightness, don’t miss it.
As the opposite of the brightness of human nature, there is also the darkness of human nature. These instincts are bad, and not an ideal characteristic you would want to have. In the Monkey’s Paw, greed and not being grateful is a major part of the darkness of human nature. Mr. White was really greedy and no grateful, which made him want to use the monkey’s paw to get what he desired. Even so, some of the blame goes to Sergeant Morris, for taking advantage of someone’s curiosity and dumping the monkey’s paw in Mr. White’s hands. Mr. White was also very selfish, a trait that is also used in the Elephant Man, as Ross didn’t care for Merrick, he just wanted money, and he didn’t even treat him well enough. The darkness of human nature in these two books also include cruelty, which is major in the Elephant Man. Ross is using Merrick for money, but he won’t treat him well or be kind to him, despite the fact that he is his main source of money. Darkness is what we want to avoid. Try not to be tempted to use it. The dark side is the bad side. The side that is not ideal… to most people.
As there are causes to everything, there are causes to the bright and dark side of human nature, too. Behind the cruel and kind acts, there are causes for what happens. Laziness and ambition are examples. People who are lazy want everything without working. Mr. White was probably a bit lazy, so he took the monkey’s paw, thinking it would give him whatever he wanted. Ambition is also very dangerous. When someone has too much ambition, they might go to extreme lengths to get what they want, not caring if they hurt others in the way. For example, Mrs. White had too much ambition to bring her son back, and didn’t think of the consequences. Having no empathy or sympathy for those in need is also very cruel, as you have no heart to help them in a way that you might be perfectly able to. Ross didn’t care for Merrick, so he treated him badly, and Merrick only received good care after he went with Treves. People may choose things for a good or bad cause. When bad or good things happen, think about why, first.
Even if we all want to avoid the darkness of human nature, both the brightness and darkness we can actually not avoid or get willingly. Human nature is inevitable and happens instinctively, so one moment you might be all merry and cheery, while the next, something desirable and you will get all greedy and selfish because you want it. You cannot avoid human nature, and it might not always come at the exact time to want it to come. It is inevitable, and the best we can do is not use it to the fullest when the dark part comes. The Monkey’s Paw and The Elephant Man are both really great examples of the good and bad parts of human nature, and how it affected the characters throughout the story/ play as the characters lost control of it. Human nature can be good and bad, but we will always strive for it to be good.
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