The first few years are the most crucial for development as babies begin to absorb all the information gathered from their surroundings. The brain begins to process all sorts of stimuli and new sensations, while expanding the synapse network. In the New York Times article, Too Small to Fail, the immediate impact of life and the environment are stressed beginning with the the scary fact that many babies are born with …show more content…
provides a visual example of nature versus nurture. The difficult environment in which the Grape kids are exposed to shapes their interactions and roles. Gilbert takes on the main parental figure positon because they lack an authority figure in their lives. It’s interesting to see their natural tendency to create a family dynamic as best they can because as children it is one of their basic desires. To have an established family provides stability and comfort – which may not be entirely possible for the Grape’s but Gilbert is their best chance at it. The kids share the common experience of losing their father and living with a depressed mother but the main difference in their experiences is that Arnie lives with a disability, an unfortunate result of his genes. Arnie has a developmental disorder, thus struggles to find balance and peace between his hectic environment and biology. He may experience the same environment as he siblings but see things through a different lens. In this case, we can see the interplay of his unfortunate predisposition to anxiety. We also see Gilbert struggle as he is also genetically predispositioned to anxiety and depression like his parents. Its really not a matter of nature versus nature but of both biology and the environment working