No one is born evil. Just as any newborn he is born uninformed- carrying the predisposition of human nature, but without the specific behaviors that can only be set by upbringing and education. Every infant is born helpless with no knowledge of how life or human nature works. Their hearts are susceptible to both good and evil. It is crucial for one's later look on life that their first experiences are positive. It is these experiences that shape a person. Since all the wretch's first interactions with society resulted in screams of horror and disgust, he had no one to guide him and help him understand the ways of life. "In youth we learn; in age we understand." The wretch took it upon himself to learn how the things around him worked but instead encountered adversity from others. Since the villagers chased him away he decides that it would be best to keep himself hidden. In his lone travels he finds the De Lacey family. He is impressed with them and continues to observe them. In his mind only and through constant observation he adopts the family as his friends, and from this learns compassion and speech, " these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds I can not describe the delight I felt when I learned the ideas appropriated to each of these sounds, and was able to pronounce them. I distinguished several other words such as good, dearest, unhappy." (137-138) He grows very content and comfortable with the family. The wretch grew determined to win the De Lacey's affection and friendship, "During the night, I often took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days." (137) The family's reaction to these good deeds made him, "long to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures." (140) Soon, after watching them and learning the family's history, the wretch decided to approach the blind, old man one-day when the family was out of the house.
