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star trek - If Worf was raised by humans after the age of 5, why does he "act" so Klingon?


Worf was rescued from the wreckage of the Khitomer colony by a Starfleet petty officer and raised amongst humans in a time when Klingon\Federation relations were somewhat shaky. How did Worf end up behaving with a Klingon cultural identity? How did the Klingon concepts of honor and behavior get so firmly enmeshed into his personality?



Answer



I suggest that Worf doesn't act very Klingon at all. He is instead probably acting out a warped sense of what he remembers Klingons being like, from when he was young, combined with the tilted educational materials avaiable about Klingons while growing up with the Rozhenkos. Together they would go a long way to explaining why Worf isn't very Klingon at all. While it is true that Worf holds honor in very high regard, and enjoys fighting as much as the next Klingon, he doesn't really know how to behave like a Klingon. When he is with other Klingons he rarely really fits in: when they're drunk, he's sober; when they are laughing he is serious.


I believe the conversation between Guinan and Worf sums it up nicely in TNG Redemption Part 1:




GUINAN: You know, I had a bet with the Captain that I could make you laugh before you became Lieutenant Commander.
WORF: Not a good bet today.
GUINAN: I've seen you laugh. I like it.
WORF: Klingons do not laugh.
GUINAN: Oh yes they do. Absolutely they do. You don't. But I've heard some Klingon belly laughs that would curl your hair.
GUINAN: Your son laughs. He's a Klingon.
WORF: He is a child and part human.
GUINAN: That's right. And you're not, you're full Klingon except you don't laugh.
WORF: I do not laugh because I do not feel like laughing.
GUINAN: Other Klingons feel like laughing. What does that say about you?

WORF: Perhaps it says that I do not feel like other Klingons.
{...]
GUINAN: [...] So how is he? Your son.
WORF: He is having difficulty adjusting to life on Earth.
GUINAN: I can see where it might be hard for the little guy. Living with humans, being Klingon. Could be very confusing.
WORF: It will not be easy for him.
GUINAN: No, it won't. But at some point he's going to want to know what it's like to really be a Klingon. Just as you're learning.



During the conversation Worf himself says that he doesn't feel like other Klingons. And a little later Guinan points out that Worf is only just learning what it really means to be Klingon. You can see that later, especially in Deep Space Nine, Worf does behave a bit more like a Klingon.


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