Feral Children in Society
Haileigh Streator
Socialization is defined as “the process of learning how to behave in a way that is acceptable
to society.” Learning how to behave is one of the most key parts of childhood development, and
if it’s not developed the child will be severely affected. Charles Cooley's the looking glass shelf,
is a good example why children need to be nurtured by humans in order to develop and join
society. Charles explained in his theory that we base our sense of self on how we believe other
people see us, using social interaction as a mirror. His theory suggests that your self concept
isn’t built in solitude or isolation, it’s built in social settings. Children that become “feral” do not
have that loving environment that is required for them to fit into society. There are many effects
on a child that has become “feral”. There will be apathy, loss of or no language development,
lack of social skills and even differences in the way they walk/ move.
In the documentary Feral Children there was a story on a girl named Genie. Genie was a feral
child, a victim of extreme abuse. Her father kept her isolated in a dark room, strapped to a potty
chair for 13 years before she was discovered. Genie’s case was one of the firsts that we could
ask, can a nurturing environment make up for a terrible past? Can a deprived isolated child
develop language skills? Through Genie we could ask these questions and test these theories.
As stated in Lenneberg’s critical period hypothesis on language acquisition, Genie passed the
deadline to gain her language skills. According to socialization, behavior is influenced by the
environment. The only environment Genie was influenced by for 13 years was an empty dark
room and little to no interaction apart from the little to no words her parents spoke to her.
Genie’s case shows us how communication is crucial for a child’s development. For example,
take her development. Most normal people are able to speak at a young age, but even after
training her, she wasn’t able to fully form sentences. We also see the story of Oksana. She was
found living with dogs. She had lived with them for 6 years. Oksana walked on all fours, could
hardly speak and barked. She behaved just like a dog. Children copy the humans around them,
they rely on their habits to become who they are. Since Oksana was around dogs, she became
more like a dog than a human. Oksana was taken to a school and taught how to walk upright
again, and she relearned how to talk. Seeing as she had some basic language skills before she
went to live with the pack, Lenneberg’s theory didn’t apply to Oksana. We additionally see
Viktor’s story. He was a child who lived in the woods. He was captured and slowly the people
around him helped him make progress. Everyday Viktor became less wild, however Viktor
stopped progressing. As Jean Piaget wrote in her formal operational stage model, in older
adolescence you learn abstract thinking. Viktor never learned to think critically. He missed his
opportunity. By watching the documentary you will also explore the stories of Edic. Four year old
Edic was found in a deserted house, his mother nowhere to be seen. When authorities found
him, Edic was found forced to turn to the local stray dogs for affection and protection. He
behaved more like a dog than a human. Similar to Oksana’s story. He ate food with his hands
and was violent towards other children. 2 years later, Edic greatly improved. However he was
verbally and linguistically slow. At 6 his language was that of a 3 year old. Victor suffered from
many of the same language issues that Genie and Victor did. Yet Edic only had 2 years of
neglect on his language. Much less than Viktor and Genie, so his language was able to develop