Feral Children

           In todays modern society, it is truly hard to image mankind at a much more primitive state of living, one that closer resembles that of animals of the wild.  The fact is that there have been and still are cases of children that in some way find themselves alone in the wilderness to fend for themselves.  In many cases they are left in the wild at a young enough age where they have yet to develop any characteristics of any modern society.  In the case of some of these children, they were “adopted” by some sort of animal or pack of animals as one of their own.  These children grow to become a near hybrid between the adoptive parent animal and a human.  Their sensory system changes to better match themselves to their parents.  Their senses of smell, sight and hear are greatly well developed in comparison to children raised within human society.  These children are referred to as Feral Children. 

            “If we were untouched by society, would we be like feral children” (Henslin, 2012, p.62)?  The affects that society has on us are not evident to those who know nothing else besides society.  Without society humans are left to fend for themselves and their family.  Survival becomes the primary object over everything else.  The human body is in a near constant state of awareness for its own survival.  James Henslin describes a case that occurred in 1798.  A boy was found in the forests of Averyon, France.  The boy showed characteristics of a wild animal.  The boy would growl like an animal and also ate his food raw by ripping it apart.  The boy show no indication of the feeling of cold (Henslin, 2012).  Much can be learned from these children of the wild.  These children are the only true thing that can be used to determine what society does for mankind.

Source:

Henslin, J. M. (2011). Sociology, a down-to-earth approach. (Eleventh ed.). Edwardsville: Prentice Hall.