The archetype of the wild human has become a feature of modern culture and this literature review will consider society’s fascination with feral children that have been brought back into civilisation, after years of isolation from humanity.

 

Humans within the developed world are driven by social influence and individually live by a set of rules in order to be civilized; obeying the laws, which have been set to effectively control behaviours, and ultimately avoiding destruction. (Barnett, 2014. p.18) ‘laws being commands by a recognised lawmaker and if disobeyed will result in the imposition of a legal sanction’. Barnett said that the controlled environment works subjectively and individuals are expected to live within the ‘unspoken natural laws’ (Barnett, 2014. p.17) of the world. Barnett (2014) specifically explains the meaning of free nature in a developed world and the implications of instinctual behaviour within the natural moral laws of society. He asks what it means to live by the law and whether humans are free when they do so.

 

If humans instinctively do crave survival, a legal system that required tremendous personal sacrifice under ordinary circumstances is likely to be resisted by many. Such instincts exist and cannot be changed (Barnett, 2014. p.9).

 

Barnett places emphasis on being unable to change individual behaviours through set laws and summarises that the natural primitive instincts in all humans dictates moral obligations (Barnett, 2014. p.10). Barnetts critique raises the informed development, considering the nature of civilization and the differences between the wild human and us.

 

By contrast, the discovery documentary Jungles: People of the trees (BBC ONE, 2011. Ep. 4) outlines the value of free living within a natural environment and away from the developed world. The isolated communities are shown to live in harmony with humans and animals, excelling in being the masters of their surroundings, as also seen in Kipling’s The Jungle book (Sommers, 1994).

 

‘The Wild Boy of Aveyron’ (Candland,1993. Pp. 20-37) discusses the published writings of Itard’s efforts to civilize a feral child ‘Victor’ after years of presumed animal parenting (Itard, 1800). ‘The word “feral” refers to the release of a domesticated or socialized being into the wild [it has] come to be used to describe any animal taken from the wild into captivity- a reverse of its earlier meaning’ (Candland, 1993. P. 371). Itard initially referred to Victor as a ‘disgustingly dirty child’ Terrace, 1979 in (Candland, 1993, p.20) and supposed he was incapable of obeying the natural laws of social maturity, which define his being. Itard believed the boy needed to be introduced to socialization and by gaining an understanding of Victor’s thought process, which determined his wild behaviour, he could progressively adapt him to the laws of society through guided teaching (Itard, 1800. p. 22-28). He wrote; ‘To understand wild man, the sort who owes nothing to his peers, we must turn to those few cases of humans being raised in the woods’, ‘man is only what he is made’, linking the boys behaviour to wandering tribes (Terrace, 1979 cited in Candland, 1993, p.20).

 

Jungles: People of the trees (BBC ONE, 2011. Ep.4) gives the viewer an insight into the lives of the world’s isolated tribes. The programme emphasizes the importance of human adaptation in the natural world, by mimicking animal behaviours, in order to live successfully. Footage of the Matis tribe in Brazil shows male hunters effectively imitating ten species of monkeys. They use mimicry to lure their prey into range before shooting them with poisoned darts, fired from blowpipes (BBC ONE, 2011). The indigenous people of the forest are seen to have evolved to be experts in survival, and their immortal attitudes on life allow them to lead a free lifestyle, without social influence and without rules, away from society. In addition, although presumed to be uncivilized, they are seen living in companionship with both humans and animals, mastering their environment.

 

In the few cases where people are or have been living away from civilization, the fascination could be with those individuals living freely within their surroundings. Free living being a contradictory privilege where resistance to the natural laws is not necessary and instinctive survival is at the forefront of the individuals ethics. It ends by showing a few isolated communities to be contradicting the laws of humanity by living naturally in coherence within their environment. ‘Natural being instinctively living, rather than living within the natural laws’ (Barnett, 2014. p.9) a reverse of the developed world where humans are controlled by the environment they live in and social development is necessary to mature successfully.

 

Itards writings of Victor’s instinctual behaviour shows similarities to the imitating techniques performed by the hunters in the Matis tribe (BBC ONE. 2011), where it was suggested that he ‘rocked back and forth like the animals at the zoo’ (Candland, 1993 p.18), imitating their free nature. ‘And whose only desire was to eat and sleep, a man-animal’ (Candland, 1993 p.18). However, disregarding the evidence, Itard believed that Victor could be dictated by human moral laws and argued his success in his treatment. He realised that the child had been without human socialisation through the critical early years of his life, and therefore wouldn’t have acquired the behavioural skills common to civilised human beings (Candland, 1993. P. 23).

 

Itards documents explain his frustration in not being able to develop Victors speech after five years of teaching, he wrote ‘I resigned myself the necessity of giving up any attempt to produce speech, and abandoned my pupil to incurable dumbness’ (Candland, 1993. P.37). Although Itard didn’t succeed in regaining the boys speech, the case of Victor lead to revolutionary techniques in ‘educating deaf mutes to communicate’ (Candland, 1993. P.37).

 

In asking why society is fascinated by feral children, it may be because they have continued to remain wild. In all cases, the children have persisted to mimic animal behaviours, neglecting their human forms. ‘He went upon all fours, and had nothing in him like a Man, except his Human Structure’ (Newton, 1996. P.128). If society defines being human as generating speech as social beings in order to connect morally, then without speech or understanding of gestures humans cannot communicate socially with one another. In all cases, feral children have remained mute and unable to abide by the natural laws of society, which raises concern for their place in civilization. Further to this, in fictional and life accounts, feral children are represented to be free of society’s constraints. (Newton, 1996) considers the feral child within various contexts and through a detailed dissertation I will explain a knowledgeable and informed discussion of those ideas in modern culture.