The Wild Boy from Aveyron - Book Report/Review Example

Luckily, a doctor was interested in raising the child when he heard his whereabouts (Lane, 1976). The doctor accepted to take care of the child since he wanted to use him as a specimen to find out the development of man. In this essay, the answers the boy gave to the doctor and the associated development theories are discussed. Answers from the wild boy The wild child gave his answers using signs given that he could not speak the language spoken by the residents. He was perceived as a deaf person because he could not communicate and socialize.

The clothes given by the doctor did not make him comfortable since he previously used to be naked (Lane, 1976). During the cold seasons, he looked for warmth; this was enough to show the residents that the child was normal and did not require distinct treatment. However, the boy later learned how to speak and interact with the people around him. Related Developmental Theories There are theories that relate to the story of the wild child known as Victor in the story, such as nativist theory. The theory was stated by Naomi Chomsky, a renowned linguistic.

His theory is based on human language and its effect on children learning to speak a dissimilar language. Chomsky suggests that a language is an innate faculty, claiming that every person born has a set of rules in the head concerning the structure of language. The linguist referred the theory as the ‘Universal Grammar’, which is deemed as the foundation where all languages globally are based. To prove his theory, he shows examples of children learning the mother-tongue language easily compared to how they understand mathematical equations.

The theory relates to the story in the book, The Wild Child of Aveyron, in various aspects, and how Victor learns the language in the story is an example. Initially, Victor was unable to communicate to other people. In his childhood life, he was unfortunate not to associate with his parents. He was alienated from his mother and lived in the forest where he interacted with wild animals. Growing up in such an environment enabled him to understand how animals communicate to each other. He had a strong sense of hearing and sight to assist him in understanding the communication with wild animals.

After the doctor took him and put him under his care, he was able to teach him the basic lessons of communication. Chomsky universal theory states that, every person is born with internal set of rules, which assisted Victor to make quick progress in understanding the human language. Psychologist Eric Lennerberg is another scientist who helped people to understand language and how it can be embedded. He launched his theory in a book called The Biological Foundation of language. In his theory, he argues that human language is a trait that develops in a person’s brain and mind at a period.

Therefore, if a person fails to learn a language at a certain age, he/she will not be able to learn it easily. The theory relates to The Wild Child since the topic on learning a language is common in both parties. Victor was about eleven years, but could not speak any language since he was not able to socialize with his parents and people in his early life (Lane, 1976). Lennerberg’s theory is proved wrong because victor was able to learn faster the language that was spoken at the place. His progress showed the eagerness to know the names of new things.

Nevertheless, the two theories of