Genie 2

1. What was so significant about Chomsky's argument?
Chomsky says that words need to be put in a certain order for them to have logical meaning and coherence

2. What do you make of Chomsky's bird argument on p. 36?
Chomskey's argument is valid because for most organisms, the first few moments of life serve as a basis for judging the rest of the life. Anything that happens in childhood will be considered the norm.

3. Do you agree with Chomsky's claim about the island at the end of Chapter 7? Please explain your answer.
The child couldn't create language by himself because language is the transfer of information and it is difficult to transfer anything if there is no one else to converse with.

4. In Chapter 10, why were Genie's observers pleased to see her hitting other children?
Her hitting was seen as a sign that she realized there were other things in her environment

5. Describe how Genie's language was developing.
Genie couldn't talk, but she understood commands given to her.

6. After reading Chapter 11, what are the primary differences between the reading and the film?
Victor had a much greater opportunity for his animal instincts to take over. Genie was alone in a house and therefore couldn't rely on those instinct which resulted in a lower ability of understanding.

7. How did the film, Wild Child impact the symposium members? What is meant by: "all of us saw in the movie what we were prepared to see to confirm to our own biases."?
If a person was convinced that language was innate, then they would only pick up on evidence that supported their claim.

8. What do you think of Dr. Elkind's quote on p. 59? How do you feel about Dr. Freedman's suggestion on p. 59-61

9. Why was it important for Itard to teach Victor to "imagine the needs of others (p. 73)"? Does CAS do this? Why or why not?
Victor needed to imagine the needs of others because that's the only way to reverse the animalistic nature he had developed. CAS does not do this because no one does CAS because they have sympathy for others, they do it because it is required for diploma.
10. After reading Chapter 14, do you agree that Truffaut's film ending was too optimistic?
Seeing as Victor never fully learned language, not only is the ending optimistic, but just plain inaccurate.