Next Of Kin

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Next Of Kin Essay, Research Paper

The next of kin a documentation of mind matter and love. This book was very

inspirational it gives you a whole new outlook on the experience and the

feelings of animals. Trying to relate with how much Roger Fouts has accomplished

in his life is unbearable he has had so many experiences that have been recorded

in this book. It was the type of book that was hard to put down from the

beginning. In the next few pages I will discuss parts of the book that really

moved me and left an impression on me. There are so many great parts it was hard

to pick just a few to look into. I read this book in the first few weeks of

school and re-read in the last two weeks, also I have bought a copy for my

sister who is very interested in primate psychology and it has so much

information and personal experience in it that it is in a way a textbook for

primate psychology. Washoe was an extraordinary animal saved out of NASA by very

patient and brilliant people, it was very exciting to see the advancements that

she had made throughout the book. Not only her but also the few people that had

have been working with her. The Gardner?s the first care takers of Washoe was

saved by the Gardner?s had put a lot of trust into Roger and he proved to be

able to accept and work with Washoe from the beginning on. Fouts, started off as

a little kid knowing his only monkey to be curious George, never realizing that

George was not a monkey but a chimp. Growing up on a farm Fouts was always

around many animals tending and working with them. Realizing the importance of

the entire animal Fouts than realized the loyalty when his dog brownie had died

jumping in front of the tractor to save his fallen brother. The care for animal

was in all of the family even the mother who had many old time stories to tell

about animal intelligences. A life and environment changing situation had

happened when Fouts was about twelve years old and the only ones still in the

house out of nine children was him and another brother. Fouts parents packed up

the kids and stuff and move to Los Angeles, California. Around this time in his

life he was dreaming of becoming a psychologist. Fouts family had a way of not

finishing school but become loyal workers, and Fouts was devoted to finishing

college, the only one in his family with the intention of getting more schooling

was his mother who at age 52 decided to go back to high school and finish, she

to was very interest in the healing of the mind which, also was a inspiration

for Fouts to pursue this career. When Fouts started his college career at

Compton, his intention was to study human psychology but it was required to take

animal psychology as well. The very first animal behavior he was thought that

they were mindless creatures who rigid behavior, unlike that of Humans, is

controlled by instinct. After much schooling Fouts applied to many clinical

schools. After time and time again Fouts was denied and was pushed towards a

second-tier school in experimental psychology-or rat psych, as it is

affectionately known studies of animal in cages. The University of Nevada

accepted Fouts in to their experimental psychology program. Time goes on and

Fouts get the cal to change the rest of his life, the call was from a Dr. Paul

Secord, telling Fouts ?Teaching a chimpanzee to talk,? with disbelief roger

replied back ?what?, and the Dr. repeated himself. Fouts went on to take it

in with full stride just trying to get his foot in the door, with his main

intention of working with kids this entire time. Ready for the job Fouts had one

more task into getting the job, and that task was getting through to a very

strict man called Allen Gardner. Fouts had taken many courses in animal

psychology and statistics. To Garner this was just garbage he didn?t believe

that everything was to be solved in a laboratory that animal had to watched and

worked with? The interview was going terrible, Fouts pulled out all the tricks

telling him how he was excited to take courses with two well-known philosophers

of science. Garner shot back with ?Science doesn?t need philosophy.? Fouts

was very disappointed feeling that it was all over, the interview was over and

Gardner asked Fouts if he would like to go see Washoe, Fouts did and as they

approached the gated area Fouts noticed two adults playing with a child under a

tree. Than a beginning point of a life long friendship began, Washoe noticed

them looking and began running at Gardner and Fouts and it Leaped up over the

fence right into Fouts arms giving him a big hug right when Fouts really need

one amazed that it jumped to him Fouts noticed himself hugging her back. Garner

knew that Washoe had like him. Garner called a few day?s later telling Fouts

that he had the research assistant?s job. Fouts knew who exactly had chosen

him for that job, it came out of Garners mouth but Washoe had found herself a

really good playmate. I went into so much detail in the first few chapters

because I believe that, it is the most essential it shows the importance of your

personal thought and beliefs. It shows me that perspectives of one professional

are totally different from another. That life?s little differences may take a

good turn and push you towards the time of your life, and you might just find

what you have been looking for. It just takes time and patience. Time and time

went on Fouts and Washoe grew closer together Fouts was never looked upon by

Washoe as parental figure but just an older brother, that like to be around all

the time. Greg Gaustaud another graduate student who entered Washoe?s life

about the same time, he to was also looked at as an older brother. Being with

Washoe was not as much as a job as it was having a good time. Washoe looked out

for each student if one was mad at another it would stick up for the other guy.

Sometimes they would take advantage o that at sign to Washoe that the other guy

hurt him and Washoe would chase after the other guy until he signed that he was

sorry, but there was always sweet revenge that the same thing would be done to

him when he lasts expects it. There was never any doubt that Susan Nichols one

of the women in the graduate class which made it much more paternal if she acted

to cry and tell Washoe that it was me that Fouts was the one that did it, Washoe

would chase him around till he apologized and kneeled before her to show

submission and my apology. Fouts struggle with the relationship between him and

his first dog Brownie. That his first dog never evoked the deep and tangled

emotions of friendship, competiveness, and anger and love that he had felt for

that little chimp. He sometime would have to make a self-recollection that

Washoe was not a human and could not be compared to as one of his brothers, but

after a while that distinction was meaningless. Time and time went on Washoe was

learning more and more signs by just watching each other, she would have child

like tendencies of signing wrong but would later on figure it out just like a

child corrects its talking when it get older and more experience. The Garners

had left Washoe and Fouts had taken the responsibility. In 1973 Fouts was flown

to Yale?s University to go higher up the ladder in his career. Yale?s

experience was a bad one it was not like he wanted it to be, he had came to a

conclusion that he needed to fulfill his fantasy and find something for the

chimps in a good and clean way of teaching like back at the Gardner?s back

yard. With that he declined Yale?s teaching opportunities and moved on. By the

mid 70?s Fouts seemed to have everything his wife, children, living in a

little country home just like he grew up on and remembered. He was also doing

very well with a riding wave of ape language research that had brought him

professional acclaim and research funding. Working out of the University of

Oklahoma, which was the center of the universe when it came to chimpanzee

signings. His work was being published regularly in the most respected journals,

and doctoral candidates were flocking to Oklahoma to work with the chimps and

Fouts. 1974, Fouts was invited to give a presentation on chimpanzee?s language

acquisition at the world?s first Conference on the Behavior of Great Apes, in

Austria. The meeting was consisted of some of the finest primentologist such as

Junichiro Itani, Diane Fosey, Toshida Nishida, Birut Galdikas, and Jane Goudall.

Looking back Fouts was living a dream working with what he want and having a

good life, but it was hard for him to grasp the science of chimpanzees which in

fact meant life time imprisonment far from there native African homes. Fouts was

starting to see that all his work was made possible only by the interactions of

his chimpanzee?s research subjects. He thought he had become a jailer. His

day-to-day action includes, cages, locks, keys, leads, cattle prods, and guns,

and they were totally routine. He had fought and won small battles. The

juveniles got their rundevaal shelter on the island. He got permission to take

them on walks to forage in the woods. Burris another chimp, got the right to

live alone. He carried blanks instead of live ammo. But still in his mind he was

a jailer, but a nice one. He knew that every morning he would let them out of

their cells, put on their leads, and lead them into the island. By now project

Washoe was fir and foremost a cross-fostering experiment, in which a chimpanzee

socially and emotionally attached to a human family. The feeling was mutual.

Fouts, college Sellmon was getting a little overboard with the control factor of

the chimps and was asking too much with so little. He thought of idiotic ideas

to keep chimps from escaping such as changing Doberman pinchers up to fences for

the element of surprise. Fouts was very upset and was looking more into the

future and what he had done in the past. Fouts, to him had broken the first

commandment of behavioral science. ?Thou shall not love thy research

project,? he was being paid to love his research project to teach it language

in a natural family setting. By the time he had realized that when the

experiment was over, just like other scientist that he noticed were not so

emotionally attached to their research subject, the attachment was suppose to be

gone. For Fouts it was not gone the attachment, family like, and loving feeling

is still there and will always be there. Washoe know in has been pregnant, and

is going to be giving birth she was very excited and proud to be a mother. But

tragedy would strike when Washoe?s baby had died. With that Fouts was starting

to realize that he turning into something he despised, Lemmon he thought in a

few years he would take over the institute and be making the rules and doing

other research to pay the bill and it wouldn?t be like what it was. Something,

that he loved and had so much enjoyed to do, something that when he got up in

the morning he looked forward to go, not feeling poisoned and his soul was dying

every day he went to see the chimps in ?prison.? Late 1977, Fouts had

submitted his grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to study ?the

possibility that infants chimps will acquire sign language from its signing

chimps mothers.? He had also been looking for a chimp sanctuary, and as little

time went on the search was more and more urgent. A few scientists looking to

conduct a study that was of hepatitis B apprehended Lemmon; they wanted to test

the vaccines. They had said that it would not kill the chimps that were true.

But, damage later could happen to liver, and kidneys. Luckily the contract did

not go through for Lemmon. The search for the sanctuary was still going strong.

1978, Washoe was pregnant again, by fellow chimp Ally; from here pregnancy he

had received his grant of 187,000 dollars. The money would nor only finance the

study, but would also give some independence from Lemmon and protect Washoe?s

baby from plans of Lemmon might have for him or her, and protection for

Washoe?s partner Ally. A man called Robert Towne, had heard of Fouts and

wanted him to help the actors act more and more lie chimps, because the movie he

was working on was Tarzan. Fouts insisted instead of going half way around the

world they could just go to Oklahoma, to watch and film the movie. With Warner

Brothers backing up Towne, they could easily come up with more money to help out

the place and to make it accessible for them to film, while making it a better

place. After all of this and the excitement of Fouts, Towne and the agreement of

Warner Brothers it was all suddenly ruined. By the one man spited the most by

Fouts, Lemmon, he reportedly was seen beating and kicking his horse because it

was to old to rude, Towne seen this and wanted nothing to do with Lemmon and

since Lemmon owned the chimps there was nothing for Towne to do but take his

movie elsewhere. With this huge disappointment Fouts dreams felt crushed, months

later Washoe gave birth to a ailing boy, named Sequoyah it was not doing to

good, illness would take over at time making Sequoyah deathly ill. After two

months death rang it bell over Sequoyah. Lemmon thought this matter was somewhat

humorous, and Fouts was ready to leave. Fouts worried about Washoes depression

found another baby called Loulis, when introduced to Washoe it was something

they did not expect Washoe would only look down at it not picking it up as

expected. When Washoe was give Loulis to hold, Loulis was anxious to get out of

her arms, Washoe tried games to get the baby to come and play but it was not

working. The next morning a dramatic change had happened, Washoe stood up on two

feet, and vigorously signed ?come baby come baby? with a loud slapping

noise. Loulis was jolted awake and jumped into Washoes arms, and fell back

asleep. From that day on they slept together and Loulis was dependent on Washoe.

Months later Fouts moved Washoe, Loulis, and Ally to a air base field with out

permission of Lemmon hoping he would just write it off. But it would not end up

that way Lemmon wanted him back immediately, to sell. With the loss of Ally was

the arrival of Moja, which was part of the Gardners second experiment. Moja was

kind of a pain in the ass biting and refusing to eat the Gardners where beside

themselves, either the arrival of Moja the main teacher was Washoe, see Moja was

never around any older chimps and Washoe put her right in line. His final

destination, in 1980 the most unlikely place opened up in a small college town

in Ellensburg Washington, called Central Washington University. A professor

calling the next day to tell him about the rooms available was persisting upon

Fouts unknown. Fouts was off to Ellensburg, with the chimps and his family

looking back thinking of only a decade before that Washoe was just a baby and

know the chimps and his human family are more of a kin. Time and Time went on

with the addition of other chimps, and wonderful environment, Fouts had found

what he had been looking for and enjoying once more. The Next Of Kin, this book

was a great book it moved me very much just hearing the struggles and the

persistence of Fouts for the love of the animal is awesome. What I respect most

that he is not one of those scientists that pluck them out of Africa and begin

working with them but is taking in other peoples mishaps and screwups. He takes

them in and tries to give them the best help and love possible. I would

recommend this book to anyone who loves a good true story. From the beginning to

the end Washoes and Fouts love was like the love a brother and sister, from the

first day when she leaped into his arms, but why he had discovered that she had

the uncanny knack for seeking out and comforting those who were sad and hurt,

but he never did see her do that again. Maybe she just knew he was the one.

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