The Music of Dolphins is an examination of what it means to be human and the ways in which children like Mila (raised in the wild) or Shay (raised in the dark) challenge common conceptions of humanity. Mila is biologically human, but she shares many of the motivations, behaviors, and needs of a dolphin. She refuses dead fish, lives in the present moment, and communicates in squeaks and whistles. When the humans first take Mila, she looks at them with one eye at a time, and in the article is described as being “more animal than human” (4).

Mila does not see this aspect of herself as a negative thing, as it is all she has ever really known. However, when she realizes that she is different than other humans—and judged because of it—she feels torn between her desire to be like them and her need to return to the sea. Mila therefore seeks the approval of her doctors, who attempt to condition her out of believing she is a dolphin by saying things like, “Tell me, what are you? A girl or a dolphin?” (12).