Tarzan of the Apes
Citations
Tarzan of the Apes is the first of twenty-four novels in the        Tarzan/Adventures of Lord Greystoke series by Sir Edgar Rice Burroughs.        The book is an American publication and was first published in 1912 in a        magazine titled the All Story .
Tarzan was born in          the African jungle to Lord John and Lady Alice Greystoke. After the death          of Lord and Lady Greystoke, Tarzan was taken and raised by the ape Kala.          Tarzan grew knowing nothing of his "human" life, always thinking that          he was an ape. With the help of the books and tools left in what was once          the cabin where Tarzan's parents lived, he was able to teach himself to          read and write, but not to speak.
Years later, an American          gentleman and his daughter Jane visited the jungle in hopes of finding          buried treasure. Instead, they found Tarzan, who worked to protect them.          The Americans and other men in their group did not stay long, they returned          to America. Tarzan was so in love with Jane that he followed her to America          and once again protected her, this time from a forest fire and an unsuitable          suitor, only to be turned down when she decided to marry another man.
About          the Author
Edgar          Rice Burroughs (1875-1950)
After          a chain of unsuccessful jobs, Burroughs turned his efforts to writing          in order to support his family. Although he was first successful with          a series of stories set on Mars, Tarzan was the character that cemented          his name into literary history.
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  Dialogues
Tarzan of the Apes           illustrates Tarzan as not only a jungle hero, but a man who is able to           communicate in many languages and styles. He can speak with animals in           their language and teaches himself to communicate in English writing and           later the spoken word. However, he uses each language differently and           treats the recipiants of his languages differently as well.
Tarzan           to the Animals
Tarzan,          though a citizen of the jungle, shows little respect for the other animals          in the jungle. He is continually looking to kill lions and other animals          for their skins and simply to show his brute strength. When dared by men,          not knowing of his jungle upbringing, to kill a lion with nothing but          a bit of rope and a knife, he complies. Having lived among these animals          for so long does not influence his decision, he simply kills for sport.
Tarzan           to Women
Lacking          in respect for the animals of the jungle, Tarzan lacks none
for Jane. He loves her and tries his best to care for her. Although Jane's          reactions to his advances seem somewhat shocking, she adores him and admires          his strength and animal behavior. Tarzan likewise has fallen in love with          Jane and gives up all he knows in order to follow her to the United States,          and saves her life once again. This time, rather than take her away into          the jungle, he chivilriously allows her to make her own decision in the          face of marriage.
Unlike          many of the male characters in African literature, Tarzan choses not to          devote his life to any woman except Jane. In this way he is devoted like          Mbenda in Agatha          Moudio's Son , yet different from Okonkwo or El Hadji in Things          Fall Apart and Xala .
Tarzan           to the Villiage of Mbonga
Tarzan          behaves essentially as a colonist toward the Villiage of Mbonga. He steals          arrows from them and frightens them into thinking he is a god. Although          these people look more like him than any ape in the jungle, Tarzan views          them as completely different. The racism Tarzan shows toward this tribe          in not unlike that which Kurtz and Marlow show toward the Africans in Heart          of Darkness .
Tarzan           to American and European Men
Tarzan           shows great respect to the men who accompany Jane to his jungle. He protects           them and makes sure that they are always safe. He then conforms to their           ways, in a similar fashion as El Hadji does in Xala ending his colonization by taking the place of the colonizer.
 
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  Notes
Edgar Rice Burroughs'          novel Tarzan of the Apes seems to strongly indicate his feelings          of the full civilization of white men and the lack of civilization of          for other humans. "The immediate vision of the book figures those ideological          correlatives of the Western sign - empiricism, idealism, mimeticism, monoculturalism          - that sustain a tradition of discipline of Commonwealth history" (Berglund          55)
Tarzan, even though          secluded in the jungle, teaches himself to read. Burroughs explains this          simply by the fact that as a human his knowledge is superior to that of          not only the apes, but to the villagers of Mbonga's tribe. In fact, when          Jane Porter and her father arrive in the harbor, Tarzan writes them a          note warning, "This is the house of Tarzan, the killer of beasts and many          black men. Do not harm the things which are Tarzan's. Tarzan watches"          (Burroughs 116). The "black men" that Tarzan killed, were lynched by his          hand and his rope. In addition, Tarzan gives no thought to writing to          the Porters, yet not once does he write to the village of Mbonga. In response          to this, Jeff Berglund critiques, "If he [Tarzan] intuits that writing          is a product of humans, why does he refrain from using it with other humans?          If the binary opposite of textuality is orality, then the Africans of          the Mbongan tribe in their extreme orality - cannibalism - are alienated          from the English book, from all that it connotes, the power it bestows.          Burroughs seems to be suggesting that WRITE = WHITE = RIGHT(CIVILIZATION).          Moreover, he suggests that Tarzan senses an inherent connection between          the written word, the self-created English book and whiteness: he intuits          that writing is a means of communication between white humans, not just          between paper and reader" (60). Through his writing, Burroughs creates          a character that does not view life and humanity, but only to better his          own circumstances and those of Jane Porter.
Films           and Other Tarzan Paraphenalia
Tarzan is one of          the best known characters in all fiction. In 1917, the first movie based          on his adventures was made starring Elmo Lincoln. There were later movies,          most recently a Disney version, as well as comic books, comic strips, Playstation games ,          and countless other forms of Tarzan paraphernalia. Tarzan has become an          archetype of the great lover, and the strongest man. One could even say          he was one of the sources for the hit series Survivor .