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''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 story by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. It was first serialized in the
pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
''
The All-Story ''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first ...
'' beginning October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 1914. The story follows the title character Tarzan's adventures, from his childhood being raised by apes in the jungle to his eventual encounters with other humans and Western society. So popular was the character that Burroughs continued the series into the 1940s with two dozen sequels. In April 2012, in advance of the novel's centennial anniversary, the Library of America published a hardcover edition based on Burroughs' original novel, with an introduction by
Thomas Mallon Thomas Mallon (born November 2, 1951) is an American novelist, essayist, and critic. His novels are renowned for their attention to historical detail and context and for the author's crisp wit and interest in the "bystanders" to larger historical ...
.(). Scholars have noted several important themes in the novel: the impact of heredity on behavior; racial superiority; civilization, especially as Tarzan struggles with his identity as a human; sexuality; and escapism.


Plot summary

John and Alice (Rutherford) Clayton, Viscount and Lady Greystoke from England, are marooned in the western coastal
jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...
s of equatorial
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
in 1888. Some time later, their son John Clayton II is born. When he is one year old his mother dies, and soon thereafter his father is killed by the savage king ape
Kerchak Kerchak is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original ''Tarzan'' novel, '' Tarzan of the Apes'', and in movies and other media based on it. History In the novel ''Tarzan of the Apes'', Kerchak is the "king" of a tribal band of M ...
. The infant is then adopted by the she-ape
Kala Kala or Kalah may refer to: Religion Hinduism * Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time'' *Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva. * Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts'' * Kala B ...
. Clayton is named "Tarzan" ("White Skin" in the ape language) and raised in ignorance of his human heritage. As a boy, feeling alienated from his peers due to their physical differences, he discovers his true parents' cabin, where he first learns of others like himself in their books. Using basic primers with pictures, over many years he teaches himself to read English, but having never heard it, cannot speak it. Upon his return from one visit to the cabin, he is attacked by a huge gorilla which he manages to kill with his father's knife, although he is terribly wounded in the struggle. As he grows up, Tarzan becomes a skilled hunter, exciting the jealousy of Kerchak, the ape leader, who finally attacks him. Tarzan kills Kerchak and takes his place as "king" of the apes. Later, a tribe of black Africans settle in the area, and Tarzan's adopted mother, Kala, is killed by one of its hunters. Avenging himself on the killer, Tarzan begins an antagonistic relationship with the tribe, raiding its village for weapons and practicing cruel pranks on them. They, in turn, regard him as an evil spirit and attempt to placate him. A few years later when Tarzan is 21 years of age, a new party is marooned on the coast, including 19 year old
Jane Porter Jane Porter (3 December 1775 – 24 May 1850) was an English historical novelist, dramatist and literary figure. Her bestselling novels, ''Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) and ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1810) are seen as among the earliest historical ...
, the first white woman Tarzan has ever seen. Tarzan's cousin, William Cecil Clayton, unwitting usurper of the ape man's ancestral English estate, is also among the party. Tarzan spies on the newcomers, aids them in secret, and saves Jane from the perils of the jungle. Among the party is French naval officer Paul D'Arnot. While Tarzan is rescuing D'Arnot from the natives, a rescue ship recovers the castaways. D'Arnot teaches Tarzan to speak French and offers to take Tarzan to the land of white men where he might connect with Jane again. On their journey, D'Arnot teaches him how to behave among white men. In the ensuing months, Tarzan eventually learns to speak English, as well. Ultimately, Tarzan travels to find Jane in Wisconsin, USA where he rescues her from a fire. Tarzan learns the bitter news that she has become engaged to William Clayton. Meanwhile, clues from his parents' cabin have enabled D'Arnot to prove Tarzan's true identity as John Clayton II, the Earl of Greystoke. Instead of reclaiming his inheritance from William, Tarzan chooses rather to conceal and renounce his heritage for the sake of Jane's happiness.


Characters in order of appearance

*John Clayton, Earl of Greystoke *Alice Clayton (Rutherford), Countess of Greystoke *Captain Billings *Black Michael *Kerchak *Kala *Tarzan (a. k. a. John Clayton, Lord Greystoke) *Tantor *Tublat *Neeta *Sabor *Bolgani *Numa *Sheeta *Horta *Pisah *Kulonga *Mbonga *Bara *Arn *Dango *Manu *Terkoz *Thaka *Mungo *Tana *Gunto *Mirando *Munango-Keewati *Pamba *Professor Archimedes Q. Porter *Jane Porter *Samuel T. Philander *William Cecil Clayton *Esmeralda *Snipes *Porky Evans *Jane Porter, Sr. (mention) *King *Peter *Tom *Bill *Tarrant *Hazel Strong *Robert Canler *Lieutenant Paul D’Arnot *Lieutenant Charpentier *Captain Dufranne *Father Constantine


Background

Burroughs drifted across the United States until he was thirty-six, holding seventeen consecutive careers before he published stories. He worked as a U.S. cavalryman, a gold miner in Oregon, a cowboy in Idaho, a railroad policeman in Salt Lake City, and an owner of several failed businesses. He decided to write his own pulp fiction after being disappointed by the reading material others offered, and worked in that capacity for four years before his first novel, ''Tarzan of the Apes,'' was published. Tarzan first appeared in ''The All-Story'' in October 1912. ''The All-Story'' published it in its entirety in installments, and it was published in 1914 as a novel. Though '' The Jungle Book'' is sometimes cited as an influence on Burroughs' ''Tarzan of the Apes'', he claimed that his only inspiration was the Roman myth of
Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling t ...
. Rudyard Kipling commented that Burroughs "had 'jazzed' the motif of the Jungle Books and, I imagine, thoroughly enjoyed himself."


Major themes

Recent literary criticism often focuses on the identity of the eponymous protagonist of ''Tarzan of the Apes.'' Literary scholars, such as Jeff Berglund, Mikko Tuhkanen, J. Michelle Coughlan, Bijana Oklopčić, and Catherine Jurca have examined the overlapping themes of Tarzan's heredity, race, civilized behavior, sexuality, and escapist appeal. Writers in popular culture, such as Gore Vidal, often emphasize Tarzan's escapist appeal.


Heredity

Burroughs himself acknowledged the centrality of the theme of heredity in the novel, and its conflict with the environment. According to his biographer, John Taliaferro, he claimed in a ''
Writer’s Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 under ...
,'' "I was mainly interested in playing with the idea of a contest between heredity and environment. For this purpose I selected an infant child of a race strongly marked by hereditary characteristics of the finer and nobler sort, and at an age at which he could not have been influenced by association with creatures of his own kind I threw him into an environment as diametrically opposite that to which he had been born as I might well conceive". The scholar Jeff Burglund notices that although Tarzan was brought up in the jungle far from other humans, he is inexplicably drawn back to his parents’ cabin and the objects which he finds there. He discovers a capacity for gentlemanly behavior around Jane despite no one teaching it to him. Although the African tribes which he fights practice cannibalism, he suddenly feels revulsion when he considers eating one of the African men he kills. When he refuses to eat the African, Burroughs portrays "hereditary instinct" as the reason. Tarzan's genetic association with upper-class, Western civilization conditions his actions more than his violent environment, and Berglund claims that Tarzan could represent the stereotypical "scion of English stock" in colonialized countries. His racial superiority manifests itself through his behavior because it correlates with the ideals of
Western civilization Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
, whether he treats a woman politely or cannot force himself to eat an African man.


Racism

Biljana Oklopčić emphasizes the portrayal of race in ''Tarzan of the Apes''. She claims that Tarzan represents white, male opposition to the "black rapist" stereotype which was prevalent in the Southern U.S. at the time of its publication because the language which describes apes parallels propaganda against people of Sub-Saharan African descent. Catherine Jurca similarly analyzes Tarzan as opposed to tolerating the presence of people of other races and classes in favor of preserving his own culture. The way that Tarzan defends his corner of civilization, his parents’ home, from the "savages" who want to destroy it, reflects an early twentieth-century American attitude; as darker-skinned immigrants flooded the country, especially urban areas, white Americans feared that their culture would be destroyed by newcomers who did not understand or care about it, and tried to protect the suburbs in the same way that Tarzan tries to protect his home. Though Burroughs’ admirers have tried to downplay claims of racism, or to explain that it was a common stereotype at the time the book was written, John Newsinger examines the extent to which Burroughs unfavorably described black characters. He wrote that ''Tarzan'' is the story of the "whiteman’s conquest of black savagery", where the native Sub-Saharan Africans are portrayed as brutes whom Tarzan enjoys taunting and killing.


Civilization

Tarzan's jungle upbringing and eventual exposure to Western civilization form another common theme in literary criticism of the novel. Berglund notes that Tarzan's ability to read and write sets him apart from the apes, the African villagers, and the lower-class sailors in the novel, and culminates in Tarzan recognizing himself as a human for the first time; moreover, he sees himself as a man who is superior to others unlike himself. Jeff Berglund argues that this realization exemplifies Burroughs' portrayal of whiteness and literacy as fundamental to civilization through implying that Tarzan's growth into a perfectly civilized person stems from his Western, white heritage and ability to read and write. However, Mikko Tuhkanen claims that the apparently civilized qualities of Tarzan, such as his interest in reading, threaten his survival as a human in the jungle. For Tuhkanen, Tarzan represents the fluidity with which humans should define themselves. He asserts, " e human and the nonhuman become grotesquely indistinguishable" in the novel. Humans mistake apes for other humans, an ape tries to rape Jane, Tarzan finds a surrogate ape mother when he cries out like an ape, and he must act against his human instincts by jumping into a dangerous body of water in order to survive an attack from a lion. Because simian and human behavior blend, and because civilized habits seem to threaten human survival, Tuhkanen claims that humans must contradict the expectations of civilization regarding the characteristics of humans. For Tuhkanen, the novel exemplifies “queer ethics,” encouraging “perverse sexuality” along with other behaviors which Western civilization often discouraged.


Escapism

Most of the stories that Burroughs wrote were stories that he told himself. According to Gore Vidal, when Burroughs was unsatisfied with reality, "he consoled himself with an inner world where he was strong and handsome, adored by beautiful women and worshipped by exotic races." The story served for the most part as a form of masculine escape that inspired men and boys. The adventurous character of Tarzan also appealed to wider American audiences over decades as a powerful means of escaping the sense of boredom and frustration which accompanies a confining society, and to the twentieth-century American desire to reconquer a home that seemed lost. "In the eyes of contemporary man, huddled in large cities and frustrated by a restrictive civilization, Tarzan was a joyous symbol of primitivism, an affirmation of life, endowing the reader with a Promethean sense of power."


Adaptations


Film adaptations

Burroughs' novel has been the basis of several films. The first two were the silent films '' Tarzan of the Apes'' (1918) and ''
The Romance of Tarzan ''The Romance of Tarzan'' is a 1918 American silent action adventure film directed by Wilfred Lucas starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, Thomas Jefferson, and Cleo Madison. The movie was the second Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar ...
'' (1918), both starring Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan, based on the first and second parts of the novel, respectively. The next and most famous adaptation was ''
Tarzan the Ape Man Tarzan, the Ape Man may refer to * Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to rejec ...
'' (1932), starring Johnny Weissmuller, who went on to star in 11 other Tarzan films. Lincoln was replaced by Weissmuller (as actor); similarly Clayton was replaced by Harry Holt (the character in the films). It was remade twice, as '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1959), featuring Denny Miller, and '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981), with Miles O'Keeffe as Tarzan and
Bo Derek Bo Derek (born Mary Cathleen Collins, November 20, 1956) is an American actress and model. Her breakthrough film role was in the romantic comedy '' 10'' (1979). Her first husband John Derek directed her in '' Fantasies''; '' Tarzan, the Ape Man ...
as Jane. The 1935 12-part serial, ''
The New Adventures of Tarzan ''The New Adventures of Tarzan'' is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters starring Herman Brix. The serial presents a more authentic version of the character than most other film adaptations, with Tarzan as the cultured and well-educated gent ...
'', starred Herman Brix (later, "
Bruce Bennett Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both interco ...
"). This was produced contemporaneously with the Weissmuller versions. Four more movie adaptations have been made to date: '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'' (1984), a film starring
Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...
that is more faithful to the book; '' Tarzan of the Apes'' (1999), a direct-to-video animated film; '' Tarzan'' (1999), a Disney animated film with Tony Goldwyn as the voice of Tarzan; and '' The Legend of Tarzan'' (2016), a more historically contextualized update starring
Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish military, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in th ...
and
Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...
, as well as Christoph Waltz and
Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
, portraying actual figures in the Congo at that time, the brutal Belgian Captain Léon Rom and American Civil War soldier
George Washington Williams George Washington Williams (October 16, 1849 – August 2, 1891) was a soldier in the American Civil War and in Mexico before becoming a Baptist minister, politician, lawyer, journalist, and writer on African-American history. He served in th ...
, respectively. A number of Burroughs' other Tarzan novels have also been adapted for the screen. Numerous Tarzan films have been made with no connection to his writings other than the character.


Comic adaptations

The book has been adapted into
comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
form on a number of occasions, both in the original Tarzan
comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
and
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...
s. The strip itself began with Hal Foster's adaptation of the story. Notable adaptations into comic book form include those of Gold Key Comics in ''Tarzan'' no. 155 (script by
Gaylord DuBois Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois (sometimes written DuBois) (August 24, 1899 – October 20, 1993) was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote ''Tarzan'' for De ...
, art by Russ Manning), dated September 1966 (reprinted in no. 178, dated October 1969), DC Comics in ''Tarzan'' nos. 207-210, dated April–July 1972 (script and art by
Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also ...
), and
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
in ''Tarzan Super Special'' no. 1 (reprinted in ''Tarzan of the Apes'' nos. 1-2, dated July–August 1984). Probably the most prestigious comic version, however, was illustrator and former ''Tarzan'' comic strip artist
Burne Hogarth Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artists. Early life ...
's 1972 adaptation of the first half of the book into his showcase graphic novel ''Tarzan of the Apes''. (Hogarth subsequently followed up with another graphic novel ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan'' (1976), which adapted four stories from Burroughs' identically titled collection of Tarzan stories).
Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...
adapted the story for the first six issues of ''Lord of the Jungle'', albeit loosely; for example, the cannibal tribe was replaced by a village of literal apemen.


Radio adaptations

Three old-time radio series were based on the Tarzan character. Burroughs himself revised each script in the 1932-1934 series as needed for accuracy. That series had Burroughs' daughter, Joan, in the role of Jane.


References


External links

*
''Tarzan of the Apes''
at Internet Archive and
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(scanned books original editions)
''Tarzan of the Apes''
at
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(plain text and HTML) *
''Tarzan of the Apes'' Publishing History
by David Bruce Bozarth. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan Of The Apes 1912 American novels Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 fantasy novels Novels about orphans Novels set in Africa American fantasy novels adapted into films A. C. McClurg books