Tarzan_of_the_Apes

Jacob St. Hilaire Ms. Fitt A.P. English Wednesday, January 19, 2011 Tarzan of the Apes A group of happy bull apes and a crazy man named Clayton are the first things that pop into the mind when someone hears the word Tarzan. These are all because of the Disney movie, yet in actuality the story of Tarzan is quite different. It is a story of love, struggle, violence, and nobility. Tarzan of the Apes was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875 to Major George Tyler Burroughs and Mary Evaline (Zieger) Burroughs. His education consisted of high school in Chicago and college at Phillips Academy and Michigan Military Academy. He attempted to get into West Point, but he failed the entrance exam. Burroughs decided to enlist with the 7th U.S. Cavalry, but was diagnosed with a heart problem and was discharged in 1897. He married Emma Centennia Hulbert on January 1, 1900. They had three children. In 1911, Edgar Burroughs decided to write fiction. His initial writings went to pulp fiction magazines which he commented “if people were paid for writing such rot as I read in some of those magazines, that I could write stories just as rotten.” (Wikipedia) His first story was “Under the Moons of Mars” and he was paid $400. He published Tarzan of the Apes on October 1912 and then re-released it as a book in 1914. He decided to capitalize on Tarzan and went on to write 2 dozen sequals. In 1923, Burroughs divorced 1934 and married Florence Gilbert Dearholt in 1935. They divorced in 1942. Edgar Rice Burroughs died at the age of 74 of a heart attack, on March 19, 1950.* Tarzan of the Apes is an adventure novel. An adventure novel is a novel that has “an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, as its main theme” (Wikipedia) Tarzan of the Apes meets these requirements rather well, it involved many intense fight scenes, many in which Tarzan nearly enters the Jaws of death. “Like two charging bulls they came together, and like two wolves sought each other's throat. Against the long canines of the ape was pitted the thin blade of the man's knife.... When the long knife drank deep a dozen times of Terkoz' heart's blood, and the great carcass rolled lifeless upon the ground” (Burroughs, pg. 263-264) “In fact he met the brute midway in its charge, striking its huge body with his closed fists and as futilely as he had been a fly attacking an elephant.” (Burroughs pg. 75) “But the boy had learned in that brief second a use for his sharp and shining toy, so that as the tearing, striking beast dragged him to earth he plunged the blade repeatedly and to the hilt into its breast. The gorilla, fighting after the manner of its kind, stuck terrific blows with its open hand, and tore the flesh at the boy's throat and chest with its mighty tusks.” (Burroughs pg. 75) There are seven major characters in Tarzan of the Apes The first major character is Tarzan. Tarzan is the protagonist of the book. He is described as extremely muscular and agile; he also has a superior knowledge and is able to pick up new languages in roughly one-eighth of the time it would take a normal human to learn them. The second major character is Kerchak. Kerchak is the leader of the bull apes that Tarzan is part of. He is the antagonist of the book and Tarzan ends up killing him. Another major character is Kala. Kala is the bull ape that adopts and raises Tarzan. She become Tarzan's mother and when she is killed Tarzan hunts down the killer and finishes him off. Jane Porter is a major character. She is the first white female Tarzan sees, and becomes his love interest. William Cecil Clayton is Jane Porter's original lover and therefore become Tarzan's rival love. William Clayton is not the antagonist because Tarzan does not realize that Jane loves William Clayton until the end. William Cecil Clayton is also Tarzan's cousin. John Clayton is Tarzan's father. He is abandoned on the beach with his wife Alice Clayton. Their cabin becomes a superstitious area to the bull apes because of John Clayton's firearms. Kerchak kills John Clayton. The final major character is Paul D'Arnot. Paul D'Arnot is a Lieutenant on a French military vessel. Tarzan saves D'Arnot and in return D'Arnot befriends Tarzan and teaches him culture and how to speak French and English. Tarzan of the Apes starts with John and Alice Clayton on a ship with a mutinous crew and a corrupt captain. The crew kills the captain and drop the Clayton's off on a random beach. Alice gives birth the a baby boy and dies after a year. John Clayton becomes distraught and lets his guard come down and is killed by Kerchak in the cabin. Kala rushes in and grabs baby Tarzan. Tarzan grows up and returns to the cabin to learn and finds a knife. He then uses the knife to kill the gorilla, Tublat, and Kerchak. Kala gets killed by a tribesman. Tarzan hunts down and kills the tribesman and discovers the tribe. He plays tricks and steal from them so they think he is a god. Jane Porter, Jane's father, Jane's father's assistant, Esmeralda, and William Clayton are marooned on the same beach that John and Alice Clayton were marooned on. Tarzan saves all of them and falls in love with Jane Porter. A french ship arrives and saves them, but not before Leitenant D'Arnot is captured by tribesmen. Tarzan save D'Arnot and they both travel to France. Tarzan goes to Wisconsin where Jane Porter was. He saves her from a deadly forest fire, but in the end allows William Clayton to keep Jane Porter because that would make Jane the most happy. There are many significant quotes in Tarzan of the Apes. A major quote is “My mother was an Ape, and of course she couldn't tell me much about it. I never know who my father was.” (Burroughs, pg. 416) This quote is very important because it shows how noble Tarzan is. Right before this quote, Tarzan discovers that he is Lord Greystoke. If he accepts his position then William Clayton loses the position. He lets William Clayton keep the position because it will make Jane Porter happy. Jane Porter loves William Clayton and therefore Tarzan does not want to demote William Clayton. A second major quote is “Do you release her from her promise' It is the price of your life.” (Burroughs, pg. 407) During this quote Tarzan is holding Canler, a man who conned Jane's father so he could marry Jane, in the air by his throat. Tarzan is demonstrating how much he loves Jane by removing the people she does not like. The third and final important quote is “Listen, I am Tarzan, King of the Apes, mighty hunter, mighty fighter. In all the jungle there is none so great.” (Burroughs, pg. 160) This is after Tarzan defeats Terkoz, the final challenger to Tarzan's leadership of the pack. It proves that Tarzan is extremely powerful and deserves his title of King of the Apes and the Forest God. The major theme in Tarzan of the Apes is man protecting the weaker things. This is obvious throughout his life. First, when he protects his mother from the rage of Tublat. “A muscular hand shot out and grasped the hairy throat, and another plunged a keen hunting knife a dozen times into the broad breast” (Burroughs, pg. 97) “'I am Tarzan,' he cried. ' I am a great killer. Let all respect Tarzan of the Apes and Kala, his mother.'” (Burroughs, pg. 97) Later when he was not able to protect his mother and she is killed he hunts down the killer. “So quickly did Tarzan of the Apes drag back his prey that Kulonga's cry of alarm was throttled in his windpipe. Hand over hand Tarzan drew the struggling black until he had him hanging by his neck in mid-air; then Tarzan climbed to a larger branch drawing the still threshing victim well up into the sheltering verdure of the tree. Here he fastened the rope securely to a stout branch, and then, descending, plunged his hunting knife into Kulonga's heart. Kala was avenged.” (Burroughs, pg. 121) When Jane arrives at the beach, Esmeralda and her are in the cabin when a tiger arrives and bursts threw the window. Tarzan rushes over are pulls the tiger out of the window and snaps its neck. Near the end of the book, Tarzan saves Jane from the fire traps her while she was on her walk. Notes *All this information was found via wikipedia Works Cited "Adventure Novel." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. . Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin, 1990. Print. "Edgar Rice Burroughs." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. .