Customer Reviews

Tarzan of the Apes (Signet Classics)

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It's hard to imagine a time when no one had ever heard of Tarzan, when the ape man hadn't swung his way across countless B movie screens and Disney features. When I saw Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes listed among the public domain texts easily downloaded to the Kindle for free, I was curious to see what the original Tarzan looked like, before his cartoonification. It was worth the download.

The outline of the story told in Tarzan of the Apes--the first of what would be 24 Tarzan novels written by Burroughs--will be familiar. It begins with the story of Tarzan's parents, who were generously put ashore by a mutinous crew rather than killed, abandoned on an island that was inhabited only by wild beasts and cannibals. John Clayton is an Englishman's Englisman, brawny and brave and possessed of an innate nobility. His pregnant wife Alice strives to be a suitable companion to such a man. They survive in the jungle for a time, until their son is a year old, and then they both die from separate causes. Tarzan is adopted into a family of apes, where he eventually thrives because he is able to compensate for his physical shortcomings (compared to apes; compared to your average man he is a god) by employing his intellect. Tarzan teaches himself to read from the books he finds among his dead parents' possessions, and so he is able to communicate when the island is finally visited by Europeans, Jane Porter and her bumbling father, who've been marooned themselves. A romance ensues, which leads Tarzan to civilize himself and follow Jane to America.

One can complain that Tarzan is sexist and racist. Jane's black servant Esmeralda is a beloved but comically uneducated appendage to the family, wont to faint at the slightest disturbance, while the cannibals Tarzan runs across are scarcely portrayed as human. Tarzan's mother is all fluttering female, striving to deserve her man. These biases are hardly surprising, however, given the book's age. Like Esmeralda, but without the racist subtext, Jane's father is portrayed comically, as a blithering idiot, in passages which seem ill-fitted to the rest of the rather serious narrative. Burroughs also offers the occasional over-long, poorly written sentence:

"From this primitive function has arisen unquestionably, all the forms and ceremonials of modern church and state, for through all the countless ages, back beyond the uttermost ramparts of a dawning humanity our fierce, hairy forebears danced out the rites of the Dum-Dum to the sound of their earthen drums, beneath the bright light of a tropical moon in the depth of a mighty jungle which stands unchanged today as it stood on that long forgotten night in the dim, unthinkable vistas of the long dead past when our first shaggy ancestor swung from a swaying bough and dropped lightly upon the soft turf of the first meeting place."

Tarzan impresses as a character both because of his physical prowess and his mental acuity. He is portrayed as a noble savage, a blend of human and ape that is superior to both species, both of which come in for criticism. (Though Tarzan is not perfect: we're told, for example, that as a man he will sometimes kill merely for sport.) The book closes with a final act of nobility on Tarzan's part--very nicely done--that underscores his inherent quality.

Many elements of Burroughs' story are of course fantastic, but the author makes much seem credible because of the details he provides--he describes how John Clayton was able to build a sturdy dwelling, for example, from limited supplies; or how Tarzan could teach himself to read; or how he could track someone's progress through the jungle by minute signs which to his practiced eye were like flashing neon. The details bring Tarzan's jungle to life.

Despite the familiarity of Tarzan's story and any shortcomings in the book, Tarzan of the Apes is actually quite a gripping read. I was able to put the book down, to be sure, but there were many times when I was lost in the story while reading, eager to see how things would play out. I can understand how Tarzan came to be such a beloved icon given this introduction.

-- Reviewed by Debra Hamel

I remain a big fan of the book and the Johnny Weismiller movies some 40 years later. However, there's only a vague relationship between the series of Tarzan books written over a 30 year period and the movies, which continue to be made in various forms even now. Any fictional character that remains fixed in the public's attention over a 100 year period is a powerful invention indeed.

Tarzan the creature of the books is far more than the half wild man of the movies, a highly intelligent, self-made superman, unfettered by the chains of civilization and its artificial morality and forged in the fires of the ultimate Darwinian environment, the jungle, which of course he not only survives, but dominates by force of will, intellect and physical prowess. Raised by apes from infancy, after the death of his aristocratic British parents, he has no concept of his own humanity for a substantial portion of his youth. It's difficult to say that he ever really comes to find the company of humans to be superior to that of the apes who raised him. At no point does he ever succumb entirely to the weakening charms of civilization. It takes relatively little to drop his civilized veneer and charge into action, knife bared.

Burroughs himself was a reporter and pulp fiction writer. Most of these works and others that he also wrote appeared in serial format in various magazines. The first few books of the Tarzan series remain highly readable and are very creative. Then they devolved into a highly formatted plot structure that he found commercial and easily repeatable. As a pulp fiction writer, he reflects most of the prejudices of his time, making them painful at times to the modern reader, as would many of the earlier works of Robert Heinlein, if anyone read them today. But they are generally better in this regard than many of the movies. None of the movie characters ever became principal chief of an African tribe. But for sheer fun, Tarzan has had few equals over the decades

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was a prodigy of imagination. He started his writer career quite late; his first work was published in 1912. From that point on a ceaseless flow of imaginary worlds & heroes poured from his pen: John Carter of Mars, Carson Napier of Venus, David Innes and Abner Perry on Pellucidar at Earth's center and the most famous of them all Tarzan of the Apes.

Tarzan's world is Africa. But an extraordinary Africa populated with apes more intelligent than any known ones and in later adventures with a plethora "lost cities", "ant-men" or whatever suit ERB in order to deliver a fast paced adventure.

As other reviewers point out do not expect "politically correct" tales, they are the product of a society still torn by racial prejudices.

Another assumption that closely follows this is: "superior traits" are inherited directly and a Lord will always be a Lord no matter what the circumstances.

The reader may assume all this adventures occurs in an "alternate reality" that have some common traits with our world such as the ones depicted by Guy Gavriel Kay for example.

Now you'll be ready to enjoy the original story of Tarzan as it was delivered by ERB, free from Hollywood changes or comic's stereotypes.

A couple of English nobles are abandoned by a mutinous crew in the coast of Africa where they barely survive.

Adversity proves to be more than what they may endure and both die leaving an infant that is miraculously adopted by Kala an anthropoid that has lost her baby-ape.

Protected by her, Tarzan starts a life struggle to conquer a space among the over towering brutes.

His natural intelligence combined with a strengthening body allows him to survive and in due time lead the ape tribe.

ERB ability renders all this astounding fates credible: Tarzan learns to read and write all by himself; Tarzan defeats a Gorilla with his father's knife; Tarzan helps a group of marooned white people and fell in love with Jane; Tarzan...continue delivering one prowess after other... and you'll believe it.

I read "Tarzan of the Apes" at my teens and continue reading many of his 23 following adventures, borrowing volume after volume from a nearby library.

When I grow up and gain economic independence I bought and kept this book and some more Tarzans.

I warmly recommend this series to any reader who is fond to read unending adventures in a magic world.

If after reading Tarzan's stories you still want more from ERB try the Martian series, they are almost as good as this one.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is amazing. I've read this book a few times before, but, yet again, I was reminded that if you are looking for a true action hero, Tarzan is your man. Move over comic book super heroes! Batman? Techno-dependent. Superman, had to come from another planet!? Indiana Jones? Not even in the same league. Tarzan is the man! He rules by using only his cunning, his strength, and a hunting knife.

This book tells about Tarzan's origins, how he learns to survive in primeval tropical Africa, and how he learns who he really is. He also meets Jane Porter. You will also meet Terkoz, Sabor, Numa, Sheeta, Tantor, and Mbonga...a whole host of jungle creatures.

One of the fun things for me was that the copy of the book I read was published in 1914, the year this book came out. It was not a first edition, but it was great reading a book that's actually from that era.

If you read this book, be prepared for the end, it was written with the intent that it would be the first in a series of books, so, yes, you are left hanging.

Also, if you read this book, keep in mind that it was written nearly 100 years ago, and many of the cultural and social aspects of those days drips through its pages. In some ways it would not be considered to be socially acceptable today, but hang in there, it's a great tale!

At the same time, I do not consider this book to be "great literature", even though I enjoy it greatly. Thus the 4-star rating.

Once you start reading this book, take care...you may need to read the entire series, a series that runs from 1914 through the 1940s.

Commercial fiction that works its way into the collective consciousness. It's interesting to approach it from a Post-Colonial perspective, and I would suggest that anyone who uses it for critical reading to adopt that viewpoint. Obviously Mr.Burroughs is limited by the prejudices of his time, however, one cannot ignore his important literary contribution, and his fun and accessible writing style.

Wow! This was the first time in fifty seven years I have read this book. Yep. Read it the first time when I was ten years old, I loved it then and I still love it. I became so engrossed in it that it was 4:00 a.m. before I realized it. Can't believe that I waited so long to read it again. This book has everything. You'll be swept away to the wilds of Africa, pirates will bury their loot, wild animals will fight for supremacy, you'll be swinging through the trees with the apeman, learning to swim when no one ever has, learning how to write and read, sharing the jungle with cannibals. It's all so exciting!! If you love a great adventure with a little romance thrown in, this is the book for you.

I can't say enough about Edgar Rice Burroughs. His were the first works of fiction that I had ever read. I was enthralled by Burroughs stories and believe that any child who is unexposed to his work will have been cheated out of a great adventure, a great time and a whole lot of entertainment. Throw away the x-box, nintendo, Wi and all the others and buy your kids or grandkids these books. They will love you for it.

By the way, I just ordered five more books. After I have finished reading them, they are all going to my ten year old granddaughter.

To re-read a well written book is not only plesant but also inspiring. While the oeuvre of authors such as O'Hara, Hemingway, and Mailer are by now buried in the dunes of oblivion, Burroughs' Tarzan remains vibrant and beloved. But, why? There may be many reasons, but I think the following two have something to do with it: (1) The presence of a prototype, and (2) Sentence beginnings.

In contrast to the three mentioned authors, Edgar Rice Burroughs bequeathed for posterity a prototype character: Tarzan. This feat together with a wise use of English syntax--in particular his sentence beginnings--make Tarzan a masterpiece. A classic.

If one applies this reasoning to lasting authors, one can see that there's some validity to my thesis. Truman Capote not only created Holly Golightly, but he wrote with great respect for grammar and syntax. The same may be said of Jane Austen (Mr. Darcy), Nabokov (Lolita), Kafka (Gregor Samsa, Joseph K), Salinger (Holden), Fitzgerald (Gatsby), Cervantes (Don Quixote), all of whom created prototypes.

Without a prototype and without due respect for the sound structures of the English language, the dunes will close in. Let's test this thesis. Who do you think will survive the dunes of amnesia and oblivion: Iris Murdoch, Joyce Carol Oates, Grisham, Tom Clancy, or Capote?

The writing techniques I employ in this article are all explained in Mary Duffy's writing manual:

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Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Signet

Originally published 1914

294 pages

Classic; Adventure

4/5 stars

Source: Bought

Summary: The classic adventure of Tarzan, the child of English gentry raised by apes who combines the best of both worlds.

Thoughts: I read this for school and I was really interested to a. see how it related to our topics of imperialism and social Darwinism and b. compare it to the Disney film Tarzan.

Let's start with the second part; Disney definitely made good changes in my book. First they made Tarzan's mother a bit stronger. In the book she basically dies of weakness; that's all. There are not as many scenes of Tarzan fighting in the movie which would have been brutal for the young audience at which it is aimed. And the humans arrive much earlier in the film; additionally they cut out the unnecessary Mr Philander and the horrifically stereotyped Esmeralda. Clayton, the villain in the film, is an okay guy here although obviously not as heroic as Tarzan. The ending is also very different because this has twenty-two sequels!

As to the topics of my course, both can be seen here. The main thread is that Burroughs constantly (or at least it feels like) praises Tarzan's white male brain as being so superior to everyone else. He combines brutal strength with that magnificent brain in order to be king of the jungle and defeat all of his opponents. The African tribal people we see are cannibals, superstitious, and they don't wear many (or any?) clothes. Tarzan is shown as very obviously superior in his ability to manipulate them; this ability is his because he is white. There are other moments to mention but I don't want this to be a long academic review so I will end there.

Overall: It's an interesting adventure story with a suspenseful style but I don't love it. Worth a read if you see it in your library but not a must.

Cover: I like the green and the tree as representative of the jungle.

Speaking about `Tarzan the Ape Man' Rudyard Kipling was quoted saying that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote it just so that he could "find out how bad a book he could write and get away with it" In fairness, Kipling may have been bitter that Burroughs book bore so many similarities to his own Jungle Books published several decades earlier. Having read both books I have to give Kipling the nod for producing a superior story about a feral child raised by animals in a jungle. What sets Tarzan apart from the Mowgli stories is how Burroughs adds enough realism and detail that you almost believe a child could be raised by Apes whereas the Jungle Books were clearly fantasy. Burroughs isn't afraid to discuss a human baby breastfeeding from an Ape, Tarzan contemplating eating another human and Tarzan's dead set belief that Kala the Ape is literally his mother. The realism rather falls apart when Tarzan manages to teach himself to read but I'll talk about that later.

Ultimately Tarzan the Ape Man rests on the idea that modern life stultifies man rendering him soft and feeble (and it IS specific to the male gender). Only by returning to nature can man unlock his true potential. In Tarzan's case he goes beyond returning to nature as he is literally raised by nature; stripped of all coddling and protection he develops into a super man. The Apes don't just toughen Tarzan he is beaten to the brink of death but emerges tempered to physical perfection. At one point Tarzan swings through the jungle for several hours with Jane in his arm and even this physical feat doesn't cause Tarzan even the slightest weariness. Clearly this is so far beyond human capability that it reaches the level of pure fantasy similar to the kung-fu movies where martial arts masters fly through the air and unleash stone shattering kicks and punches. The reality is that there have been dozens of incidents of feral children including some raised by simians and they were generally much worse for the experience. But Tarzan isn't a documentary; it is a fictional story that plays on the desires of men and the quest to attain the ultimate manliness.

Tarzan of the Apes starts off strong but continues to get weaker as it goes along. It was bad enough that Tarzan was able to teach himself to read. I could possibly see him associating words with nouns but how did he teach himself verbs, adverbs, pronouns and definite articles not to mention near flawless syntax. He then ups this by being taught to speak both French and English in what appeared to be a matter or weeks and caps this off by inexplicably learning to drive a car with no explanation as to how he accomplished THAT miracle. Having Tarzan raised by apes in the jungle would believably give him an advantage IN THE JUNGLE but somehow it made him superior in just about every aspect of life and having him assimilate so quickly turns Tarzan from an Ape Man to just a ridiculously athletic man. Like James Bond, Tarzan is very much a male ideal but imagine if Ian Fleming ended a novel with Bond retiring from MI6, giving up alcohol and hosting a cookout with parents from the neighborhood. Tarzan the Ape Man finishes up with Tarzan driving a car in Wisconsin, speaking perfect French and English. Luckily his adventures continue in over a dozen more novels.

If you can get past the blatant racism and sexism (which are almost inevitable in the era in which Tarzan was written) and the absurd speed at which Tarzan absorbs knowledge you'll be left with a very entertaining book. The biggest issue for me is that the book continues diminishes in quality right up to the ending which feels rushed and hokey. I have to give credit to the 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. It jettisoned nearly all the silliness and racism and balanced the story better. The Disney version was... well... it was Tarzan in just about name alone. If you want to read a story of a feral child raised by wild animals `The Jungle Book' is superior. Kipling is just a flat out better writer but Tarzan is no slouch and its realism in the earlier part of the book definitely sets it apart from Kipling's classic.

Tarzan may well be the most famous fictional character in at least the English speaking world, and it all started because Edgar Rice Burroughs was a failure at most businesses he started and careers he undertook. Finally, having read some of the pulp fiction of his day, he proclaimed that he could write better bad fiction than the pulp writers. He began to write, and prolifically, and finally found his avenue of success. Although Burrough's plots are indeed pulp staple, he had a natural knack for drama and ingenuity in developing characters that have made his books timeless classics.

In "Tarzan of the Apes", an English noble couple is abandoned by mutineers on the shores of Africa. Their baby is eventually taken by an anthropoid ape mother who had recently lost her own, and he is raised among the apes. The book follows young Lord Greystoke's struggles to survive this extraordinary situation, learn to master the jungle and the creatures around him, and even teach himself the language of his real parents, as he finds the books in his dead parents' cabin.

When an American professor and his daughter Jane, along with others, arrive on the scene, the real drama (and fun) begins.

The original Tarzan books contained many mistakes, having both lions and tigers in Africa, for example. Most of those mistakes were eventually edited out of the books. They don't really matter though. It was ERB's genius for telling a riveting story that was important in his writing, and he got that part right from the very first.

If you have never read "Tarzan of the Apes" you owe it to yourself to do so. If you can read it as an ebook, be sure to get the free version. The first several Tarzan books are in the public domain, and you can get them free for the Kindle here on Amazon, and from Project Gutenberg's web site.