History
477
Devine
Spring
2013
Tarzan of the Apes Study Guide
We will be
discussing Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan
of the Apes on March 19th in class. There will be a quiz on the reading.
First,
some background about the author….
When
Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote Tarzan in
1912 he was literally working for the system, writing an advice column for a
small business magazine called the SYSTEM.
“I
knew little or nothing about business,” he later recalled. “I had failed in every enterprise I had ever
attempted and could not have given valuable advice to a peanut vendor.”
Instead
he gave vague, portentous pronouncements aided by impressive, if irrelevant
charts and graphs.
“Ethically,”
he admitted, “it was about two steps below the patent medicine business” (a
historically corrupt vocation of snake oil salesmen who were shut down by the
Pure Food and Drug Law in 1906).
Burroughs’
boss was “an overbearing, egotistical ass with the business morality of peep
show proprietor.”
Writing
Tarzan was an act of
self-liberation. He would comment later
of its enormous appeal:
“We
wish to escape not alone the narrow confines of city streets for the freedom of
the wilderness, but the restrictions of man made laws, and the inhibitions that
society has placed on us. We like to
picture ourselves as roaming free, the lords of ourselves and of our world, in
other words, we would each like to be Tarzan. At least I would. I admit it.”
So,Tarzan is
much more than a goofy adventure story.
As you read the book consider the following overarching questions:
1.
By
writing a story about a character like Tarzan, what is Burroughs telling us
about what he considers the “ideal man”?
2.
What
qualities does Burroughs believe one should find in a “true man”? How does Tarzan demonstrate these qualities?
3.
What
is Burroughs’ judgment of what some might call “civilized” society? Is it pro, con, or something in between,
meaning does he see both good and bad attributes in modern society? Which characters represent the harmful
effects of “over-civilization” in the novel?
4.
Why
would this book appeal to men like Burroughs, working within “the system”? What had happened to masculinity by the turn
of the 19th century? What had
corrupted it? What was the remedy? (Think of the changes that had taken place in
the workplace for both laborers and middle managers.)
5.
In
the novel, why do violent episodes occur?
What causes them? Do only “bad” characters engage in violence? To what
extent is violence acceptable or even laudable?
6.
What
role does nature (heredity or “blood”) play in a man’s development? What role does nurture (experience) play? How
do Burroughs’ views on this issue differ from Twain’s?
7.
What
does Burroughs think about race? What unquestioned assumptions does he seem to
have? Does he ever portray his own race
in a negative fashion?
8.
To
what extent does Jane have an effect on Tarzan?
Is she a “civilizing” force? How
does Tarzan affect Jane?
9.
How
does primitivism differ from savagery?
In the novel, who is “primitive” and who is “savage”?
10. How does
Burroughs portray Africa in the novel? Are there similarities between
Burroughs’ portrayal of
11. How do you
think Burroughs felt about colonialism and imperialism? Does Tarzan reject or
embrace the so-called White Man’s Burden?
The
following more specific questions should help guide you through the reading. There are generally listed in the order they
appear in the book.