C:\myfiles\SiteEssays\Tarzan1

"Quick is Numa; but Tarzan of the Apes is lightning!"

The above phrase is my favorite. It's no coincidence that I have it on my "Tarzan" page and on this page, too.

It is the definitive phrase of that magnificent character; Tarzan of the Apes; and to the extent that Tarzan defines the grandeur of Edgar Rice Burroughs, it has perhaps a larger importance. I will discuss Tarzan of the Apes generally as well as the first book itself in this particular essay. One cannot separate the Tarzan from the later books from his growth, maturation, and first adventures.

It signifies everything that sets the ape-man apart from the rest of us; everything which makes him unique, indomitable, unknowable.

He is a beast, like Numa. He is majestic, as is Numa. He is defined by this life-long adversary; and his own solitary savagery is stated with simple eloquence in this phrase. Tarzan looks at life as a beast; he survives because he is intelligent and strong; but more importantly because he is as fast as are the beasts themselves.

No amount of strength, or intelligence, would avail Tarzan of the Apes in the jungle in which he matured. Too formidable are the other denizens, who are far quicker than are humans. Yet they are not quicker than the ape-man. His unique growth demanded marvelous speed as a price for self-preservation, and Tarzan's amazing quickness is one of the few of his unique characteristics which make him so different from any other ERB hero, and from us.

One other is his savagery. This aspect of Tarzan of the Apes was something I had never encountered until I read the books. From my first ERB, "Tarzan Triumphant":

***

Also, as the rifle spoke, the target leaped into the air, seized a low hung branch and disappeared amidst the foliage of the trees above. Stabutch had missed -he should have relaxed his muscles rather than tensed them.

The Russian was terrified. He felt as must one who stands upon the drop with the noose already about his neck. He turned and fled. His cunning mind suggested that he had better not return where the girl was. She was already lost ot him, for he could not be burdened with her now in their flight, upon the success of which hung his very life. Accordingly he ran toward the north.

As he rushed headlong through the forest he was already out of breath when he felt a sudden sickening pain in his arm and at the same instant saw the feathered tip of an arrow waving beside him as he ran.

The shaft had pierced his forearm, its tip projecting from the opposite side. Sick with terror Stabutch increased his speed. Somewhere above him was nis Nemesis, whom he could neither see nor hear. It was as though a ghostly assassin pursued him on silent wings.

Again an arrow struck him, sinking deep into the triceps of his other arm. With a scream of pain and horror Stabutch halted and, dropping upon his knees, raised his hands in supplication. "Spare Me! I have never wronged you. If you will spare-"

An arrow, speeding straight, drove through the Russian's throat. He screamed and clutched at the missle and fell forward on his face.

***

I will never in my life forget reading that passage. Here was no compassion for a killer; no reliance upon the forces of justice; no chance that this villain might escape, or continue as a threat.

Here was a savage man in a savage world where might is right and justice is swift and sure. Here was a man who was so magnificent in this environment that he could perform such a surgical death and probably smile grimly as he did so.

Nobody had to tell me that I had indeed met the Lord of the Jungle, and it was this passage of prose which indelibly impressed me with the realistic savagery of Tarzan of the Apes. It was so different from any other depiction of Tarzan that I was amazed. Amazed and impressed beyond all measure. This was my first book about the ape-man, and not a particularly good book as Tarzan books go; yet I had found a hero who captured my attention and imagination totally; and I've remained a captive for thirty-five years.

Tarzan of the Apes is far different from any other ERB character. He is as unique among Burroughs' creations as he is when compared to other men, and provided Edgar Rice Burroughs to look at the world from a truly different perspective through the stories about Tarzan.

I've always felt I was capable of discussing most of ERB's "series" books with just about anyone. I still feel this way; and when it comes to the ape-man, I feel I know him better than any fictional character I've ever encountered; not just because of the number of stories, but because I was so captivated by the character.

In the past year I've re-read a large number of ERB books; and one thing which stands out is my affection for those books which set forth the adventures of the ape-man. It is his unique character; created so long ago, which continues to fascinate me, and has fascinated so many millions. I have no interest in re-reading those Barsoom books I read within the preceding several months, no matter how captivating the princesses, and no matter how heroic John Carter.

The Barsooms, and ERB's other books, are exciting stories, and they have brave warriors and beautiful women. However, they don't have Tarzan of the Apes. I can read a Tarzan book just to read about the ape-man. I can't say the same about any other ERB character, except perhaps Nu, who is featured in only one book.

I could sit down tomorrow and vastly enjoy "Tarzan of the Apes", or "The Son of Tarzan", or "City of Gold", no matter how familiar I am with the story; no matter how recently I read them. This is a measure of the difference as to how I perceive the Tarzan books from the rest of ERB's books.

John Carter was a dashing hero with virtual superhuman abilities on Barsoom, and he excited me immeasurably when I was young; but my fascination with him has waned to a degree, just as my fascination with "Superman" waned as the years went by. I still enjoy him, and the other warriors of Barsoom, but it is the varied princesses who make those books so enjoyable to me, rather than the men.

Not so with Tarzan of the Apes. Jane is essential to his story, but not to his stories. Tarzan is a loner; a savage beast who dons a thin mantle of civilization on occasion; and whose intelligence combines civilized knowledge with his savage maturation to enable him to exist in either world magnificently. He is the ultimate individualist.

........(To be continued, and links will be added to other sites with essays about the ape-man; reviews; a summary, a first-time reader's impressions of the book, as well as listserver posts about certain aspects of the ape-man.)