Tarzan of the Apes

Aaron Johnson

CompStudies

Andrea Bachner

In this passage from the text “Tarzan of the Apes” the author is explaining how Tarzan more or less excited in his “discovery” of this other from of man that stumbled into his world. His fascination as to how these individuals came to dine these garments, and bare these weapons. Known to him as a negro, which then and there lets me as a reader know that Tarzan knows that they are a different type of human, maybe one less than he is, less than the animals that inhabit the jungle with him. Looking at the words that describes Tarzans process of going back and forth between whether these were really men, and if so where do they fit in since they neither resemble him or the animals of the jungle. “this sleek and hideous thing of ebony” says that with him being man, and these resembling man. They are not on the same level as him, it seems that he believes them to be even less than the apes of his old tribe.

                    The word “hideous’ used to describe the physical features as nothing of beauty. Even the apes were held as beautiful creatures earlier in the text when Tarzan was envious of them. But these men are never seen as something to behold. So physically different from the book he read in which he learns they are negroes that he is not really excited to see them as they are, just moving and living. It was only when he saw the tribesman in the stance as an archer that he saw in his picture book that he becomes excited to learn about them. He doesn’t know what it the significance of being a negro, he also knows this is something that he cannot be. However an archer is something that he can benefit from learning.

                The use of the word “creature” can easily be attributed to the fact that they were very new to him, however it takes on more of a demeaning personality when we notice the way in which Tarzan does not become genuinely excited to discover another living breathing man for the first time in his life, also the fact that he has lived in the jungle all his life with all sorts of beasts and unknowns yet these African Americans were the “strange creatures”. So to me it would seem as though Tarzan looked down upon these man but only found them fascinating for the way they dressed and possessed this technology he wanted. Which is strange since he himself felt superior to the other inhabitants of the jungle because of his comprehension skills, use of technologies, and hunting skills. These new men come into the story with the same things, and they are plentiful with a real civilization going on but they are still initially nothing of great interest. Which also shows Tarzans skills in understanding the text to know that the negro was, at that time, not on the same social level as white men such as himself. However he knew that these “creatures” were enough man that he could not bring himself to eat them, the same way he could not eat one of his own tribe when he was with the apes. But it would seem that that is where the line is drawn. That’s where these things are man.