Zum Inhalt springen
The Library
of Alexandria
Tarzan of the Apes, the cover of this edition

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung von Tarzan of the Apes

6 Min. Lesezeit6 Min. Hörzeit9 wichtige Punkte
Open the book The opening and key point 1 are free. No sign-in.

Für wen es gedacht ist

For readers who love fast adventure, wild settings and jungle heroes, and anyone curious about the origin of a character they know from films. It also rewards those drawn to questions of identity and upbringing.

Worum es in diesem Buch geht

A baby boy is left alone on the African coast, and the creatures who find him are not human. Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in a pulp magazine in 1912 and became a book in 1914. Burroughs was a clerk and a salesman who wrote it for money, and it made him a full-time author. It also gave the world a lasting hero. Follow the story from a mutiny at sea to a boy among the apes, and ask what truly makes a person.

In dieser Zusammenfassung

  1. 1A mutiny strands a noble coupleFree
  2. 2A child is born far from home
  3. 3A mother ape adopts the white baby
  4. 4Growing up strong among the apes
  5. 5The cabin gives him books and a blade
  6. 6First contact with human beings
  7. 7A new party lands on the coast
  8. 8Birth against upbringing
  9. 9How Burroughs builds his tale

Punkt 1 von 9

A mutiny strands a noble couple

John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, is sent by the British Colonial Office to look into reports of mistreated native people in West Africa. He marries Lady Alice Rutherford and takes her along on a ship called the Fuwalda. The captain is rough and the crew is worse, and trouble feels close from the start.

The mutiny is swift and bloody. The crew kill the officers, then decide what to do with the two passengers who saw everything. Clayton and Alice are spared, but the sailors will not take them home.

The mutineers put them ashore on a lonely coast with tools, books, clothes and furniture. Clayton builds a cabin near the beach and thinks of defence first. Alice is expecting a child, and the cabin becomes their whole world.

That’s 1 of 9 key points.

The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.

  • Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
  • We email you before you pay
  • Cancel online in two clicks
Read the rest free
Free to startthen 0,14 USD a day
Read the rest free

Who’s who

Tarzan
The son of an English lord, Tarzan grows up among apes under Kala's protection.
Kala
Kala is the female ape who adopts Tarzan and protects him against the tribe.
Jane Porter
Jane is Professor Porter's brave daughter, stranded with his party on the African coast.
Kerchak
Kerchak is the fierce leader of the ape tribe and distrusts Kala's human child.
Tublat
Tublat is Kala's mate, an ape who dislikes Tarzan and bullies him during childhood.
Professor Archimedes Q. Porter
Professor Archimedes Q. Porter is Jane's absent-minded father, a scholar travelling with companions from Baltimore.
William Cecil Clayton
William Cecil Clayton is a courteous young Englishman accompanying the Porters and connected to Tarzan's family.
Lieutenant D'Arnot
Lieutenant D'Arnot is a French naval officer who helps Tarzan learn human language and customs.

About this edition

Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.

  • LengthAbout 87,000 words
  • Reading timeAbout 5 h 50 min
  • FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
  • LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages

Questions about Tarzan of the Apes

What is Tarzan of the Apes about?

It tells of an English lord's infant son, left orphaned on the African coast and raised by a tribe of great apes. He grows up in the jungle, teaches himself to read, and meets other people for the first time.

Who raises Tarzan in the book?

A female ape named Kala, who has lost her own baby, takes the human child and raises him as her son. Her mate Tublat and the leader Kerchak do not welcome him.

What does the name Tarzan mean?

In the invented language of the apes in the novel, Tarzan means White Skin. The apes give the boy this name because his skin is pale and hairless, unlike theirs.

When was Tarzan of the Apes written and is it a true story?

It is fiction. Burroughs published it in The All-Story magazine in 1912, and it came out as a book in 1914.

Is Tarzan of the Apes worth reading today?

Yes, if you enjoy fast adventure and want to see the original of a famous character.