Summary
Summary of The Son of Tarzan
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Jack feels the call of wildness
Jack Clayton grows up in London with Lord and Lady Greystoke, but his interests reach far beyond home. He loves feats of strength and books about wild animals. His mother fears that he has inherited his father's attraction to the wild.
When Paulvitch brings an ape to England for profit, Jack sees a chance to meet the kind of creature that fills his imagination. He ties up his tutor and escapes down a drainpipe to reach the music hall.
Key idea 2
A warning becomes an invitation
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Key idea 3
Escape carries Jack into the forest
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Key idea 4
Meriem dreams of a kinder home
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Key idea 5
Survival gives Jack a new name
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Key idea 6
Kindness creates a home for two
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Key idea 7
Love grows as danger separates them
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Key idea 8
A new home brings hidden dangers
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Key idea 9
Two lives share questions of belonging
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love jungle adventure, loyal animal friends, daring rescues and old-fashioned heroes. It also suits anyone who enjoys a story of first love and family bonds set across Europe and Africa.
What this book is
A night at a music hall sends Jack Clayton toward the African forest. The Son of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, follows young Jack Clayton, who carries his famous father's wild blood. An ape named Akut is searching for Tarzan, and a lonely girl named Meriem is waiting in the jungle. Together they make a tale of friendship, first love and the pull between the wild and the claims of home.
In this summary
- 1A boy who loves wild thingsFree
- 2The ape knows Tarzan
- 3Flight to Africa and a hunted boy
- 4Meriem in the Sheik's village
- 5The jungle makes Korak
- 6Rescue of a little girl
- 7Love, capture and a baboon army
- 8A new life, a false friend, a trap
- 9What the story is about
Key point 1 of 9
A boy who loves wild things
A ruined Russian named Paulvitch, once an accomplice of the villain Rokoff, is pulled from the African shore by a ship's crew. On an island, a huge ape studies the face of every sailor and sighs with disappointment. Paulvitch sees money in the beast and takes it to England.
In London, young Jack lives with his parents, Lord and Lady Greystoke. His tutor says the boy cares only for feats of strength and books about wild animals. Lady Greystoke fears Jack has inherited his father's call of the wild.
When Jack hears of a trained ape at a music hall, he demands to see it. That night he ties up his tutor and slides down the drainpipe.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What effect do Tarzan's warnings about jungle life have on Jack?
Right. “Yet he forgets that the listener is the son of Tarzan, and the boy listens eagerly.”Not quite. “Yet he forgets that the listener is the son of Tarzan, and the boy listens eagerly.”
What do Jack and Meriem find in each other?
Right. “When the two meet, each finds kindness in the other.”Not quite. “When the two meet, each finds kindness in the other.”
What does Baynes's story suggest about class and honor?
Right. “Social rank counts for less than character.”Not quite. “Social rank counts for less than character.”
Who’s who
- Jack
- Jack is Tarzan and Jane's son, raised in England but drawn to the jungle, where he takes the name Korak.
- Tarzan
- Tarzan is Jack's father and Jane's husband, an ape-raised man known in English society as Lord Greystoke.
- Jane
- Jane is Tarzan's wife and Jack's mother, who wants their son to live a safe and happy life.
- Akut
- Akut is a great ape who becomes Jack's companion and teacher as the boy learns to survive in the forest.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 96,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 6 h 25 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about The Son of Tarzan
What is The Son of Tarzan about?
It follows Jack Clayton, the English-raised son of Tarzan, who goes to Africa with the ape Akut and becomes Korak the Killer. He rescues a girl called Meriem, and the two face traders, a cruel Sheik and a jungle full of danger.
Who is Korak in The Son of Tarzan?
Korak is the name the ape Akut gives to Jack Clayton, Tarzan's son. In the ape language it means Killer. The name marks the boy's change from a London schoolboy into a jungle fighter with a silent kill cry.
Do I need to read the earlier Tarzan books first?
The story is told so that a new reader can follow it. Tarzan's early life is told to Jack in the first chapters, and the book explains who Akut, Paulvitch and the Greystokes are as the plot moves along.
Who is Meriem and who is her real family?
Meriem is a girl raised in an Arab jungle village by a man called The Sheik, who claims to be her father. She carries a small doll named Geeka. A photograph and a locket hint at a hidden past she does not know.
Who is Tantor in the book?
Tantor is a great bull elephant who becomes Korak's close friend in the jungle. He carries Korak on his head, obeys his calls and plays a key part in the rescues that fill the later chapters.
