Jungle Tales of Tarzan
What is Jungle Tales of Tarzan about?
Jungle Tales of Tarzan, published in 1919, is a collection of twelve interconnected short stories set during Tarzan's adolescence among the great apes, before his first contact with other humans. Each tale captures a formative episode in young Tarzan's development as he grows from a curious boy into the lord of the jungle. The stories explore his first attempts to understand death, his experiments with humor and language, his encounters with the moon and its meaning, and his ongoing rivalry with the bull ape Tublat. Other tales depict Tarzan's early encounters with hostile native villages, his first kill of a lion, and his growing awareness of his own difference from the apes who raised him. Through these episodes Burroughs paints a vivid portrait of the jungle ecosystem and the social dynamics of the Mangani tribe. Jungle Tales of Tarzan offers an intimate, episodic look at the making of one of fiction's most famous characters, showing how each small adventure shaped the man who would become Tarzan of the Apes.
Main themes in Jungle Tales of Tarzan
Coming of age in the wild
Jungle Tales of Tarzan thoughtfully explores coming of age in the wild through its central conflicts.
Self-discovery and the search for identity
Jungle Tales of Tarzan thoughtfully explores self-discovery and the search for identity through its central conflicts.
The social dynamics of animal communities
In Jungle Tales of Tarzan, the social dynamics of animal communities provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Death, fear, and the unknown
The presence of death, fear, and the unknown in Jungle Tales of Tarzan connects readers to its enduring relevance.
Why Jungle Tales of Tarzan is still relevant today
Jungle Tales of Tarzan provides unique insight into Tarzan's formative years, filling in the backstory only briefly sketched in the original novel. The collection's episodic format allows readers to explore individual aspects of Tarzan's development: his discovery of humor, his first confrontation with death, his emerging self-awareness. These stories add psychological depth to the Tarzan character and remain popular with readers seeking the origins of the ape-man legend. As a public-domain collection, it is ideal for readers wanting shorter, self-contained Tarzan adventures.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Jungle Tales of Tarzan about?
Jungle Tales of Tarzan is a collection of twelve short stories set during Tarzans youth among the apes, before he meets other humans. Each story depicts a formative experience that shapes the future lord of the jungle.
Are the Jungle Tales standalone stories?
Yes, each of the twelve stories is self-contained while collectively forming a portrait of young Tarzans development. They can be read independently or as a unified coming-of-age narrative.
When do the Jungle Tales take place in the Tarzan timeline?
The stories take place during Tarzans adolescence, between his childhood adoption by the apes and the events of the first novel, Tarzan of the Apes. They fill in the gap of his formative years.
Is this a novel or short story collection?
Jungle Tales of Tarzan is a short story collection of twelve interconnected tales. Originally published individually in magazines between 1916 and 1917, they were collected into a single volume in 1919.