- published: 10 Mar 2016
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Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first appeared in the novel Tarzan of the Apes (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and subsequently in twenty-five sequels, several authorized books by other authors, and innumerable works in other media, both authorized and unauthorized.
Tarzan is the son of a British lord and lady who were marooned on the Atlantic coast of Africa by mutineers. When Tarzan was only an infant, his mother died, and his father was killed by Kerchak, leader of the ape tribe by whom Tarzan was adopted. From then onwards, Tarzan became a feral child. Tarzan's tribe of apes is known as the Mangani, Great Apes of a species unknown to science. Kala is his ape mother. Burroughs added stories occurring during Tarzan's adolescence in his sixth Tarzan book, Jungle Tales of Tarzan. Tarzan is his ape name; his real English name is John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke (according to Burroughs in Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle; Earl of Greystoke in later, less canonical sources, notably the 1984 movie Greystoke). In fact, Burroughs's narrator in Tarzan of the Apes describes both Clayton and Greystoke as fictitious names – implying that, within the fictional world that Tarzan inhabits, he may have a different real name.
Set back when Tarzan was just a boy, this is the story of Tarzan's journey to self-discovery. When Tarzan begins to see that he is not like the other gorillas, his mother Kala assures him that these slight differences only make him stronger. But when these differences put Kala in danger, he decides everyone would be better off without him and runs away. He then finds himself in a dark desolate land called Dark Mountain where he meets a new friend who helps him discover that even though he does not possess the talents of an ape, he has his own unique set of jungle skills that make him even more amazing than any other creature so that he can finally see who he truly is.
Keywords: 1890s, 1900s, 19th-century, 20th-century, based-on-novel, character-name-in-title, direct-to-video-sequel-to-theatrical-movie, gorilla, jungle, jungle-adventure
Kala: Be strong, be true, be forever *who you are*.
Terk: Excuse me, what do you think you are doing? Because whatever it is, you're not doing it too good.
Terk: How come no one else heard it?::Tantor: I'm an elephant. I have 20-20 hearing.
Uto: Mama, I broke my pillow. Again.
Zugor: I finally figured out what you are. A Tarzan!
Tarzan: If you don't let me in, the Zugor will get me!::Zugor: Boo-hoo for you!
Zugor: Teach, me? Nah! Wait... nah! How about this? Naaah!
Zugor: Zugor Rule Number One: Don't need anyone but yourself.
Tarzan: I'm an ape.