Tarzan of the Apes

Tarzan reads Jane’s letter, which is addressed to her friend Hazel back in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. She writes that her father set out on this expedition after learning about a Spanish treasure of gold that had been buried on an island off Cabo Verde in West Africa. He borrowed money to fund the venture from a man named Robert Canler, whom Jane strongly dislikes. Jane recounts how they found the treasure, but the crew of the ship mutinied and killed the officers to obtain the treasure for themselves. The sailors had a leader named King who was shot on the first day they landed, but he was their only navigator.

Jane also writes that she knows that William Clayton is in love with her, but she dislikes the fact that he is an English Lord and not a plain American man. Jane mentions the mysterious note from “Tarzan of the Apes” and the stranger who keeps saving them. Later, Tarzan writes at the bottom of Jane’s letter, “I am Tarzan of the Apes” (100), but this disturbs Jane, who is frightened to realize that he was watching her at night. The group lives in the cabin for the next month, gathering food from the jungle and watching for any ships that might pass by. Tarzan writes a note for Jane declaring his love, but before he can leave it for her, he hears the roar of an ape. Esmerelda and Jane have been out gathering fruit, and when Clayton goes to check on them, he finds that Jane is missing. Esmerelda has fainted but claims when she wakes up that Jane was abducted by a giant ape and carried off into the forest. Professor porter resolves to go after her alone, but Clayton volunteers to go with him, and Philander does as well.

The narrative relates that after Tarzan left the ape group, the apes decided to take Tarzan’s advice and drive off Terkoz by attacking him as a group. Now, alone and angry, Terkoz travels through the jungle in search of something to vent his anger upon. He finds Jane and grabs her, believing that she will replace his female mates from the group. Jane remains conscious even though she is afraid, and she does not scream because she is trying to conserve her voice. Terkoz takes her deep into the jungle, but Tarzan follows behind, tracking his movements by observing the tiny signs of disturbance in the branches.

When he finds Terkoz, he attacks the ape, and Jane watches as Tarzan stabs Terkoz to death. Tarzan instinctively takes Jane into his arms and kisses her. Jane reciprocates his affection at first, but then she remembers her manners and pushes him away, embarrassed. Tarzan is confused by the rejection and carries her deeper into the jungle. Meanwhile, the group at the cabin hears a cannon fire and goes outside to find the Arrow anchored beside a French ship. Clayton lights a signal fire, and the French ship draws up to shore. The French officers explain that they saw the Arrow out at sea and noticed that the ship appeared to be out of control. They saw a figure at the rail signaling for help. Upon investigation, the Frenchmen found the Arrow’s crew mostly dead, having resorted to cannibalism after nearly starving to death. The survivors told the whole story to the French, who returned to rescue the marooned people. Now, Clayton explains that Jane has been lost in the jungle. Two French officers, Lieutenant D’Arnot and Lieutenant Charpentier, volunteer to help lead a rescue party to find her.

As Tarzan takes Jane through the jungle, she lies in his arms and notices his exceptional masculine beauty. She notes that his scar, which had been red when he fought Terkoz, is only a white line on his forehead again. Tarzan smiles at her, and she feels unafraid despite the terrifying circumstances. Tarzan begins to consider his actions, wondering if he is any different from Terkoz if he takes Jane away against her will to be his mate. He arrives at the Dum-Dum amphitheater and sets Jane down in a clearing. He leaves her alone briefly and she becomes afraid again, but then Tarzan returns with ripe fruit for her to eat. He comforts her and kisses her forehead. They eat together, and Jane tries to speak English to him, but he cannot understand. Eventually, he makes her a bed of ferns to sleep on. Jane notices that he has a diamond locket around his neck, and he gives it to her. When she opens it, she finds a photo of a man and woman who look very similar to Tarzan. Tarzan also shows her the other photograph of the Claytons that he took from the cabin, and she notices they are the same people. As an indication of his innate aristocratic heritage, Tarzan gives Jane the locket as a gift and then kisses her hand. They go to sleep for the night, and Tarzan gives Jane his knife and sleeps at the entrance of the bower he has built to keep her safe. When Jane wakes up in the morning, she realizes that she is very happy with Tarzan and that she is reluctant to leave him and return to her people. They travel through the jungle together, and Jane pledges her love to Tarzan, asking him to return to her even though he cannot understand her words. One day, they hear gunshots, and Jane returns to the cabin while Tarzan vanishes. Mr. Philander thinks Jane is a lion chasing him and tries to play dead, causing Esmeralda to faint again and Jane to be amused.

Meanwhile, the French expedition searches the jungle for Jane, following an old elephant track that leads toward the African village. The party is attacked by the village, and several men are wounded or killed. Lieutenant D’Arnot is captured and taken back to the village to be tortured and eaten. D’Arnot resolves to die with dignity. Tarzan discovers the ritual occurring before D’Arnot is killed and ropes some of the villagers up into the trees. The other villagers watch in terror and flee back to the village walls. Tarzan frees D’Arnot and picks him up to tend to his injuries.

Lieutenant Charpentier continues to search for D’Arnot but sends Professor Porter and Clayton back to the beach. They find Jane there, safe and unharmed. Jane reveals that she was rescued by Tarzan, but Clayton suggests that Tarzan might be affiliated with the village who attacked their party and killed the Frenchmen. Jane objects, asserting that Tarzan is not a “cannibal” or a “savage,” but she begins to worry that society would never consider Tarzan to be an acceptable match for her because of his lack of “civilized” manners. The next day, Lieutenant Charpentier reaches the village and battles the members, shooting all the men but sparing the women and children. The French leave the village unburned so that the survivors will be safe from jungle animals, but they find scraps of D’Arnot’s uniform and assume that he has been killed and eaten. They return to the ship, and Jane feels guilty for causing a man’s death, but the officers assure her D’Arnot would have chosen to die for such a good cause. Clayton jealously suggests that Tarzan left Jane behind because he was eager to return home for the feast, and this suggestion hurts her feelings. He apologizes in a letter, telling her that he would not want to hurt her. While Jane might have previously been excited by Clayton’s romantic feelings for her, she is now saddened by them.