In Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes the protagonist, Tarzan, has many conflicts with several characters throughout the story. Terkoz, who is a cruel and capricious king of the apes, is the antagonist in the story (Burroughs 70). Throughout the story, Terkoz and Tarzan battle. When Tarzan leaves the tribe it creates a conflict between Terkoz and the other apes; this is the beginning of one of several conflicts that Tarzan will face throughout the story.
When Tarzan leaves the tribe from which he was raised, Terkoz begins to prey on older and weaker apes so they took their families and sought the quiet and safety of the far interior (Burroughs 70). The apes did not like how Terkoz was controlling them. Tarzan parts wisdom to the other apes, which in turn begins the main conflict between Tarzan and Terkoz. Tarzan shows the other apes how to defeat Terkoz:
If you have a chief who is cruel, do not do as the other apes do, and attempt, any one of you, to pit yourself against him alone. But, instead, let two or three or four of you attack him together. Then, if you will do this, no chief will dare to be other than he should be, for four of you can kill any chief who may ever be over you (Burroughs 70).
This gives the apes an attack plan to eliminate Terkoz as a threat to all apes. Once the apes act on the plan Tarzan presented them, Terkoz is eliminated from the tribe. Although Terkoz tries to rejoin the tribe several times, he is ultimately banned, and he is foaming with rage and hatred (Burroughs 70). While helping the apes overthrow Terkoz was beneficial to the tribe, the change in power created the main source of conflict for Tarzan. The ape tribe resolution ultimately forms into a battle between Terkoz and Tarzan.
When Terkoz is unsuccessful in his attempts to rejoin the tribe, he begins to wander throughout the jungle to find something or someone upon which to vent his anger. Wandering the jungle, he stumbles across two women by the name of Jane and Esmeralda. Terkoz kidnaps Jane and drags her off into the jungle to be his new woman, since the tribe had kept his women (Burroughs 70). The conflict that Tarzan is about to face is the main conflict in the story.
When Terkoz kidnaps Jane, she screams out of fear. Esmeralda also screams for fear of Terkoz and the kidnapping of Jane. The shriek of Jane and Esmeralda, lead Tarzan to exactly where Esmeralda laid. Tarzan uses his ape-like qualities he gained from being raised by the tribe to relentlessly track down Terkoz and Janes exact location. When Tarzan finally catches up to Terkoz and Jane, the conflict at this point is ever present. When Terkoz finally sees that Tarzan is the one chasing them, he jumped to the conclusion that this was Tarzans woman, since they were of the same kind white and hairless so he rejoiced at this opportunity for double revenge upon his hated enemy (Burroughs 72). Tarzan must defeat Terkoz in order to save Jane from his awful wrath.
Burroughs uses ambiguity in the story leaving the reader questioning the fate of Tarzan and Terkoz. The reader can assume the two will fight, but one does not know who is going to win the battle. For Tarzan and Terkoz, the stakes are very high. If Tarzan wins he is obviously the hero, and he and Jane will ultimately run off together. But if Terkoz wins, Tarzan is eliminated and he could possibly return to the tribe and become the cruel king he once was.
As Tarzan charges after Terkoz, he pushes Jane off to the side. Jane is left to wonder, How could any vanquish such a mighty antagonist? (Burroughs 72). We have to think to ourselves that Terkoz could possibly win the battle over Tarzan. Tarzan said himself earlier in the story not to attack Terkoz alone, but to do it in a group or possibly two or three or four. How could one human who was raised by apes defeat such a once powerful leader?
Tarzan and Terkoz engage in battle like two charging bulls, and like two wolves they sought each others throat (Burroughs 73). An intense battle ensued. Jane was thrown up against a tree. Her eyes wide with mingled horror, fascination, fear, and admiration watched the primordial ape battle with the primeval man for possession of a woman for her (Burroughs 73). Tarzan sank a long knife a dozen times into the heart of Terkoz. When Tarzan did this to Terkoz, his body rolled lifeless upon the ground (Burroughs 73). The fact that Terkoz is dead is the resolution for Tarzan in this main conflict.
Once the battle was over, Jane sprang forward with outstretched arms toward the primeval man who had fought for her and won (Burroughs 73). In this moment, Tarzan and Jane kissed. This is the last source of conflict for Tarzan in this story. It is said in the story for a moment the first in her young life she knew the meaning of love, talking about the feeling felt by Jane (Burroughs 73). Jane then realized what she was doing and thrust Tarzan away from her.
From this the reader is confused by what Jane is thinking in the story. Burroughs says earlier in the story that Jane saw in him only a protector and a friend (Burroughs 72). When Tarzan defeated Terkoz, she was the one who went after him with outstretched arms. This conflict with Tarzan and Jane is confusing. The reader understands Tarzan to have affection for Jane because of the fact that he is the one who chases after her, but the reader does not understand why Jane rejects him. He is surprised that she repulsed him, talking about the rejection felt by Tarzan (Burroughs 73). The story ends as Tarzan did what his first ancestors would have done. He took his woman in his arms and carried her into the jungle (Burroughs 73). After this the reader does not know what goes on between Tarzan and Jane, since Burroughs chose to again use an ambiguous tone.
Throughout the course of this story, the reader saw several conflicts for Tarzan. The first conflict is the battle between Terkoz and the tribe of apes, the second and also the main source of conflict seen was the battle between Tarzan and Terkoz over Jane, and the last was the kiss between Tarzan and Jane. The story was set up in a way that once one conflict was resolved with one of the characters another conflict followed. Although each conflict leading up to the kiss at the end is resolved, the reader is still left to wonder what happens when Tarzan and Jane run off into the jungle together.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes. The Bedford Introduction to Literature.
Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008.
70-73
Already have an account? Log In Now
3043