After unexpectedly enjoying Treasure Island, I decided to try another 'classic' adventure novel and found Tarzan of the Apes amongst the titles in my school's lending library.
I don't have much to say about this. I didn't mind suspending my belief to accept that Tarzan, orphaned as an infant and raised by an ape, could teach himself to read and write from an assortment of picture books. I believed that he could learn to speak fluent French and English in a relatively short period of time. What I couldn't believe was how racially offensive this book is. I'm a sophisticated enough reader to be able to view film and literature in the context of the time it was created, but there's nothing else going on here that really mertis the inclusion of this book on the List of 1001 novels you should read. It's hard to find anything ground breaking or truly original. The prose is average, the dialogue stilted, and the descriptions are nothing special. There is a fair amount of action, but I found myself ready to finish after about fifty pages.
Predictably, all whites are viewed as heroic and virtuous, with nobility on full display (or barely below the surface) of even one raised in the jungle by an ape. The black natives are cannibals, superstitious and crazed. The African American maid from Baltimore is hysterical and stupid. Yuck.
Edgar Rice Burroughs never set foot in Africa, but he cranked out a couple dozen Tarzan stories as well as the John Carter from Mars series.
2 comments:
I'm with you on this one. I read it just to see if there was anything that would surprise me, but it was just silly and quite dated.
So, you started this gig in Sept, and now here it is May, roughly a school year gone by. I'd be interested to hear any general comments you'd make about this project and see a short list of the most memorable books you've read since you started. I guess you could wait till Sept and do an anniversary posting. I am curious though.
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