Tarzan as a cultural prism: Ideological Associations in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan of the Apes

Nora Hadi Q. Alseed

Abstract


More than any other of Burroughs’ many creations, Tarzan has become a staple of popular culture. The character functions as a cultural prism, in which the concerns, anxieties, desires, and tastes of particular times and places are encapsulated in such a way to make us look at that context in a different perspective. Burroughs’ original Tarzan embodies several of the aspirations, tensions, and failings of the early twentieth-century Unites States. On one hand, the novel refracts a national longing for an unspoiled nature, on another hand, the novel echoes the racism and violence directed at African Americans at this time.


Keywords


Edgar bourrough, American culture, African American ecoboding

Full Text:

PDF

References


Anon. (1999). eNote. Retrieved 5 May 2012 from http://www.enotes.com/tarzan-apes-qn/themes-characters.

Bleiler, E. F. (1982). Edgar Rice Burroughs. In Bleiler (Ed.), Science Fiction Writers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Barlow, S. (2012). Personality Test: The Nature Child Archetype | Suite101.com. Retrieved 5 May 2012 from http://susanna-barlow.suite101.com/personality-test-the-nature-child-archetype-a357604#ixzz1tHQuGfbk.

Essoe, G. (1968). Tarzan of the Movies. New York: Cadillac.

Fortres, P., & Clinebell, H. (1996). Ecotherapy: Healing Ourselves, Healing the Earth. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.

Graham, F., & Knopf, A. (1990). The Audubon Ark: A History of the National Audubon Society. New York: Alfred Holtsmark.

Erling, B. (1986). Edgar Rice Burroughs. Boston: Twayne.

Haslam, J. (2011). He had become my Tarzan. Retrieved from http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/he-had-become-my-tarzan/Online.

Lupoff, R. (1968). Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure, New York: Ace.

Porges, I. (1975). Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press.

Tuan, Y. (2002). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.

Holtsmark, E. B. (1981). Tarzan and Tradition: Classical Myth in Popular Literature. Westport, C. T.: Greenwood Press.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.2n.3p.120

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2012-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD. 

International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the journal emails into your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.