"The Lion"

Text of "The Lion (chapter 8 of Jungle Tales of Tarzan)

Discussion starters:

  1. When Burroughs writes, "Tarzan led where he could not yet command" (275), what priniciple of maturation does he seem to invoke, and what other examples in literature might demonstrate this principle?
  2. Holtsmark says the incident in this story shows that Tarzan is "too clever for his own good" (122); in what ways do you see this principle at work?
  3. The last paragraph of the story begins: "It made Tarzan very glad to know these things; but at the other lesson he had been taught he reddened" (128).  What are some of the many lessons that Tarzan learns in this story? 

 

Critical Source:

  • Holtsmark, Erling B. Tarzan and Tradition: Classic Myth in Popular Literature. Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture Series. Westport, CN: Greenwood, 1981. 

 

See also "A Jungle Joke" for the trickster archetype.

Created by Stan Galloway circa 1996.  Last updated 9 February 2004.  Contact me at sgallowa@bridgewater.edu. 

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