Tarzan of the Apes

Literary Devices:

 

                In the middle of the novel in a letter describing the treasure that is in Africa, Jane says, “Papa was presumed to entertain some wondrous theory of an unthinkably ancient civilization, the remains of which lay buried somewhere in the Congo valley.” (Burroughs 149) Here Burroughs makes an allusion to a common idea that the white civilizations had at the time. Many people believed that there was an ancient white civilization in Africa that was there even before blacks. Many whites believed this to justify the European colonization of Africa. Later this information was found to be spurious and most people today do not even know of the theory.

 

 

 

                When Tarzan makes one of his exits from the other men Burroughs describes it by saying, “he melted away into the Jungle as softly and as noiselessly as a shadow.” (147) Burroughs uses two literary devices here, a simile and a personification. He uses a personification to describe a shadow. A shadow cannot “melt away” but Burroughs uses it here as a description. He uses a metaphor in the comparison of Tarzan and a shadow. The sneaky way that Tarzan left into the jungle is similar to how a shadow is seen as sneaky by people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                When Jane is admiring Tarzan Burroughs says, “When Tarzan killed he more often smiled than scowled and smiles are the foundation of beauty. One thing the girl had noticed particularly when she had seen Tarzan rushing upon Terkoz-the vivid scarlet band upon his forehead, from above the left eye to the scalp; but now as she scanned his features she noticed it was gone, and only a thin white line marked the spot where it had been.” (168) This quote shows an example of a hyperbole. Jane hyperbolizes Tarzan’s beauty in her mind. She calls things that are not normally seen as beautiful, such as smiling while killing and a red band as being beautiful. Burroughs does this to show how much Jane likes Tarzan and how much she is attracted to him.

 

 

 

                When the black tribe is about to eat D’Arnot Burroughs describes it saying, “The savage, whirling bodies circled nearer. Now a spear sprang forth and touched his arm. The Sharp pain and the feel of hot, trickling blood assured him of the awful reality of his hopeless position.” (182) here Burroughs uses extensive imagery. The way he describes the pain of the spear and the feel of the blood and its warmth adds extreme detail to this scene of the book. Without this imagery the scene would be less powerful and would not have the same impact on the reader.