Tarzan

Tarzan is a fictional character created by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs. He first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, serialized in All-Story Magazine before its publication as a book. The story follows John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, marooned on Africa’s shores as an infant and raised by a tribe of great apes. The apes nickname him Tarzan, and he grows into a powerful, resourceful man who grapples with his aristocratic heritage and the jungle.

Key elements of the character include his extraordinary physical strength and agility, his use of improvised tools and weapons, and his ability to read situations and negotiate with both wildlife and humans. In many novels he encounters humans, most notably Jane Porter, whom he comes to love, and he must decide how to navigate the conflicting expectations of civilization and the wild.

The Tarzan canon expanded rapidly, with Burroughs writing 24 sequels that take the character to various locations in Africa and beyond. The series helped popularize the image of the jungle hero and contributed to large-scale adventures in popular fiction during the early 20th century.

Tarzan has been adapted widely across media. Notable film portrayals include the 1932 film Tarzan the Ape Man starring Johnny Weissmuller and the 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes; Disney's 1999 animated Tarzan brought the character to a younger audience. The character has also appeared in comic strips and comic books, radio dramas, and television series, and remains a recognizable symbol of pulp adventure.

Over time, Tarzan has been reinterpreted and analyzed for its portrayal of colonial attitudes and civilization's encounter with the wild. The character remains a lasting element of popular culture and continues to be reimagined in new literary and media forms.