I explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Identity and Impersonation

  Esteban Miranda's delusion that he is Tarzan of the Apes, and his manipulation of the villagers' belief that he is the river devil, highlight the theme of impersonation and mistaken identity.

• Deception and Manipulation

  Esteban Miranda deceives Uhha into freeing him by playing on her fear of the river devil, and the witch doctor exploits superstition to protect him.

• Slavery and Freedom

  Esteban Miranda is physically enslaved in a dog-like existence, and his escape represents a bid for freedom, though he immediately imposes his will on Uhha.

Characters to notice

• Esteban Miranda

  Imprisoned in Obebe's village, he believes himself to be Tarzan and hoards a bag of diamonds. He manipulates Uhha into freeing him and forces her to accompany him into the jungle.

• Uhha

  Daughter of Khamis the witch doctor, she is manipulated by Esteban Miranda into freeing him, then forced to flee with him into the jungle.

• Obebe

  Cannibal chief who holds Esteban Miranda captive and wants to eat him, but is opposed by the witch doctor.

• Khamis

  Witch doctor of Obebe's village, father of Uhha, who believes Esteban Miranda is the river devil and protects him from being eaten.

Key passages

• “In the filth of a dark hut, in the village of Obebe the cannibal, upon the banks of the Ugogo, Esteban Miranda squatted upon his haunches and gnawed upon the remnants of a half-cooked fish.”

  Esteban Miranda is imprisoned in a filthy hut in Obebe's cannibal village, eating scraps of fish.

  Esteban Miranda's degraded state as a captive.

• “He was , as far as he was concerned, Tarzan of the Apes⁠—there was no other⁠—and he was Tarzan of the Apes to Obebe, too; but the village witch doctor still insisted that he was the river devil and as such, one to propitiate rather than to anger.”

  Esteban Miranda believes he is Tarzan, and the witch doctor claims he is the river devil to protect him from being eaten.

  The conflicting beliefs about Esteban Miranda's identity.

• “Esteban Miranda’s other diversion, aside from secretly believing himself Tarzan, consisted in gloating over the bag of diamonds that Kraski the Russian had stolen from the ape-man, and that had fallen into the Spaniard’s hands after he had murdered Kraski⁠—the same bag of diamonds that the old man had handed to Tarzan in the vaults beneath The Tower of Diamonds, in the Valley of The Palace of Diamonds, when he had rescued the Gomangani of the valley from the tyrannical oppression of the Bolgani.”

  Esteban Miranda's other pastime is counting the diamonds he acquired after murdering Kraski, which were originally stolen from Tarzan.

  Esteban Miranda's hidden wealth and its origin.

• ““Hush!” responded the intruder in soft tones. “It is I, Uhha, the daughter of Khamis the witch doctor. I have come to set you free that you may know that you have a good friend in the village of Obebe and will, therefore, not destroy us.””

  Uhha, the witch doctor's daughter, comes to free Esteban Miranda, hoping to avoid the river devil's wrath.

  Uhha's motivation for freeing Esteban Miranda.

• “Esteban reached forth and took her by the arm. “Come,” he said, “and receive your reward.” Uhha shrank away from him. “Let me go!” she cried. “I am afraid.” But Esteban was afraid, too, and he had decided that the company of this little negro girl would be better than no company at all in the depths of the lonely jungle.”

  Esteban Miranda forces Uhha to accompany him into the jungle because he is afraid to go alone.

  Esteban Miranda's fear of the jungle and his coercion of Uhha.