# III: The Call of the Jungle explained — Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar

> Chapter companion for Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

Tarzan, unable to sleep, leaves his camp to hunt in the jungle. He kills a deer but is confronted by Numa the lion. After a tense standoff, Tarzan retreats with part of the kill, then harries Numa with fruit until the lion leaves. Following Numa, Tarzan finds a witch-doctor whom the lion attacks. Tarzan leaps onto Numa's back, stabbing him repeatedly, and ultimately kills the lion. The witch-doctor, recognizing Tarzan as a jungle god, is terrified.

## Themes in this chapter

### Civilization vs. Primitivism

Tarzan sheds his civilized veneer and embraces his primal nature, hunting and fighting as a jungle predator, contrasting his English lordship with his savage actions.

### Survival and Adaptation

Tarzan uses his jungle skills to hunt, evade Numa, and ultimately kill the lion, demonstrating his adaptation to the harsh environment.

## Character check-ins

### Tarzan

Tarzan feels the call of the jungle, leaves his camp, hunts a deer, battles Numa, and kills the lion, displaying his primal instincts and savage prowess.

### Numa

Numa the lion confronts Tarzan over the deer kill, is driven off by fruit, then attacks a witch-doctor, and is ultimately killed by Tarzan in a fierce struggle.

### Bara

Bara the deer is killed by Tarzan for food, then partially eaten and later taken by Numa before Tarzan drives the lion away.

## Key lines

> Moved by these vague yet all-powerful urgings the ape-man lay awake one night in the little thorn boma that protected, in a way, his party from the depredations of the great carnivora of the jungle.

Driven by primal instincts, Tarzan couldn't sleep in the thorn enclosure that partially shielded his group from jungle predators.

_Highlights Tarzan's restless connection to the wild._

> Sloughed from him was the last vestige of artificial caste—once again he was the primeval hunter—the first man—the highest caste type of the human race.

He shed all pretense of civilization and became the original, supreme hunter.

_Emphasizes the theme of civilization vs. primitivism._

> The first intimation the black man had that he was in danger was the crash of twigs as Numa charged through the bushes into the game trail not twenty yards behind him.

The witch-doctor first realized his peril when he heard Numa crashing through the brush just twenty yards away.

_Shows the suddenness of the lion's attack._

> He saw the forest god or demon rise from the vanquished foe, and placing a foot upon the still quivering carcass, raise his face to the moon and bay out a hideous cry that froze the ebbing blood in the veins of the witch-doctor.

The witch-doctor watched Tarzan stand over the dead lion and howl at the moon, a terrifying sound that chilled his blood.

_Portrays Tarzan as a supernatural figure to the witch-doctor._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_jewels_of_opar_se/chapters/iii-the-call-of-the-jungle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_jewels_of_opar_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_jewels_of_opar_se/chapters