# V: The White Ape explained — Tarzan of the Apes

> Chapter companion for Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

Tarzan, now a young boy, becomes acutely aware of his physical differences from the apes, feeling shame at his hairless skin and human features. He discovers his reflection in a lake and is horrified by his own appearance. The chapter also details his early life with Kala, his slow development, his growing strength and agility, and his invention of rope-making and nooses, which he uses to torment Tublat. A pivotal moment occurs when Sabor the lioness attacks, and Tarzan's quick thinking saves him while his ape companion is killed.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature vs. Nurture

Tarzan's innate human intelligence and reasoning ability set him apart from the apes, allowing him to invent tools and strategies, yet his physical and social development is shaped entirely by his jungle environment.

### Identity and Belonging

Tarzan's discovery of his reflection and his shame at his appearance highlight his growing awareness of being different from the apes, questioning his place within the tribe.

### Survival and Strength

Tarzan's quick decision to dive into the lake to escape Sabor demonstrates his survival instincts, while his increasing strength and agility are emphasized as he matures.

## Character check-ins

### Tarzan

Experiences shame upon seeing his hairless body and human face reflected in the lake; demonstrates quick thinking and self-preservation when Sabor attacks; develops rope-making skills and uses them to harass Tublat.

### Kala

Tenderly nurses and protects Tarzan, defending him from Tublat and Kerchak's demands to abandon him; threatens to leave the tribe to keep him.

### Tublat

Hates Tarzan and frequently tries to harm him; becomes the frequent target of Tarzan's rope tricks, causing him great annoyance.

### Kerchak

Urged by Tublat to force Kala to give up Tarzan, but backs down when Kala threatens to leave the tribe.

### Sabor

The lioness who stalks and attacks Tarzan and his ape cousin at the lake; her scream triggers Tarzan's instinct to dive into the water to escape.

## Key lines

> Tarzan was appalled. It had been bad enough to be hairless, but to own such a countenance! He wondered that the other apes could look at him at all.

Tarzan was horrified by his reflection, feeling that his hairless, human face was so ugly that he couldn't understand how the other apes could stand to see him.

_Highlights Tarzan's first deep sense of otherness and shame about his appearance._

> So the scream of Sabor, the lioness, galvanized the brain and muscles of little Tarzan into instant action. Before him lay the deep waters of the little lake, behind him certain death; a cruel death beneath tearing claws and rending fangs.

Sabor's roar triggered an immediate response in Tarzan, who chose to leap into the lake—a place he feared—rather than face the lioness's deadly attack.

_Demonstrates Tarzan's quick reasoning and ability to overcome fear for survival._

> And thus, by painstaking and continued practice, he learned the art of roping. Now, indeed, was the life of Tublat a living nightmare.

Through persistent trial and error, Tarzan mastered the skill of making and using ropes, which he then used to constantly torment Tublat.

_Shows Tarzan's inventive intelligence and his mischievous, defiant nature._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_of_the_apes_se/chapters/v-the-white-ape
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_of_the_apes_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_of_the_apes_se/chapters