Tarzan of the Apes · Chapter
VI: Jungle Battles explained
Tarzan discovers the cabin door and enters, finding skeletons and a hunting knife.
What happens
Tarzan discovers the cabin door and enters, finding skeletons and a hunting knife. He later battles a great bull gorilla, sustaining severe wounds, and is rescued and nursed back to health by Kala.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Strength
Tarzan's brutal fight with the gorilla and his stoic endurance of severe injuries highlight the theme of survival in the jungle.
Nature vs. Nurture
Tarzan's innate human curiosity leads him to explore the cabin, while his ape upbringing shapes his reaction to the skeletons and his combat instincts.
Love and Instinct
Kala's selfless care for Tarzan, despite being a wild ape, exemplifies maternal love and instinct overriding tribal indifference.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Explores the cabin, discovers a knife, and fights a gorilla, nearly dying from his wounds.
- Kala
Devotedly nurses Tarzan back to health after his battle with the gorilla.
- Kerchak
Refuses to send aid for Tarzan, showing his lack of care for the boy.
- Tublat
Opposes sending assistance to Tarzan, reinforcing his antagonism.
Key passages
“He would peek into the curtained windows, or, climbing upon the roof, peer down the black depths of the chimney in vain endeavor to solve the unknown wonders that lay within those strong walls.”
Tarzan would look through the windows or climb onto the roof to try to see inside the mysterious cabin.
Shows Tarzan's persistent curiosity about the cabin.
“Finally he stumbled upon the right combination, and the door swung creakingly open before his astonished eyes.”
After much effort, Tarzan accidentally figured out how to open the door, which swung open with a creak.
Marks Tarzan's first entry into the cabin.
“No human mother could have shown more unselfish and sacrificing devotion than did this poor, wild brute for the little orphaned waif whom fate had thrown into her keeping.”
Kala's care for Tarzan was as devoted as any human mother's, despite being a wild animal.
Highlights Kala's maternal love and the theme of love and instinct.