Tarzan the Untamed · Chapter
XVII: The Walled City explained
Tarzan discovers a walled city in an unexplored part of Africa and devises a plan to enter it to rescue Bertha Kircher.
What happens
Tarzan discovers a walled city in an unexplored part of Africa and devises a plan to enter it to rescue Bertha Kircher. He races a black-maned lion across a moonlit clearing, scaling the wall via vines. Inside, he encounters a strange, possibly insane man who commands lions, but Tarzan escapes into the trees. He then finds the trail of Bertha and Smith-Oldwick leading to the city's gate.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Adaptation
Tarzan uses his jungle skills and cunning to outrun a lion and scale the wall, adapting to the new environment of the walled city.
Madness and Rationality
The encounter with the lion-taming man introduces a theme of madness, as Tarzan perceives him as a 'rational maniac' who controls lions.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Tarzan explores the walled city, races a lion, and escapes a lion-tamer.
- Fräulein Bertha Kircher
Bertha Kircher is imprisoned in the city and is the target of Tarzan's rescue.
- Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick
Smith-Oldwick is with Bertha Kircher, and Tarzan follows their spoor to the city.
- Numa
Numa the lion chases Tarzan across the clearing and is later seen under the control of a strange man.
- Sheeta
Sheeta is mentioned among the jungle cats whose cries are heard at night.
Key passages
“How this city had come to exist in this forgotten part of unexplored Africa the ape-man could not conceive.”
Tarzan was baffled by the existence of this city in a remote, unexplored region of Africa.
Highlights the mystery of the lost city.
“Never before, perhaps, was staged a more thrilling race, and yet it was run with only the moon and stars to see.”
The race between Tarzan and the lion was incredibly exciting, witnessed only by the moon and stars.
Emphasizes the dramatic tension of the chase.
“the man who addressed him was what might only be described as a rational maniac.”
The man seemed to be both sane and insane at the same time.
Introduces the theme of madness.