The Black Pirates of Barsoom explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Freedom vs. Oppression

  John Carter seeks escape from the therns' domain, while the black pirates oppress the therns through constant raids.

• Heroism and Honor

  John Carter's self-sacrifice to ensure Thuvia and Tars Tarkas's escape exemplifies heroic honor.

• Alien Nature and Survival

  The brutal battle between black pirates and therns, along with the unleashed banths, highlights the savage survival dynamics of Barsoom.

Characters to notice

• John Carter

  Observes the black pirate raid, devises an escape plan, and sacrifices himself to allow Thuvia and Tars Tarkas to flee.

• Thuvia

  Explains the history of black pirate attacks to John Carter; is rescued by him and escapes on the flier.

• Tars Tarkas

  Accompanies John Carter and Thuvia; his great weight prevents the flier from lifting, leading to John Carter's sacrifice.

Key passages

• “The scene you are witnessing now is but a repetition of what I have seen enacted a score of times during the fifteen years I have been a prisoner here.”

  Thuvia explains that the black pirate raid is a common occurrence she has observed many times during her captivity.

  Thuvia provides context on the frequency of the attacks.

• “The therns do not dare. They tried it once, ages ago, but the next night and for a whole moon thereafter a thousand great black battleships circled the Mountains of Otz, pouring tons of projectiles upon the temples, the gardens, and the courts, until every thern who was not killed was driven for safety into the subterranean galleries.”

  Thuvia recounts that the therns once attacked the pirates' fliers, but were nearly annihilated by a massive counterattack, so they no longer dare to do so.

  Explains why the therns leave the fliers unguarded.

• “The great banths which we had liberated in the garden had evidently been awed at first by the sound of the battle, the yelling of the warriors and the loud report of rifle and bomb. But now they must have become angered by the continuous noise and excited by the smell of new blood, for all of a sudden a great form shot from a clump of low shrubbery into the midst of a struggling mass of humanity.”

  The banths, initially frightened by the battle, are roused by the noise and bloodshed, and attack both therns and black pirates.

  Describes the banths' intervention in the conflict.

• “I pressed the button far in and locked it. Then I set the lever at high speed and as the blacks came yelling upon us I slipped from the craft's deck and with drawn long-sword met the attack.”

  John Carter locks the flier's controls and jumps off to fight the approaching black pirates, sacrificing his own safety.

  John Carter's decisive action to ensure the others' escape.