# VIII: The Fight in the Desert explained — The Return of Tarzan

> Chapter companion for The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

Tarzan befriends the tribe of Kadour ben Saden and learns their ways, but after returning to Bou Saada he is ambushed by Arab assassins hired by a mysterious enemy. With the help of Abdul and the sheik's daughter, he escapes and fights off the attackers. Kadour ben Saden and his daughter depart for the south, leaving Tarzan to ponder his duties.

## Themes in this chapter

### Survival and Physical Prowess

Tarzan's agility and strength are highlighted as he leaps from a roof and fights off multiple attackers in the dark.

### Colonialism and Otherness

Tarzan's admiration for the 'wild, rough lives' of the Arabs contrasts with the 'effeminate civilization' of European cities.

### Deception and Betrayal

The ambush is orchestrated by a mysterious enemy who hired assassins, and Lieutenant Gernois is involved in suspicious whispers.

## Character check-ins

### Tarzan

Defends himself against assassins, befriends Kadour ben Saden and his daughter, and learns the rudiments of their language.

### Kadour ben Saden

Sheik who dines with Tarzan, later rescues him from ambush, and departs south with his daughter.

### Abdul

Tarzan's companion who translates Arabic and fights alongside him in the desert ambush.

### Lieutenant Gernois

Seen at breakfast in Bou Saada; an Arab whispers to him, revealing a sling on his left arm.

### Monsieur Thuran

Implied as the man who offered money for Tarzan's slaying and broke his wrist.

## Key lines

> Here were people after his own heart! Their wild, rough lives, filled with danger and hardship, appealed to this half-savage man as nothing had appealed to him in the midst of the effeminate civilization of the great cities he had visited.

Tarzan felt a deep kinship with the Arabs' rugged, perilous existence, which resonated with his own wild nature far more than the soft life of European cities.

_Reflects Tarzan's preference for wilderness over civilization._

> I have not remained because I wished to; I have been a prisoner.

The girl explains that she stays at the café not by choice but because she was captured and sold into slavery.

_Reveals the girl's backstory as a kidnapped slave._

> The odds are evening, Abdul, said Tarzan, with a low laugh.

Tarzan jokes that the battle is becoming more balanced after he shoots one of the attackers.

_Shows Tarzan's calm humor under fire._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_tarzan_se/chapters/viii-the-fight-in-the-desert
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_tarzan_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_tarzan_se/chapters