The Son of Tarzan · Chapter
XV explained
Korak, believing Meriem dead after a brutal battle with the Gomangani, descends into a year of solitary, grief-stricken wandering, courting death and finding solace only with Tantor the elephant.
What happens
Korak, believing Meriem dead after a brutal battle with the Gomangani, descends into a year of solitary, grief-stricken wandering, courting death and finding solace only with Tantor the elephant. He eventually reunites with the baboon king he freed, but when he seeks their help to rescue Meriem, they refuse, insisting they are too few and must first enlist the hill-country baboons.
Themes in this chapter
Revenge and Redemption
Korak's bloodthirsty rage and relentless attack on the Gomangani are driven by his belief that they killed Meriem, seeking vengeance.
Freedom vs. Confinement
Korak's solitary, roaming life contrasts with his earlier bond with Meriem; he is confined by grief and unable to find peace.
Characters to notice
- Korak
Leads a charge against the Gomangani, searches frantically for Meriem, and later becomes a solitary, morose wanderer after believing her dead.
- Meriem
Korak believes she has been killed and eaten by the Gomangani; she is the object of his grief and rage.
- Akut
Mentioned as one Korak occasionally hunts with during his year of wandering.
- Tantor
Korak spends much time with the elephants, especially a giant tusker who becomes his docile companion.
- Numa
Korak moves along the ground even when Numa is abroad and hungry, courting death.
- Sheeta
Korak takes to the same trees that harbor Sheeta the panther, courting danger.
Key passages
“Korak, as he had led the march, led the charge. The blacks were struck with horror and dismay at the sight of this white-skinned youth at the head of a pack of hideous baboons.”
Korak, at the front of the march, also led the attack. The black warriors were terrified to see a white-skinned young man leading a pack of terrifying baboons.
Describes the shock of the Gomangani at Korak's alliance with the baboons.
“With the conviction that Meriem was dead there surged through Korak’s brain a wave of blood red rage against those he believed to be her murderer.”
Certain that Meriem was dead, Korak was overwhelmed by a furious desire for revenge against those he thought had killed her.
Korak's grief turns to rage, driving his violent actions.
“To them this white warrior, who consorted with the great apes and the fierce baboons, who growled and snarled and snapped like a beast, was not human. He was a demon of the forest—a fearsome god of evil whom they had offended.”
The black warriors believed this white warrior, who lived with apes and baboons and acted like a wild animal, was not human but a demonic forest god they had angered.
The superstitious fear of the Gomangani enhances Korak's terrifying reputation.
“Brooding and despondent he took his solitary way into the deepest jungle. He moved along the ground when he knew that Numa was abroad and hungry. He took to the same trees that harbored Sheeta, the panther. He courted death in a hundred ways and a hundred forms.”
Gloomy and hopeless, Korak wandered alone into the deepest jungle, deliberately risking his life by walking where lions hunted and climbing trees where panthers lurked.
Korak's grief leads him to reckless, death-seeking behavior.
“He came to love them as he loved not even the great apes, and there was one gigantic tusker in particular of which he was very fond—the lord of the herd—a savage beast that was wont to charge a stranger upon the slightest provocation, or upon no provocation whatsoever. And to Korak this mountain of destruction was docile and affectionate as a lap dog.”
Korak grew to love the elephants more than the apes, especially the fierce herd leader, who was normally aggressive but became gentle and affectionate with Korak.
Korak finds a unique bond with a normally dangerous elephant.
