The first theme in the novel Tarzan of the Apes that will be examined is the idea that the male must support the weak and to protect the people that cannot protect themselves. This is evident throughout the novel as Tarzan protects everyone he loves to the furthest extent with no care for himself. His battles with neighboring tribes, huge lions, and other apes do nothing but reinforce his power and

Also throughout the novel Tarzan of the Apes a reoccurring theme is that of the male superiority in the household and that women are submissive but somewhat in control. Near the conclusion of the novel, Tarzan saves Jane Porter’s life from the evil clutches of the huge ape and in term wins her love. This is the one thing that Tarzan has so wanted for all of his life, finally “a white woman to love” and after he appears to have won her love she shuns him, this confuses Tarzan but then he later brings her food and shows his gratitude for her and wins her heart. This could almost immediately register in the white male’s mind in all that had read it in the 1910’s that in order to win a woman’s heart that one loves; one must be willing to pay the price. In other words women just don’t come easy when you love them. The significance of Burroughs using this theme in his novel is that it could be a cry for men to respect women more, they do contribute a lot to society in not only economic ways by working but also in social ways and that the female gender deserves more respect.

Furthermore throughout the novel Tarzan of the Apes, the main character Tarzan becomes more and more aware of the idea of race. The fact that Tarzan realizes early on that he is not an ape and believes that he is ugly and disgraceful becomes secondary to his belief that he is in the elite when he encounters the savages that also live on the island off of the coast of Africa that when he realizes that they are cannibals leads him to being thankful that his pigmentation is not that of a darker skinned human. Also as the book continues on the sense of comfort for

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