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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old is Tarzan when he is finally able to read the children’s primer?

2. Why does Tarzan decide to return to the village in Chapter 11?

3. Where does Lord Greystoke charter a sailing vessel?

4. In Chapter 12, where does Tarzan take the tribe to eat?

5. How does Tarzan become King of the Apes?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tarzan do on the way back to the tribe from the village in Chapter 11 and how do the members of the tribe react to his tale?

2. Why does Kala worry about her baby and how does Tarzan get his name?

3. How and why does Tarzan kill Tublet?

4. What does Tarzan do in Kulonga’s hut in the village and how do the villagers react?

5. What does Lord Greystoke witness on the ship and what does Black Michael say is to be his fate?

6. How does Tarzan save Clayton’s life two times in Chapter 14?

7. Why is Lord Greystoke in Africa and what kind of man does the narrator say he is?

8. How does Kala die and what does Tarzan do about her death?

9. What does Tarzan do about clothing for himself?

10. How does Alice lose her memory of her recent past?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When asked why Burroughs wrote the Tarzan series about a “noble savage” he said: Of course the primary motive of a story like Tarzan of the Apes is to entertain, yet in writing this and other stories I have been considerably influenced by the hope that they might carry a beneficial suggestion of the value of physical perfection and morality. Discuss what you think Burroughs means by the above quote. Do you think Tarzan fulfills Burroughs’ vision for Tarzan? Why or why not? Use examples from the book to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

Characters are an important part of what makes Tarzan of the Apes interesting.

Thoroughly discuss and analyze Tarzan. What are his strengths and weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he usually likable? Seldom likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas. Use the same criteria to thoroughly discuss and analyze Jane and Clayton.

Essay Topic 3

Often, authors will write about what they know, and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting.

Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Burroughs's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Burroughs's probable agenda concerning that idea.

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