Was Tarzan an Aspie?

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Lately I've been reading the 'Tarzan' novels by Edger Rice Burroughs, and I've seen that he has many of the traits of AS and personalty quirks that I happen to have.

Here they are....

1. Tarzan is very, VERY driven! For instance in the first novel 'Tarzan of the Apes' he learns to read and write English, thanks to the books left behind by his late (human) father without knowing how to speak it.

2. Tarzan, speaks in a very articulate manner (none of the ''Me Tarzan You Jane'' stuff from the MGM/RKO movies appears in the books) although this may be a result of his being an early 20th century fictional character this is still a point that should be made.

3. Tarzan, does not lie, period (at least in the books I've read so far anyway)

4. Tarzan, is very protective towards women in fact he see's that men are their natural protectors (which is more or less my view on the matter) he is also very loyal with regards to his wife Jane (they marry at the end of the second book) and will politely turn down any other woman's offer of love or sex, leading to unpleasant results in 'Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar'

5. Tarzan has a problem solving mind and cannot understand why anyone would put up with being oppressed.

6. Needless to say Tarzan has a rigid moral code abet one that is in favior of rough justice, which I can actually agree with a lot of the time.

7. Tarzan is something of a deep thinker and philopher.

8. Tarzan has a hot temper, that is (mostly) triggered by injustices.

9. Lastly Tarzan prefers to go round nude, (and I mean fully nude not just in a loincloth, although he does wear them in the books as well as the movies) perhaps he has sensory issues?

As it happens, many of E.R.B. other heroes have similar traits so perhaps he had AS too?

I know that this is not the most conventional character to go round saying that has AS, but I'm sure you'll get my drift...

Goodbye till next time

Goodbye till next time

Wasn't Tarzan abandoned in the jungle at a very young age, no more than 5, and then was adopted by apes? From what I know about the story Tarzan didn't much contact with humans maybe none at all. Wouldn't that make Jane the first one he is encounters? Just checked the bio for him on the Internet. He was adopted by gorillas and Jane was his first contact with a fellow human which didn't occur until he was an adult.

I don't think he was/is an Aspie. He just didn't have the 'benefit' of being surrounded by other members of his species. I just wonder if the gorillas taught him their philosphy on life. How well did he communicate with them?

irene

You are correct about him being a feral child and this may the reason as to the way he is (although for a feral child he picks up a lot of the human ways very quickly)

It may be possible that Gorillas (although they are strangely not refered to as such in the books, we are told that they are of a species of Ape "Unknown to science" although they are most likely gorillas ala in the Disney film, which is remarkably faithful to the first book) have AS!?!

Which is cool as they are my fave animals.

As for your question he was able to speak their lingo, and thus knew about their philosophy of life.

You are mistaken to think that Jane Porter (who is an American in the books, from the deep south no less!) was his 'first' contact with another human (that he could remember) as if I remember correctly from reading 'Tarzan of the Apes' he battled African tribesmen although if you are talking about inter-mate relations then you would be correct on this matter.

I think things work differently in the animal kingdom than the human one. Maybe us Aspies are the missing link I might would be better off living with apes/gorillaz than humans

I think what you're seeing is simply Burrows' concept of the 'noble savage hero.'

It's a lot like Howard's characterization of Conan the Cimmerian.

Both authors deal in stories that stress natural goodness/nobility of man verses the corrupting influence of civilization.

It is interesting that 19th/20th century notions of what makes the ideal romantic hero are very similar to common aspie traits.

It's also worth remembering that many aspies find themselves at odds (if not in conflict) with society/civilization much of the time...

Too bad superpowers aren't a common aspie trait too.

PS
It's been some time since I've read Tarzan (they're on my kindle reading list), but I thought the ape species went (in the language of the mangani):

Bolgani=Gorillas

Mangani=Tarzan's fosters (something between Gorilla and Chimp)

Tangani=Chimpanzee

... then again, I could just be confused.

You've raised a number of good points there, especially with regards to aspies finding themselves in conflict with so called 'civilization' and the bit about many aspies (myself included) holding many of the views of the late 19th and early 20th century's.

In fact this goes some way in explaining why many aspies enjoy watching and reading pulp fiction from that era, as it fits our world view(s) better than more modern stuff.

Now if only more of the female aspies could be more like the women of those times. As many of them hate being 'pampered and looked after' it seems....

Goodbye till next time

I think there is something about simple, good versus evil stories that appeals to aspies...

Conan probably isn't quite as pure as Tarzan morally, being a mercenary, thief, pirate, and usurper, but he has his own honor code that he scrupulously follows and he's always morally superior to his more civilized foes.

In "Tower of the Elephant," Conan might be a thief, but he gives up his prize to commit an act of mercy and punish a treacherous, old wizard. And, when Conan seizes the throne of Aquilonia, he's also liberating the country from a mad, jealous tyrant.

I think the appeal of pulp from this time comes from the simple morality and characters and the great detail of the worlds.

A lot of Aspies tend to see people and moral issues in simple terms, but we like our trivia too--The mangani word for elephant is Tantor, and the Hyborian Age (the time of Conan) occurred between the sinking of Atlantis and the flood recorded in the Bible!

I can see that you are a BIG 'Conan' fan.

I must confess that I've only seen the movies but I heard of the pulp stories, and would like to read them.

Goodbye Till Next Time.

You are confusing "feral child" with "Asperger's." The reason why he couldn't interact with humans was because he was raised by another species.

But of course my dear boy.

EVERY famous character in EVERY famous story was an Aspie.

(We all know that.)

I'm starting to think that "diagnosing other people with Asperger's" is a symptom of having Asperger's.

Looks like that must be the case!

I've already diagnosed Zelda Fitzgerald (she was real by the way I'll talk about that one soon) Zoe Herrot, (From 'Dr Who' and I've done posts about this in the past) Tao, (From 'The Mysterious Cities of Gold' I've also done posts about this in the past) Amy Rose (from 'Sonic' I've done a joke about her and later on today I'll do a post about this), and a number of others with AS so it must be!

Zelda Fitzgerald did not have Asperger's. She was schizophrenic.

Also, I was making a joke.

That's what her doctor's said, and back that as we all know they could be VERY, VERY wrong!! !!

(No offence to any doctors who worked back in the Jazz age intended)

And yes while I guessed that you were making a joke, you did none the less raze a good point.

Schizophrenia and autism have many of the same symptoms. She did not have Asperger's, get the f**k over it.

Ohhhhhhhhh, will it ever end?! I swear, half of the topics on here are speculation about some famous or fictitious character. And they seem to get more and more ridiculous.