영어로 읽는 SF고전 _ 에드가 R. 버로스의 정글의 왕 타잔
"정글의 왕 타잔"은 20세기 초에 쓰여진 에드거 라이스 버로우스의 소설입니다. 이 작품은 아프리카 정글에서 유인원들에 의해 길러진 백인 타잔이 자연 세계와 인간 침입자들과의 갈등을 헤쳐나가는 모험을 다룹니다. 이야기는 야생을 배경으로 모험, 생존, 그리고 정체성 탐구의 요소들을 결합합니다.
책의 시작은 코끼리 탄토르를 소개하는 것으로 시작됩니다. 탄토르는 정글에서 위엄 있고 강력한 존재로 묘사되며, 경계심을 가지고 바라보는 인간을 제외한 다른 생물들과 조화롭게 살아갑니다. 이러한 평화로운 존재는 타잔이 사냥꾼들과의 조우 후 우연히 의식을 잃게 되면서 깨어집니다.
타잔이 의식을 되찾았을 때, 그는 상아와 노예를 찾는 셰이크 이븐 자드가 이끄는 아랍 약탈자들에게 잡혀있는 것을 발견합니다. 이 장면은 타잔의 "정글의 왕"으로서의 정체성이 그를 붙잡은 이들에게 알려지면서 긴장감 넘치는 대립을 형성하며, 인간과 야수 사이의 갈등, 그리고 타잔과 정글을 착취하려는 자들 사이의 충돌을 예고합니다.
Classics Read in English _ Tarzan, lord of the jungle by Edgar Rice Burroughs
"Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle" by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a novel written in the early 20th century. It follows the adventures of Tarzan, a white man raised by apes in the African jungle, as he navigates conflicts with both the natural world and human intruders. The story blends elements of adventure, survival, and the exploration of identity against the backdrop of the wild.
The opening of the book introduces the character of Tantor, the elephant, who is depicted as a majestic and powerful figure in the jungle, living in harmony with the other creatures except for man, whom he views with caution. This peaceful existence is disrupted when Tarzan is unintentionally knocked unconscious after an encounter involving hunters.
As Tarzan regains consciousness, he finds himself captured by a group of Arabic raiders, led by Sheik Ibn Jad, who are after ivory and slaves. The scene sets up a tense confrontation as Tarzan's identity as the "Lord of the Jungle" becomes known to his captors, foreshadowing conflicts that will arise between man and beast as well as between Tarzan and those who seek to exploit the jungle.
Among the contents
His great bulk swaying to and fro as he threw his weight first upon one side and then upon the other, Tantor the elephant lolled in the shade of the father of forests. Almost omnipotent, he, in the realm of his people. Dango, Sheeta, even Numa the mighty were as naught to the pachyderm. For a hundred years he had come and gone up and down the land that had trembled to the comings and the goings of his forebears for countless ages.
In peace he had lived with Dango the hyena, Sheeta the leopard and Numa the lion. Man alone had made war upon him. Man, who holds the unique distinction among created things of making war on all living creatures, even to his own kind. Man, the ruthless; man, the pitiless; man, the most hated living organism that Nature has evolved.
