Tarzan - the true story
- Abi Withers
- Aug 21, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 9, 2019
In the late sleepless and lonely hours of these recent nights, I have spent my time watching Walt Disney's Tarzan and crying my eyes out over this sweet, kind man and his fictional story. I decided to do some research and find out where the inspiration for this story came, and it turns out that Tarzan isn't entirely fictional. There was the 1999 Disney Tarzan film that we all loved as adolescents. Following is the more recent, 2016 film "The legend of Tarzan". I didn't know about the latter film until I started doing the research, I have not yet seen it, and I really don't plan to ruin my Disney Tarzan crush on any other portrayal of Tarzan. Sorry folks. I'm a desperate loser and Tarzan is my current fictional best friend. We eat mangoes together.
The Telegraph has informed me that Tarzan isn't real but there was a man by the name of William Charles Mildin. The Disney version is based off of science fiction authors' Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes" published in 1912, coincidentally the same year her majesty's RMS Titanic sank.
The true story whoever <according to The Telegraph the documents were found with this information in a magazine and documents from family members of William Charles Mildin.> Young William was rebellious and left his British home set bound to Africa at the age of eleven. The ship wrecked and he managed to stay alive clinging to drift wood and washed up on the shores' of Africa. A family of Apes took him in and provided him food and shelter. Later he was welcomed into a native African tribe where he grew a family while practicing polygamy. This really brings to light the diversity and differences of cultures around the world that we don't always consider. He was given the name "Tarzan" which is native for "white skin". He spend a total of 15 (1868 -1883) years living as "The Jungle Man" until he was able to return to Great Britain.
The story we grew up with is about baby Tarzan abandoned in Africa after his parents were killed, in the Disney version he was never aware of the fact that there were other creatures like him. He thought he was a majorly deformed Gorilla. That would be like being surrounded by pretty fluffy cats and then there's you, a hairless creepy looking thing that would never fit in. I've been single for 8 months and I think that's an intense feeling of loneliness, but Tarzan over here had it ROUGH for a LONG TIME. He had to survive in the jungle AND fight his way through the ape social system to be loved and accepted. He must've had the best immune system physically and emotionally. I can't even imagine life without a Costco fifteen minutes away.
Of course the film ends happily with other homo-sapiens that he gains as companions. I wonder if he wouldn't have been such a kind and loving man if he was raised by humans rather than apes.
It's a truly beautiful story and I can't wait for the live action Disney Tarzan, if they decide to do one.
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