Edward Said's concept of orientalism is greatly manifested in 'Tarzan of the Apes'; showing that even though Tarzan was born in Africa, he is different and superior to other Africans due to his genetic ancestry. Not only is Tarzan shown as superior to black men, he is also shown as superior to other white men, being shown as a new ideal for the white man. Below we will examine Tarzan through Said's theories of Orientalism, demonstrating that Burroughs treats black Africans as other Orientals. The concept of orientalism is demonstrated by having the character Tarzan placed in an unfamiliar environment, where he must then overcome various circumstances. Tarzan finds himself not to be as strong as the other apes, but overcomes this inferiority with the help of his self-taught knowledge. This self-taught knowledge is, in itself, a demonstration of superiority over other Africans because other men were not required to teach themselves. Likewise, in the text, Tarzan makes the choice not to eat Kulonga, implying that he is superior to the blacks of Africa because they are not intelligent or thoughtful enough not to eat another man. This implies to the reader that perhaps they are not men at all. This further contributes to the idea that there is a concept of “whiteness” and that describing an individual as black defines them as different. In contrast, defining a person as white simply means defining them as human. The story of Tarzan of the Apes also shows the concept of "whiteness" through D'Arnot's description of the tribe that intends to eat him. D'Arnot describes them in terms of animals, beast-like, not man-like. D'Arnot places himself on a superior plane, ...... middle of paper ... teasing people for the color of their skin. Furthermore, it shows this racism in all walks of life, even within the novel. This further supports Said's theory of Orientalism as it shows the Westernized world deeming itself superior to that of the East or others. Racism can be seen in Tarzan through Burroughs by causing characters to think and say things that directly and indirectly imply that black people from Africa are inferior. Even making black Africans perform cannibalistic rituals that in today's world would not be accepted by society. In this way, it isolated them from the rest of humanity, allowing individuals to see them as an “other,” or something that does not belong to the same group due to this behavior. After examining Tarzan through Said's theories of Orientalism, Burroughs is seen to treat black Africans as other Orientals.