# Poll: What do you think of when I say "Son of Tarzan"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592 "2010-02-19T03:58:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/1 "2010-02-19T03:58:37Z")
Please answer the first thing that pops into your head. This thought came to me when I awoke this morning. [spoiler] The first thing that came to me was “Boy”, which is the first thing that came to people I informally polled at work today. In fact, to most it was the _only_ thing. “Boy” was, of course, the name of Tarzan’s adopted son in eight of the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies of the 1930s and 1940s, and in the Dell Tarzan comics of the 1950s. It shows the influence of film that this is the premiere answer. Of course, this wasn’t the case in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books – Tarzan’s biological son in the Tarzan books was _Korak_. He appears in several of the books (and even outside the canonical Tarzan books), and appeared in the Gold Key comics of the 1960s (which were more faithful to the books than the movies, eventually getting his own comic. When DC took over the franchise in the 1970s, they kept the title going, with the same enumeration. Korak also appeared in the 1920 serial **The Son of Tarzan**. The thing is, since the comic stopped running in the early seventies, and the books, though still in print, don’t seem to be as common as they used to be, I suspect very few folks have even heard of Korak. The most recent Tarzan adaptations – like the 199 Disney movie, and the TV series it spawned, don’t even _mention_ his son. So I suspect most younger Dopers would check the very first box. As for “Jack Clayton”, you’d really have to be a Tarzan geek to have that be the _first_ answer to pop into your head. It’s Korak’s legal name, of course. But it wasn’t on any comic book covers. I’d really be curious about any answers registered under “other”[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/2 "2010-02-19T04:17:38Z")
Other: “I think there was a [movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011717/) called that.” “I guess Tarzan did have a son at some point. Tarzan Jr.?” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/3 "2010-02-19T13:12:49Z")
I read your spolier after voting. I appear to be an enormous ERB geek. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/4 "2010-02-19T13:20:26Z")
I’ve got no answer. All that pops into my head is the semi-complete phrase “\_\_\_\_\_, son of Tarzan.” To my recollection, it was a two-syllable name, but I don’t recall it being Korak. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/5 "2010-02-19T13:25:28Z")
Who’s tougher: Korak or Carthoris? This question has bothered me for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/6 "2010-02-19T13:28:19Z")
I read Tarzan in my teens. If you hadn’t put the name Korak in the list, my Swiss Cheese memory wouldn’t have pulled the name out of my brain, but that is who I think of. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/7 "2010-02-19T13:39:52Z")
I was a movie fan of Tarzan, so ‘Boy’ is what I immediately thought. Maureen O’Sullivan in leather as Jane. MMMMMM. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/8 "2010-02-19T13:41:30Z")
[Gitarzan?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdbktulCOFw) ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/9 "2010-02-19T14:10:55Z")
I answered “Other” because, similarly to **Lunar Saltlick,** I had a vague memory that there was a book, or possibly series of books, that featured such a character, but no recollection of what his name was – and Korak wasn’t ringing any bells. Incidentally, is it just me, or does anyone else read _“What do you think of when I say ‘Son of Tarzan’?”_ and _“What’s the first thing that pops into your head when I ask ‘Name of Tarzan’s Son?’”_ as subtly different questions? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/10 "2010-02-19T14:17:44Z")
Son of Tarzan sounds like Son of Sam making for a killer in the jungle who will eventually screw up and then we will have a Bungle In The Jungle. Bungle In The Jungle is by Jethro Tull who plays other music that goes well for mood music with reading the books of Tolkien. This relates to the epic of quest of Frodo which shows how all literature eventually can be linked to the Tolkien books. That is what I think of when you ask. Had you asked for the son of Tarzan I would have chosen Korak as I have been reading Edgar Rice Burroughs books recently. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/11 "2010-02-19T14:33:40Z")
I started buying the Ballantine paperback editions of the Tarzan novels when I was in the fourth grade (1962) and I still have them. They are pretty battered and well read, but Tarzan of the Apes was the first book I ever bought. I had been introduced to ERB before this by a couple of guys in the neighborhood who were two or three years older than I. I had worked my way through the John Carter books by borrowing them from these guys. They had no interest in Tarzan. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/12 "2010-02-19T14:35:56Z")
Loved the Weismuller movies as a kid, but never read the books or the comics, so I voted “Boy.” Coincidentally, I recently decided to watch the movies again and the first two Weismuller Tarzan movies (_Tarzan the Ape Man_ and _Tarzan Escapes_) arrived via Netflix yesterday. I’m curious to see if they’ll hold up to my memories of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/13 "2010-02-19T14:48:44Z")
Wasn’t the character Boy in the 1970s TV series? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/14 "2010-02-19T15:08:39Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Wasn’t the character Boy in the 1970s TV series? The one with Ron Ely? That was Jai. I was never quite clear on what he was doing there, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/15 "2010-02-19T15:11:02Z")
Only read one book with Tarzan’s son in it, and that was long ago. It started in England, and headed out to Africa at some later point, and I don’t remember the name Korak at all (I don’t really remember “Jack” either, but I do remember that he was John Clayton’s son). I expect the book was “Son of Tarzan,” or maybe “Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/16 "2010-02-19T15:43:45Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I was a movie fan of Tarzan, so ‘Boy’ is what I immediately thought. > > Maureen O’Sullivan in leather as Jane. MMMMMM. 😉 How I would have put it if I had said it before I read this. As a side note to the poll issue, whenever I wanted to “talk Tarzan” as a kid it was always “Umgawa” until I read some of the comics where “Kreegah! Bundolo!” seemed to be the way it was done. I never read any ERB and the closest I think I have come to that was Greystoke. I think I was drunk when I saw Bo Derek’s version. Did Tarzan have a son in that? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/17 "2010-02-19T17:07:14Z")
I’ve seen some of the movies (old and new) but have read all of the original books, and the books are far better. So I think about the real son. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/18 "2010-02-19T17:43:18Z")
The books are now in the public domain and can be found at various ebook sites, most notably Project Gutenberg: ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/19 "2010-02-19T23:47:18Z")
Korak gets the nod, since his comic book was drawn by the amazing Dan Spiegle! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592/20 "2010-02-20T00:07:57Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > … Incidentally, is it just me, or does anyone else read _“What do you think of when I say ‘Son of Tarzan’?”_ and _“What’s the first thing that pops into your head when I ask ‘Name of Tarzan’s Son?’”_ as subtly different questions? Yes! _“What’s the first thing that pops into your head when I ask ‘Name of Tarzan’s Son?’”_ Boy, _“What do you think of when I say ‘Son of Tarzan’?”_ Cheeta! :eek: CMC fnord! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-when-i-say-son-of-tarzan/529592.md?page=2)