an ape, and he must act against his human instincts by jumping into a dangerous body of water in order to survive an attack from a lion. Because simian and human behavior blend, and because civilized habits seem to threaten human survival, Tuhkanen claims that humans must contradict the expectations of civilization regarding the characteristics of humans. For Tuhkanen, the novel exemplifies “queer ethics,” encouraging “perverse sexuality” along with other behaviors which Western civilization often discouraged. Escapism Most of the stories that Burroughs wrote were stories that he told himself. According to Gore Vidal, when Burroughs was unsatisfied with reality, "he consoled himself with an inner world where he was strong and handsome, adored by beautiful women and worshipped by exotic races." The story served for the most part as a form of masculine escape that inspired men and boys. The adventurous character of Tarzan also appealed to wider American audiences over decades as a powerful means of escaping the sense of boredom and frustration which accompanies a confining society, and to the twentieth-century American desire to reconquer a home that seemed lost. "In the eyes of contemporary man, huddled in large cities and frustrated by a restrictive civilization, Tarzan was a joyous symbol of primitivism, an affirmation of life, endowing the reader with a Promethean sense of power." Adaptations Film adaptations Burroughs' novel has been the basis of several films. The first two were the silent films Tarzan of the Apes (1918) and The Romance of Tarzan (1918), both starring Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan, based on the first and second parts of the novel, respectively. The next and most famous adaptation was Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), starring Johnny Weissmuller, who went on to star in 11 other Tarzan films. Lincoln was replaced by Weissmuller (as actor); similarly Clayton was replaced by Harry Holt (the character in the films). It was remade twice, as Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), featuring Denny Miller, and Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981), with Miles O'Keeffe as Tarzan and Bo Derek as Jane. The 1935 12-part serial, The New Adventures of Tarzan, starred Herman Brix (later, "Bruce Bennett"). This was produced contemporaneously with the Weissmuller versions. Four more movie adaptations have been made to date: Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), a film starring Christopher Lambert that is more faithful to the book; Tarzan of the Apes (1999), a direct-to-video