Comparison of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness
Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness share parallel characters, ideas and dialogues, but most important is the distinct similarity between central themes. Each deals with the primitive, animalistic qualities stifled within the modern, refined man which will emerge indefinitely in the absence of civilization. The Kurtz?s from each work abandon society and become engrossed in the primitive ways of the jungle, rediscovering their basest human instincts. On a superficial level, one could compare the characters of Heart of Darkness to those of Apocalypse Now. Marlow, on his downriver journey in Africa is a parallel to Willard, on his assassination mission on the river in Vietnam. Each man is on an intrinsic journey as well as a physical one, finding spiritual enlightenment in the darkest of places. The Kurtz?s are obvious parallels, not only appellatively but also behaviorally, in that they feed on their instincts and desert their learned morals. Although both men are high-ranked military prodigies, the high attained from being coveted as a god among the natives causes them to depart from their ethics. Even the most minor characters, such as P
For Marlow, this epiphany comes as Kurtz utters his last words, ?the horror, the horror?. Marlow does not, until his revelation, view the black men as equals, or even humans. He thinks of them as beasts, but later, as he discovers Kurtz?s transition, he realizes that we are all beasts inside. Willard has a notion of this from the start. He finds fault in his being sent to kill a man without giving him chance to reconcile himself, because this is exactly what authorities find so offensive and threatening about Kurtz to begin with. When all is said and done, Willard ascertains that because he has killed Kurtz for the very same reason Kurtz was seen as detrimental, he too is a savage, and is no better than Kurtz himself. We come to see, through Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now that the nature of man cannot be stifled, cannot be masked, cannot be hidden. The theme that is recurrent in both works is that we are no better than the natives of strange lands. We dress ourselves in fine clothes and speak and act with graciousness and poise, but no matter how hard we try, we are all beasts inside. Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now both demonstrate
Some common words found in the essay are:
Marlow Willard, Kurtz Willard, Darkness Apocalypse, Heart Darkness, Apocalypse Marlow, Cambodians Apocalypse, Phillips Russian, heart darkness, darkness apocalypse, Comparatively Apocalypse, heart darkness apocalypse, Darknesss Marlow, kurtz seen, beasts inside,
Approximate Word count = 776
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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