StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The central character, Marlow, witnesses the atrocities inflicted on the Africans by the imperialists. Similarly, Apocalypse Now takes…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.7% of users find it useful
Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now"

‘Heart of Darkness’ and ‘Apocalypse Now Similarities and Differences Heart of Darkness, written in 1899, is about the journey of an Englishman into the forests of Congo during the European colonization period. The central character, Marlow, witnesses the atrocities inflicted on the Africans by the imperialists. Similarly, Apocalypse Now takes place during the Vietnam War. In the move, a Captain named Willard is sent to Cambodia to find and kill Colonel Walter Kurtz who has gone insane on reaching Vietnam.

Admittedly, both the novel and the film have the conflict between the civilized and the savage as the central theme. While one depicts Congo, the other depicts Vietnam. Both the works tend to depict the way civilization finds itself alienated in the wilderness. In broad terms, the main similarity between the works is seen in the way the so-called civilized people have got an uncivilized primitive in them that comes out when they reach the wilderness even for a short period of time. For example, in the Heart of Darkness, Marlow first sees the shores of Africa with a sense of fear and dislike.

As Marlow travels into the jungle, he develops the feeling that he was getting savage. Thus, as Kesselring states, one gets the idea that the man still possesses the primordial urge to be the same barbaric humans of the jungle; for example, Marlow describes a Kurtz who is free from any restraints, and who unleashes his primordial urge to kill and to enjoy total freedom. There Marlow sees a large number of heads displayed on posts that shows the kind of primitive life Kurtz lived (24-25). Here, it is worth trying to identify the reason behind the madness of both the Kurtz, and there comes the startling realization that it is the result of their inability to come into terms with the native culture and lifestyle.

For example, in the movie, one can see a Kurtz telling Willard about the Special Forces going into the village inoculating the children for polio, followed by the visit of communists who cut children’s inoculated hands off. This basic and barbaric wilderness makes Kurtz insane, and soon, he becomes a savage himself.In total, one can say that in both the cases, there is the tendency to show that the European-African and American-Vietnam conflicts symbolize the conflict between the civilized and the savage.

In both the cases, there is the realization that civilization is the result of the complex web of rules, regulations and codes of conduct that the modern societies have developed. In addition is the acceptance that there is a savage in every civilized human being. Thirdly, in both the cases, a movement away from the civilized world means a travel back to savagery. In other words, when there is no boundaries set by the civilized society, the evil is unleashed from the civilized man. To sum up, one reaches the conclusion that man has never changed.

Only the society makes him civilized and the force of civility remains only in the urbane. When man gets isolated, and when he reaches the nature back where no boundaries exist, he goes back to his primeval urges and lust. Thus, one can undoubtedly say that man has not changed, and at least, that is the basic theme behind the novel and the movie. Works CitedKesselring 97, Laura. "Civilization and Savagery in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness and Francis Ford Coppolas Apocalypse Now". Undergraduate Review, (1997).

10: 1, Article 6. 1-7.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1586740-heart-of-darkness-and-apocalypse-now
(Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/english/1586740-heart-of-darkness-and-apocalypse-now.
“Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1586740-heart-of-darkness-and-apocalypse-now.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now

Argumentative Writing about Apocalypse Now and the Vietnam Conflict

Kurtz lost himself in the very heart of darkness wherein he had no choice but to make his own rules in order to survive.... Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam “The apocalypse now” deals with morality and corruption.... The story begins with Captain Willard being sent into Cambodia to terminate Colonel Kurtz, who was a soldier that abandoned the US Army and have stared operating on his own....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Heart of Darkness the Apocalipse now

This essay intends to explore the subtle areas of both the novel, “heart of darkness” with the film, “Apocalypse Now” and set a parallel matrix between the two aesthetic pieces from a different age, and medium, tries to strike a hint upon the meticulous use of symbols in both the works and compare them.... It can be thus easily determined that the novel, “heart of darkness” and the film, “Apocalypse Now” centers round the trajectory of a man through the exotic, wild and dark path of Africa and Vietnam respectively consequently cruising the gruesome and dark abbeys of hypocrite and civilized society....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Microanalysis of Apocalypse Now by F.Coppola

Inspired by the 1902 novel of Joseph Conrad, The heart of darkness, Apocalypse Now presents a story of a U.... The review "Microanalysis of apocalypse now by F.... oppola" basically discusses and reviews the quality, framing, movement, and sound editing within the film apocalypse now (1979) by F.... hellip; Cinematography and Sound are just two of the most vital elements in a film apocalypse now by F....
5 Pages (1250 words) Movie Review

Conrad versus Coppola

The story unfolded for the reader through the narration of an Englishman called Marlow in… Conrad, in the heart of darkness, fundamentally explored the darkness theme – the ethic of brutality in the late-nineteenth century Europe.... The heart of darkness has at least 10 film or television adaptations after its publication.... Film adaptations of the heart of darkness have focused on different interpretations.... He explored how the plunder of Africa by Europe created a universal tale of man's fallen nature through the To emphasize this theme of darkness from the beginning, Conrad's narration took place in the Thames tidal estuary....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Analysis of Apocalypse Film

Apocalypse film starts with the words “apocalypse now”.... The author analyzes "apocalypse" film that features Vietnamese at war.... apocalypse is a film that reveals how people from Vietnam were tired of taking orders from the Americans thus started a revolution meant to refute humiliation by their superiors....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Imperialism and Significant Impacts on the Victims and Perpetrators

In the contexts of both the film and the novel, the The novel ‘heart of darkness', 1889, by Joseph Conrad documents the attitudes on racism and colonialism characterized by the European imperialism.... The novel got adapted by Francis Ford Coppola into a film ‘apocalypse now', 1979, which goes further to examine the imperialist effects on the victims and perpetrators.... In ‘apocalypse now', the story gets based upon Conrad's novel but instead of focusing on the Congo, the film focuses on the unexplainable venture of America into Vietnam....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Comparison of Conrad Josephs Heart of Darkness and Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now

This paper "The Comparison of Conrad Josephs heart of darkness and Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now" focuses on the two films that depict Captain Benjamin Willard's mission to kill a former US Army Special Forces agent labelled a defector and declared mentally incapacitated, Walter Kurtz (Coppola).... nbsp; The Comparison of Conrad Josephs heart of darkness and Ford Coppola Apocalypse NowBasing his film on the major themes and plot of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", director Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" depicts Captain Benjamin Willard's (Special Operations officer) mission to kill a former US army Special Forces agent labeled a defector and declared mentally incapacitated, Walter Kurtz (Coppola)....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Revelations Promoting Apocalypticism

While apocalyptic theories previously focused on God's return, they now dwell on the end of the world, largely because of a global catastrophic event.... rdquo; According to Bailey, these verses in the bible fuel the belief of the apocalypse and the end of times.... apocalypse themes present fear across the population.... Joel 2:31 says, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord”, while Acts 2:20, in the New Testament, asserts, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us