Ashley Mbualungu

English 105

Professor Timmons

10/22/10

Apocalypse Now

            Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad and "Apocalypse Now" a movie directed by Francis Coppola are two works that parallel one another. One of the many similarities between Heart of Darkness and "Apocalypse Now" is race. Joseph Conrad and Francis Coppola both use white men as the characters that have dominance. Conrad uses his character Marlow, while Coppola uses his character, Willard, to both look at the natives as though white men are the civilized culture and the native people are the savage culture (Franklin). We can find examples of this and one of them being Marlow and the doctor from the novella. Marlow’s skull was compared presently to his skull upon returning to the Congo and when Marlow tries to find out his results the doctor mentions that there are none because not one civilized person has returned from the jungle.  From the movie an example of this is when Willard faces a dilemma, whether or not to complete his soldierly mission of killing Kurtz. We are shown that if he completes his missions he is still civil, however, if not, he is left to be conquered by the Vietnam jungles.

            In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola used his directing ability to transform Heart of Darkness such that they could be appreciated by a 20th century audience. By changing the setting, plot and characters he was able to do so. Vietnam’s gory war settings are parallel to the setting of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness geographically and the battlefields contrast well with the novella’s style which is why Coppola probably felt the need to use Vietnam as a depiction for the 20^th century viewers.

            Kurtz’s character played by Marlon Brando was played very well utterly because he basically became Kurtz. His performance was so real and believable and his message would not have gotten across without his powerful tactics. Brando’s eerie ways and ability to get into character and become Kurtz is what made him so terrifying but captivating to watch.

            Willard’s mission is to find and kill Kurtz however along the journey, similar to Marlow’s, he is contemplated over the thought of killing him or joining him. In the scene where Willard emerges from the water ready to kill Kurtz, Willard stabs Kurtz several times killing him. Willard has fulfilled his mission and by doing so he is still civilized. After he leaves the temple, he is basically given the choice to return to civilization or not. The choice is up to him but overall, he gave himself the opportunity to go back to a civilized world.