Darkness in War

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the shared central theme of both Joseph Conrad's book, "Heart of Darkness", and Francis Ford Coppola's film, "Apocalypse Now Redux". The paper studies the Kurtz character, who comes to be criticized for continuing to do what he had done previously under army control, but now on his own authority. The paper studies how the other characters react to Kurtz and his ensuing madness. In both the book and the movie, there are numerous possibilities for an endless abuse of power by foreigners in a primitive jungle setting. The paper demonstrates how this setting tends to bend their minds and release their dormant savage energies. For example, the paper shows how in "Heart of Darkness", gun-crazy members of the company are depicted firing wildly upon anything and everything as they progress up the river. Likewise, the paper analyzes how the men in the patrol boat rigid (PBR) in "Apocalypse Now Redux", act even more brutally, due to the circumstances of the Vietnam War.

From the Paper:

"The dominant theme of Heart of Darkness is man's vulnerability to his own darker nature and the various ways in which this terrible, savage, proto-man can be unleashed; power, the jungle, "the Company," all serve as catalysts for the emergence of this hidden, voracious id-thing within us all, most realized in Kurtz. In Apocalypse Now Redux, Coppola is right on target in exploring this theme, his choice of Viet Nam in the sixties providing all the requisite elements: madness, power, the jungle, and "the Company" are all present, the latter being represented by the United States (US) Army, or perhaps the USA as a whole. This last touch is ingenious, as it calls up a whole series of speculations regarding the various forms of imperialism. In Conrad, set at the turn of the century, the imperialism is traditional, overt. In Coppola, the US presence is just as overt, yet the pretense upon which it is based is more ideological, geopolitical."

More papers on Darkness in War:

• Analytical Essay # 26218 : "Diction in War Poem "Dulce et Decorum Est"
• Analytical Essay # 60270 : "Coppala's "Apocalypse Now" and Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"
• Comparison Essay # 68712 : "Heart of Darkness" & "Apocalypse Now"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: