Catherine Sorensen
Period 2
Compare and Contrast Essay
“The mind of man is capable of anything- because everything is in it, all
the past as well as all the future”. This powerful quote, from Joseph Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness is a declaration that is evident in both the novel Heart of
Darkness and in Francis Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now. The film and the novel
are equally brilliant representations of the power of the mind. They both show
the delicate balance between good and evil and how humans choose the
ultimate path. The storyline of both The Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now
consist of a man’s journey through a devastating and decrepit jungle in order
to complete his assigned mission: to kill Colonel Kurtz. Unfortunately,
compared to good, evil is much more prominent in the book and in the film,
and it is represented in similar ways. Good, however, is introduced into the
novel in a different manner than in the film. Joseph Conrad employs vivid
scenes of violence in order to portray the toxic evil that envelops the minds of
those in “the heart of darkness”, however, he introduces good as the
knowledge that comes from experience. Meanwhile, Francis Coppola’s
Apocalypse Now similarly shows violence and the tendency of men submitting
into evil, but his depiction of the essence of good is the importance of
immortality, as opposed to knowledge. All in all, the film and the movie
equally introduce readers into a dark, evil and savage world while offering
their own unique “window of light,” for redemption.
Throughout Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now it is evident the man
himself created a situation where evil far outweighed good. Death, destruction
and murder are constantly present. Near the beginning of Marlow’s journey
into the Congo (the mirror image of captain Willard’s journey into Cambodia, in
Apocalypse Now) Marlow witnessed a French man-of-war irrationally shelling
into the jungle. The French ship, or rather the people within the man-of-war,
had absolutely no consideration for the life they were destroying. Marlow’s
observation of the scene is similar to Captain Willard’s experience with
Lieutenant Kilgore. In Apocalypse Now, a man named Kilgore assigned an order
to “bomb them (a Vietnamese village) back into the stone age” and all for the
selfish desire to surf in their beach. Both events equally represent the
wreckless slaughter of human life that made the events and its participants, so
savage. Moreover, both the novel and the film vividly depict a man submitting
into evil, a man named Kurtz. Kurtz was an amazingly talented and revered
humanitarian who gave into evil after living in surroundings that epitomized
hell. Everyman has his breaking point and in the Heart of Darkness and in
Apocalypse Now, Kurtz gave into his. Humans have the choice to work for good
or succumb to evil, and in both the film and in the novel, evil’s prominent
presence lures most men into the “dark”.
There are no true heroes in Heart of Darkness or Apocalypse Now. Good
is not present as a fairy godmother, nor as a strong savior with all the
solutions. Rather, in Apocalypse Now and in the Heart of Darkness Good is seen
in a different light. The good in Apocalypse Now is introduced as the legend
that creates immortality. The only redemption for the feverish and debilitated
Kurtz is the idea that his accomplishments and his abilities will be remembered
by his son and by society. Meanwhile, the divine light in the Heart of Darkness
is knowledge. Marlow went into the pit of gloom and misery, he witnessed the
most gruesome things possible, and amid all the chaos Marlow gained
knowledge and an awareness of life through his experience. His “yellow glow,”
and his Buddha-like appearance are the culmination of what he learned
throughout his journey into the “heart of darkness”.
In summation, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Coppola’s Apocalypse
Now are vivid, violent tales that depict the extreme limits of the minds
capabilities. With the lack of restraint, order and compassion, people can do
immoral and unspeakable deeds. However, the evil can be thwarted with
knowledge, order and law. The “light” can be achieved if the human mind
works for it. Both works of art depict the fragile balance between good and
evil, however, they do so in their own unique way.