Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Comparison
The plot of Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now parallel one another, showing great similarity
in conflict, themes, and characters. However, both the film and the movie separately reflect different
personal feelings and prejudices that are faced in the varied settings. Heart of Darkness follows the
narrative of Marlow, a character mirrored in Apocalypse Now by the name of Willard. These characters
are both independent minded and philosophical, on a mission to find Kurtz, a chief of the Inner Station
in Heart of Darkness, and a colonel in Apocalypse Now.
Similarities
Differences
Characters
- The character Kurtz in both media
representations clearly exerts a
powerful influence on the people in his
life, ignoring hypocritical rules that
govern colonial conduct/war
- Unsound methods have provided Kurtz
with his success, the same factor that
lead to incurring wrath from others as a
weakness to the character
- Through the character development of
Kurtz, it becomes clear that madness is
relative, and insanity is difficult to define
- It is showed that madness is linked to
absolute power, moral genius, and
fundamental fallibility; Kurtz has no
authority to whom he answers but
himself, and this shows to be more than
any one man can bear
- Marlow/Willard have sympathy for
Kurtz and by the end of each the film and
the movie, see of little of themselves in
the degenerated savages (they are
discovering the darkness in their own
hearts
Characters
- Marlow has seen enough of the world
and has encountered enough debased
white men to make him sceptical of
imperialism
- Marlow appears as a character that has
learned from his past, whereas Willard is
fighting his past, trying to dismiss it at
the beginning by intensive drinking
- Apocalypse Now provides characters
developed to pronounce great nobility.
Characters in Heart of Darkness are
ivory traders on the Conga, there on
their own free will and greed. In
contrast, characters in Apocalypse now
are soldiers drafted into the War
- Willard in Apocalypse Now is depressed
and has a killer instinct, differing from
Marlow who is eager to learn the secrets
of the Ivory Trade
- Kurtz in the book is a much more
negative character, he appears a bit
narrow minded and inhumanly
concentrated on achieving the
acquisition of as much ivory as he can.
- In the film, the character Kurtz is not
associated to any material goods, but to
the gain of extreme power in order to
win a war. His violence has the only goal
to create an independent kingdom
where to find his real nature and die far
from the evil of the world. Kurtz is a
positive character in the film, no matter
his violent methods.
Plot
-
Plot
-
First person narrators are the same
Marlow/Willard must find a powerful
The initial story of The Heart of
Darkness demonstrating colonial
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-
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man named Kurtz
Venturing down a river, deeper into
their tasks and the jungle
The descriptive sections of the book can
be compared to the film’s photography
The helmsmen on both boats are killed
by an attack from a native man with a
spear
Marlow and Willard both receive
subjective information on Kurtz,
allowing interpretation to promote the
views of the corruption in war and
colonial empires.
General Manager mirrors the role of one
of the generals in Apocalypse Now, both
known for their rankings being due to
their ability to stay alive, whether it be
from avoiding bullet wounds or African
diseases.
The boats in both media representations
pass their ‘last chance’ (inner post and
last army post) where there boat is
ambushed by escapees
Theme/Other
- Theme of human degeneration is
apparent in both media representations
- Kurtz’s character is used to explore
Marlow’s/Willard’s character more in
depth (Both are character foils to Kurtz)
- Both media representations deal with
civil humanity’s ability to be prepared
for the known and unknown
- White men dominate their respective
crews and natives of the country they
are visiting
- The story of Marlow and Willard both
exhibit moral confusion
- In both stories there is the idea of the
proverbial choice between the lesser of
two evils
- Marlow/Willard is forced to align
himself with hypocritical
colonial/wartime bureaucracy or the
openly malevolent, rule-defying Kurtz
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injustice in a wild African frontier was
applied to Apocalypse Now in the setting
of a Vietnam War in order to
demonstrate the opinion of a wrong
political action and the brutality and
senselessness of war. The same morals
were applied to a different setting
Willard is ordered to kill Kurtz
Marlow and Willard act different to the
perception and presence of Kurtz
Marlow gains a great deal of information
by watching the world around him and
by overhearing others’ conversations, as
when he listens from the deck of the
wrecked steam manager of the Central
Station and his uncle discussing Kurtz
and the Russian trader. Willard gains
information when he is debriefed for his
mission.
Marlow was stuck waiting at central port
for boat parts, causing an intermediary
part of the plot that allowed him to
gather needed information about Kurtz.
Theme/Other
- Apocalypse Now breaches the edges of
soldier sanity in the Vietnam War
- Heart of Darkness explores issues
surrounding imperialism and offers the
harsh pictures of colonial enterprise
- Apocalypse Now explores the corrupt
nature of hierarchy in the army, an
example being the general who
continues to order the rebuilding of the
bridge for the unwillingness to admit
defeat, despite the sacrifice of young
men
- The Heart of Darkness more obviously
plays on the metaphor of Darkness, of
looking deeper inside you, and being
unable to see that the human condition
has implications.