The Rebellion of the Main Characters in Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Apocolypse Now

Authors, Coppola and Conrad, bring to the attention of their readers and viewers that imperialism brought out the savage and rebellious acts of one of their main characters. They developed the idea that the character Kurtz was not the great man he claimed to be in the upcoming of his accomplishments. His wealth and power over the natives led him into a hole of misery. Readers and the audience can interpret that he needed to escape, even though he was not mentally ready, and the only way out was death. The creation of this idea is seen in the plot of Heart of Darkness and the intense scenes of Apocalypse Now.

The comparable scene of both works is the discovery of Kurtz in his misery and the tragedy of his death. In each piece of work, whether novel or movie, when Kurtz was discovered the audience automatically understood that he was insane. Conrad illustrated the idea of meeting Kurtz with heads and filth on his part of the jungle, but Coppola really brought Kurtz’s insanity to life. The numerous, headless bodies and heads of kids and adults hanging from trees, poles, and sticks, dripping with fresh blood were only Coppola’s first way of bringing to light Kurtz’s cruelty and horror. The bodies in the movie were pale and white so, the audience had no choice but to notice and feel squeamish from their sight. Conrad on the other hand only made the bodiless heads seem no more than a totem pole for decoration.

The welcoming of Marlow and Williard onto the savage’s home place was even different. Kurtz’s had made the Vietnamese so much into savages that whenever someone else came to them they were made savage also. This is what happened to Williard as he prepares to go talk to Kurtz. Copolla used mud as a disguise or symbol of filth...

... middle of paper ...

...lt him as a strong statue, but he was broke down as he wither carried away on the boat or chopped down by the tribes machete. With everything under Kurtz’s power it was dark and gloomy setting, but once he was gone everything began to silence and lighten.

The main concept of Copolla and Conrad was to show how the time period of imperialism brought out the rebel in a human society. They wanted a specific society, and if one could not cope with it he was killed. Not everyone could live with the horror, such as Kurtz, so they had to be removed; whether it was death or departing from society. Kurtz unintentionally chose death in Heart of Darkness, but he knew death was coming for him in Apocalypse Now. He understood that it was for the better of him and all the people he affected.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Knopf, 1993. Print.