Similarities Between Heart Of Darkness And Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. In the novel, the main character, Marlow, is taking a trip up the Congo River in Africa to meet the ivory hunter, Mr. Kurtz. Coppola’s movie is pretty faithful to the source material except in the portrayal of the character Willard, played by Martin Sheen. In the novel at the end of his ordeal in Africa, Marlow becomes embittered with society as a whole, where once he was a conforming member of it. As the movie begins, Willard is already at that stage in his story arc, but has a few vestiges of civilization left. Willard sinks even further when he meets and assassinates Kurtz, “With extreme prejudice.”
The film is a metaphor for a journey into the self and shows how the self, in the face of war, darkens beyond recognition. As they move upriver, Willard and the PBR crew become more agitated and separated from reality. Each experiences his own kind of mental breakdown.
Upon returning to the boat, the rule of ‘Never leave the boat’ is sealed. ‘Lance’ turns to drugs too, but he also camouflages his face, signaling a changed self . ‘Clean’ represents the young men who fought in Vietnam who is just seventeen year old—those who were still kids and didn’t know anything about war. He is basically cannon fodder, like many of the troops drafted into the war. Clean whiles away the time on the boat dancing to music and annoying Willard. He becomes momentarily unhinged during the sampan scene. When Clean is killed, ‘Chief’ breaks down emotionally and becomes a changed man. ‘Willard’, already broken from his first tour in Vietnam, becomes obsessed with his