preview

Compare And Contrast Apocalypse Now And Heart Of Darkness

Good Essays

Darkness is a main theme in the novel “Heart of Darkness” . Indeed, darkness pervades the novel from beginning to end. It can be seen in this novel literally as something being dark, the river for example, or metaphorically having a deeper meaning, violence for instance. Furthermore, Apocalypse means the end of the world, referred to in the bible as when the earth is demolished by fire. Although “Apocalypse Now” is an adaptation of the novel, it’s not 100% faithful to all its details, but Francis Ford Coppola presented darkness as an important focal point. So, the titles embody the essence of darkness. Both Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness show the scary evil nature of imperialism. In Apocalypse Now the U.S. military is the imperial …show more content…

It starts in the river of Thames which he describes as being: “one of the dark places of earth” (pg. 4). Literally, this shows the gloominess of the setting. He continues by narrating the history of Thames when the Romans first entered by saying: “But darkness was here yesterday” (pg.5) it metaphorically shows darkness as being the violence that has passed on this river over years of war .Following it, he expresses the image of the dead souls during these wars as a “light came out of this river”(pg.). Also, the movie opens with Doors’ song “The End”, and Willard in a hotel room with a gun. Then, Coppola views the character crying, screaming, and smashing a mirror to show how desperately Willard is, and the darkness of the …show more content…

Shadows are seen in many shots of the film. On the boat, a Marlow encounters amount of fog .This element indicates Marlow’s psychological blurriness and his inability to make a clear decision concerning Kurtz. This confusion is translated through the chief’s statement: ‘you don’t know where the hell you going, do ya?(pg.)’. Moreover, Kurtz who is a main character is not seen clearly, but his face is only half-lit most of the time or completely dark. Additionally willard kills Kurtz in a backlit act so that the figures are shadows. Also The scene of the arrow attack is covered with fog representing the misrepresentation of ethical values. While the bridge shot is dark black lit only by sparks .The uneven light arouses the feeling of confusion and shows that the troop is beyond the uplifting spark of

Get Access