Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

“Heart of Darkness” written by polish –born writer Joseph Conrad and published in 1902 is the main basis for Francis Ford Coppala’s Oscar winning film “Apocalypse Now” created in 1979. Joseph Conrad show his great knowledge of the Imperialist activities and their consequences to man while Francis Ford Coppalla interprets the story in a setting involving the Vietnam War and sets out to show the damages of war. Both stories show the “civilized” interacting with the “savages” for advantageous reasons in an attempt to demonstrate the contradictions and hypocrisy carried out by civilization. The characters share similar roles but the personalities vary and events occur at a similar pace but the scenes are carried differently. Francis Ford Coppola inputs his own ideas onto the film.

Conrad’s Marlow, the protagonist of “Heart of Darkness”, is a man who is seen as an adventurer, wanderer, and optimistic not yet broken before his assignment. Francis Coppala’s Willard is seen in the beginning contemplating suicide and needs a mission to have some meaning for him to keep living. He is a war torn special op’s