Apocalypse Now Imperialism

Throughout Heart of Darkness, the reader receives Joseph Conrad’s portrayal of Africa and its people under a remarkably demeaning light. When the author was born in 1857, racial tensions were at a heightened point in history and Conrad used the novel as a vehicle to advance his innately racist views. During the late nineteenth century, Imperialism struck Africa, leaving harmful effects on many of the native people and marking a dark moment in human history. The colonization of Africa, which had significant economic incentives behind it, ultimately led to intensely strained relationships between white Europeans and black natives, especially in Central Africa. Charles Marlow, the protagonist, is regularly confronted with the racism that stained
In both storylines, individuals are traveling down rivers to the inner parts of the jungle, one in Vietnam and one in the Congo. In both Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness, there is a mysterious and significant character, named Kurtz, who attracts both protagonists to the center of the jungle. In the film, Captain Willard traveled through dangerous battles and the tropical terrain of Vietnam to ultimately, find Colonel Kurtz and assassinate him. Along his journey down the Do Lung River, he encountered the last American army outpost that served as a significant checkpoint as “beyond it, there was only Kurtz.” This scene includes American soldiers jumping into the water with suitcases yelling, “take me home!” This is an important turning point because there is a distinct change in the mood upon arriving at the base – one that is dark and slightly frightening. This scene parallels Heart of Darkness with how differently the center of the jungle is perceived from the outside world. Deeper in the jungle, there is a barbaric mindset, lack of sanity and general disarray. Past the bridge is an entirely different world where Kurtz leads a civilization of Vietnamese people who mindlessly view him as their leader regardless of his directions. The bridge’s division and the characters’ behavior upon arriving at the army outpost
The overall theme of Achebe’s critique is that there was an emphasis on Western society looking to put down the entire African continent. He wrote, “Quite simply it is the desire -- one might indeed say the need -- in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe.” Conrad is guilty of Achebe’s allegation when taking the title of the book into consideration. On a literal level, Conrad is calling the Africa jungle the “heart of darkness,” a place at the core of desolation. This is an explicit effort on behalf of Conrad to put down Africa and its people. Achebe asserts that Conrad is a “thoroughgoing racist” who used the novel to comment on the white racism towards Africa that has grown so common that its “manifestations go completely unremarked.” In the early stages of his critique, Achebe provides a commentary on the division between the two worlds by focusing on the pair of rivers featured in the