Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now Essay
ENGLISH EXTENSION ESSAY – Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now
The dark core of human nature has been a timeless notion, explored and extrapolated by many literary critics. Both the core text, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and it's film appropriation, Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola, ignite interest as to question whether humans are essentially creatures of dark nature when stripped down to bare essentials. When these are linked to values of greed and hunger for power and domination, these forces emerge through extreme characterization. Furthermore, through the manipulation of the setting, one can also see the dark forces are reflected in the surroundings. Under the guise of civilisation, the central characters pursue domination of the cultures they have invaded and the ramifications of this behaviour is reflected in the themes of madness, absurdity of evil and loss of spiritual centre. A post colonial reading of these texts would explore the idea that "power and knowledge gives the Wests the power to name people, places and cultures and control them." - Edward Said Orientalism 1978
The value of imperial domination is explored in Conrad's Heart of Darkness through the character Marlow and Kurtz. The novel was written during the time of New Imperialism where European countries were in conflict with one another, trying to claim African territories known as the "Scramble for Africa." This context is reflected in the novel when the narrator, Marlow, thinks aloud in, “Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration... when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, When I grow up I will go there." This shows the innate want and need to dominate in European culture, expressed through accumulative listing. Furthermore, the use of high modality language in "I
The dark core of human nature has been a timeless notion, explored and extrapolated by many literary critics. Both the core text, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and it's film appropriation, Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola, ignite interest as to question whether humans are essentially creatures of dark nature when stripped down to bare essentials. When these are linked to values of greed and hunger for power and domination, these forces emerge through extreme characterization. Furthermore, through the manipulation of the setting, one can also see the dark forces are reflected in the surroundings. Under the guise of civilisation, the central characters pursue domination of the cultures they have invaded and the ramifications of this behaviour is reflected in the themes of madness, absurdity of evil and loss of spiritual centre. A post colonial reading of these texts would explore the idea that "power and knowledge gives the Wests the power to name people, places and cultures and control them." - Edward Said Orientalism 1978
The value of imperial domination is explored in Conrad's Heart of Darkness through the character Marlow and Kurtz. The novel was written during the time of New Imperialism where European countries were in conflict with one another, trying to claim African territories known as the "Scramble for Africa." This context is reflected in the novel when the narrator, Marlow, thinks aloud in, “Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration... when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, When I grow up I will go there." This shows the innate want and need to dominate in European culture, expressed through accumulative listing. Furthermore, the use of high modality language in "I