Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart and Apocalypse Now Comparison
Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse once wisely noted, “Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and cruelties”. The entire ensemble of characters in Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart and Apocalypse Now are filled with a strong sense of tradition and culture. This culture not only dictates ritualistic and hollow day to day practices; it begins to define the profound inner workings of souls. However, the uproars of hell are felt among all when these fierce cultures collide with one another. The culture crashes in each respective story push beliefs past their limits and shake every tradition to its core.
Every story seems to have three distinct groups of people, each of which with its own customs and practices. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, these groups are the sailors on the Nellie, the Company and the natives in the jungle which Kurtz seems to have dominion over. The sailors are held together by the “bond of the sea” (Conrad 64) and their traditions are, for the vast majority, those of respect and care. When the first narrator explains that the Director of Companies is also their captain, the audience bears witness to the crews strong comradery, “We four affectionately watched his back…” (Conrad 65). It becomes evident that the respect that they hold for one another via their ‘bond’ comes to closely resemble love and admiration. Through this love, they grew to be tolerant of each others yarns and convictions and therefore grew silent for the beginning of Marlow’s tale even if in actuality they felt “fated before the ebb began” (Conrad 69). This strong relationship is sharply contrasted to traditions held by the Company that seem to be more self-interested.
When Marlow is thanking his aunt for providing him with his new job, she says that she is just elated in knowing that he will be working for a company that will be “weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid
Every story seems to have three distinct groups of people, each of which with its own customs and practices. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, these groups are the sailors on the Nellie, the Company and the natives in the jungle which Kurtz seems to have dominion over. The sailors are held together by the “bond of the sea” (Conrad 64) and their traditions are, for the vast majority, those of respect and care. When the first narrator explains that the Director of Companies is also their captain, the audience bears witness to the crews strong comradery, “We four affectionately watched his back…” (Conrad 65). It becomes evident that the respect that they hold for one another via their ‘bond’ comes to closely resemble love and admiration. Through this love, they grew to be tolerant of each others yarns and convictions and therefore grew silent for the beginning of Marlow’s tale even if in actuality they felt “fated before the ebb began” (Conrad 69). This strong relationship is sharply contrasted to traditions held by the Company that seem to be more self-interested.
When Marlow is thanking his aunt for providing him with his new job, she says that she is just elated in knowing that he will be working for a company that will be “weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid