Theme of Hypocrisy in Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness, and Coppola’s, Apocalypse Now :: Literary Comparison, Analytical Essays

Both Conrads, meaning of Darkness, and Coppolas, Apocalypse Now, profoundly illustrate the journey of man into their inner self and mans encounters with their insanity, fears and demise. The novella and film are comprised of numerous pivotal themes that facilitate the understanding of the deeper meaning of both works. Fundamentally, theme is an extensive message or idea expressed by an author and is a crucial element of literature since it sheds light on universal concepts. The most striking parallels that can be formulated when comparing themes in both the novella and the film are associated with human nature. Specifically, Conrad and Coppola incorporate theme of hypocrisy in order to portray mans incredible likely for evil. Firstly, the theme of hypocrisy is integrated in both works for the purpose of portraying mans staggering and absurd potential for evil. In the novel, Heart of Darkness, the Europeans state that their objectives in Africa are to trade with the natives and imme rse them with the light of civilization. However, their actions fail to reflect their stated motives since the Europeans take the ivory from the natives by force and they treat them inhumanely. not to mention that the Europeans constantly refer to natives as objects such as machinery as well as suppress and eradicate them at any opportunity. Ultimately, the Europeans utilize their false words as a civilized veneer that masks their capability of being evil and savage. For instance, in Africa, Marlow states that he has familiarized himself with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a penurious and pitiless folly. (pg. 81). Symbolically, the colonists are described as the devil mentioned above because they treat the natives with brutality even though their stated intentions are pure. Also, the colonists are foolish and inelegant for they are unaware that their actions expose the evilness behind their actions. Similarly, in Coppolas work, the United Sates affirms that they fight i n the name of freedom and democracy, yet they commit stupid and violent killings. In reality, their ulterior motives were to promote capitalism and become a dominant military world power. Furthermore, the U.S. focuses on their attention on murdering their own secret agent instead of attempting to finish the war, which is of a higher priority when lives are at stake. Additionally, the U.S. troops are strangers in Vietnam, but they act as if posses the foreign estate since they seize territory and commit murder without being incited.