ver. Evil often breaks out during times of isolation from our culture, and whenever one culture confronts another. The use of a political, military, or economic domination of one country over another, ivory trading, is imperialism. This is another theme of the story. The title of the novel, Heart of Darkness, has several meanings. Perhaps it means how we refer to the Middle Ages, when science and knowledge was suppressed as the Dark Ages. According to Christianity, in the beginning of time all was dark and God created light. This can have two meanings: Kurtz is worshiped as if he is a god. Perhaps he created light for his tribe. Or according to Heart of Darkness before the Romans came, England was dark. In the same way, Africa was considered to be in the dark stages. Yet, when it is looked into deeper, the usual pattern is reverse and darkness means truth, whiteness means falsehood. This reversal tells a political truth about races in the Congo, a psychological truth about Marlow and any number of moral truths such as the use of ivory trading which is dark and dirty. It also can represent the heart of Africa.The ties between Joseph Conrads book, Heart of Darkness and Francis Coppolas movie, Apocalypse Now are unmistakable. Apocalypse Nows accuracy in following the story line of the Heart of Darkness is amazing even though the settings of each story are from completely different time periods. From the Congo in Africa to the Nung River in Vietnam, Joseph Conrads ideals are not lost. In both the book and the movie, the ideas of good and evil, whiteness and darkness, and racism are apparent. Both examine the good and evil in humans. In my opinion, the compared themes in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is that they are both on a quest for Kurtz, which turns into an obsession or fascination of him. I also see them as a journey between the polar opposites of a western, civilized, army command center, and the jungle of K...
