LS196 -- Great Ideas in Western Culture II -- Spring 1998

Due in class, Tuesday, 3 March 1998

Choose one question and write 1-2 pages typed (more if you need to).

If there is another scene from the text and film you would like to write about, follow the same guidelines: be specific.

1. Which episode(s) in Heart of Darkness inspired Willard's lunch with the General and Colonel? Be very specific, comparing the statements made by characters in Apocalypse Now to those in Heart of Darkness. Vague generalities will not suffice.

2. Which episode(s) in Heart of Darkness inspired the Air Cav strike on "Charlie's Point?" Be very specific in your comparison of characters, situations, and especially what the characters say in the episode from Apocalypse Now. Willard says after the episode, "If that's how Kilgore fought the war, I was wondering what they really had against Kurtz. It wasn't just the insanity and murder; there was enough of that to go around for everyone." What do you think he means by that?

3. Willard says that "the bullshit piled up so fast in Viet Nam you needed wings to stay above it." Discuss what you think Willard means by it, being very specific, and decide what passages and episodes in Heart of Darkness inspired this comparison in the film.

4. Before taking Charlie's Point Kilgore says, "Charlie don't surf." After the episode in Hau Phat, Willard says: "Charlie didn't get much USO. He was dug in too deep or moving too fast. His idea of great R&R was cold rice and a little rat meat." What do you think they mean by these statements and how do they compare to episodes from Heart of Darkness?

5. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow says that in the Congo he hears the natives called various things: "Rebels! What would be the next definition I was to hear. There had been enemies, criminals, workers, rebels." How does this statement get translated in Apocalypse Now? Be very specific, using specific episodes, characters, and what they say. Vague generalities will not suffice.

6. Which episode(s) inspired the sampan scene in Apocalypse Now? Be very specific, comparing the statements made by characters in Apocalypse Now to those in Heart of Darkness.

7. Using very specific scenes, images, and episodes, discuss how Coppola uses Viet Nam in the same way Conrad uses the Congo. What do the areas and situations have in common? You must be very specific; vague generalities will not suffice.

8. Apocalypse Now opens with a song from the Doors. How do the words of that song become a controlling metaphor for the action of the film, and how is its choice inspired by Heart of Darkness? Be very specific about both film and text. Vague generalities will not suffice.

9. How does the Kurtz of Heart of Darkness compare to the Kurtz of Apocalypse Now, from the first time Willard hears of him until the end of the film? Be very specific about both film and text. Vague generalities will not suffice.