"The Horror! The Horror!" Such little words that have such a large impact on a entire story and film. The after math of these words are critical in Coppola's film "Apocalypse Now" and Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". The narration, setting and coloration surrounding the ending of these stories completely change the meaning of one mans life.
In Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" as Kurtz is dying he recites his famous lines, "The Horror! The Horror!" and afterwards, we are left with the impression that Marlow still looks up to Kurtz and believes in everything he has to say. As Marlow states after the death of Kurtz, "This is the reason why I affirm Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say...After all, this was the expression of some sort of belief; it had candour, it had conviction..." (Conrad 69). We see a Marlow who is still infatuated with the idea of Kurtz and everything he was about. Marlow narrating the story after the death of Kurtz leads us to believe that the meaning of the horror that Kurtz was talking about, was his own death. It is due to Marlow's narration we feel this way. After Kurtz dies we have Marlow to explain why he was a great man, to deter us from looking into what the "horror" could have truly been. We are left with a picture of Kurtz still being strong and fearless and almost in a way above the rules of society. Everyone dies, but in this scene it is almost as if Kurtz's death is a tragic one, even after all the atrocities he had committed. In "Apocalypse Now" Kurtz is killed and he knows he will be killed by Willard. Without the narration of another party however we are left with images and no other words but, "The Horror! The Horror!" The very act of Willard killing Kurtz leads us to believe that he does not feel Kurtz was that much of a remarkable man, or else he w
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