are the parallel of the company and the men that work for it in the book. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses the company to expose the corruptness and the insanity of European imperialism and ultimately civilization. There is this sense of "superiority" in the company that is blatantly false; in actuality it is infested with "utter savagery," just like in the center of the jungle, only it comes in a different form. In Europe, one walks around "with solid pavement under your feet, surrounded by kind neighbors ready to cheer you or to fall on you, stepping delicately between the butcher and the policeman, in the holy terror of scandal and gallows and lunatic asylums-how can you imagine what particular region of the first ages a man's untrammeled feet may take him into by the way of solitude.. by the way of silence?" (Hea!
             rt of Darkness, Page 44) The company talks of the ideal, the sense of good and progress in imperialism, and "civilizing" the "savages." However, the pilgrims, the accountant, and the manager all exemplify the realities of it. The reality of it is that there is no method, no ultimate good. The work done in the jungle is senseless and aimless. Ivory is the ultimate goal, spurned by greed, utter greed. Ivory is king to them. The ideal masks the ivory. The pilgrims worship it, as do the manager and the accountant. Marlow comes to the conclusion that the institution is a sham, and so is the entire concept of imperialism, because at heart, all men are inherently evil. The company's form of evil is banal evil.
             The Army, likewise, is used to expose the corruptness, absurdity, and pointlessness of the U.S. and its involvement in the war. It is made up of "rock-n-rollers with one foot in the grave." ("Apocalypse Now") These "rock-n-rollers" have a sense of superiority that is blatantly false. They order Willard to g...