Apocalypse Now is loosely based on the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. In the novel, the main character, Marlow, travels up the Congo River to Africa to meet the ivory hunter, Mr. Kurtz. Coppola's film is fairly faithful to the source material, except in the portrayal of the character Willard, played by Martin Sheen. In the novel at the end of his ordeal in Africa, Marlow becomes embittered towards society as a whole, of which he was once a compliant member. At the start of the film, Willard is already at this point in his history, but he still has some vestiges of civilization left. Willard sinks deeper when he encounters and murders Kurtz, "with extreme prejudice." The film is a metaphor for a journey towards the self and shows how the self, in the face of war, darkens to the point of becoming unrecognizable. As they move upriver, Willard and the PBR crew become increasingly agitated and separated from reality. Everyone experiences their own type of mental breakdown. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The first scene being where "Chef" leaves the boat, enters the jungle in search of ingredients, runs into a tiger and is no longer the same: his character becomes shorter and he withdraws more on drugs. Upon returning to the boat, the “Never leave the boat” rule is sealed. “Lance” also turns to drugs, but he also camouflages his face, signaling a change in self. “Clean” represents the young men who fought in Vietnam and are only seventeen years old – those who were still children and knew nothing about war. He is essentially cannon fodder, like most of the troops drafted into the war. Clean passes the time on the boat dancing to music and annoying Willard. He becomes momentarily unbalanced during the sampan scene. When Clean is killed, the "leader" breaks down emotionally and becomes a changed man. "Willard", already broken by his first tour in Vietnam, becomes obsessed with his target. Masks are used at key moments throughout the film to symbolize the anti-self, the new identity that each character assumes to cope with the war, an act that requires the symbolic killing of the old self. The fact that Willard shatters his reflection in the first scene suggests such an act of self-destruction. At the end of the film, many characters wear masks or put makeup on their faces, a sign that they are no longer themselves. When Lance finally seems to reach his breaking point, he drops acid and hides his face in camouflage paint. In the eyes of the photojournalist, Kurtz can do nothing wrong. The photojournalist has been indoctrinated by Kurtz's philosophy and acts as a liaison figure to bring Willard and Kurtz together. He is Kurtz's jester and provides comic relief during the film's dark final scenes. Kurtz's face is often obscured by shadow or darkness, and when Kurtz throws the Chief's severed head into Willard's bamboo cage, he does so with face paint. Finally, when Willard prepares to kill Kurtz, he covers his face in mud. These masks highlight the dramatic transformation of human beings in times of war.