Essay On Apocalypse Now

Two expeditions traveling up a jungle river at different times (One in the 60’s Vietnam War, and the other during a 40’s botanist adventure), both on different continents (Southeast Asia and South America) and with polarized objectives (One to kill, and the other to learn). In the first expedition, the film, Apocalypse Now, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola: Captain Willard, a special forces assassin, is assigned a top secret mission, at the height of the Vietnam War, to travel up the Nung river into a hostile, very unstable Cambodia, on a Navy patrol boat and kill a highly decorated special forces operative Col Kurtz accused of murder by the Army, and now living amongst indigenous tribes in a remote location. The second expedition,

(Q2) In simultaneity of Apocalypse Now, writer Wade Davis begins describing a point of uncertainty in Richard Schultes journey after he has traveled some distance up the Pongo river, similarly faced with an uncertain situation, “vomiting up blood and had to ask to be taken in by a family at the village” with suspicion of influenza, and an increasingly growing sense of fear of running out of resources (camping equipment, food and money) due to no communication on behalf of his counterpart Murca Pires (Davis, 1997, pp. 396-398).

Arriving late in the afternoon, Schultes found no sign of Murca Pires. Nor was his companion on the Araujo Company launch that arrived from Manaus later that night. No one aboard knew what had become of the Brazilian botanist, but rumor had it he was still in Barcelos, hung up with motor trouble. By this time Schultes was completely out of money and desperate to connect with Murca. On credit he hired a boat and crew and left immediately for downriver. He did not get far before his own engine broke down, stranding him for seven hours on a sandbar while the motarista made repairs”.