How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Apocalypse Now.
Quote #7
KURTZ: What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin? A lie. A lie and we have to be merciful.
Kurtz believes that the generals are as violent and brutal as he is. He's just open and honest about it.
Quote #8
KURTZ: I worry that my son might not understand what I've tried to be. And if I were to be killed, Willard, I would want someone to go to my home and tell my son everything. Everything I did, everything you saw, because there's nothing that I detest more than the stench of lies. And if you understand me, Willard, you will do this for me.
In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the Willard character, Marlow, goes to see Kurtz's fiancée after Kurtz dies. Instead of telling her the truth—that Kurtz's last words were "the horror…the horror…"—he tells her that Kurtz spoke her name as he expired. Do you think Willard can spin this one?