How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Apocalypse Now.
Quote #7
WILLARD: On the river, I thought that the minute I looked at him, I'd know what to do, but it didn't happen. I was in there with him for days, not under guard; I was free, but he knew I wasn't going anywhere. He knew more about what I was going to do than I did. If the generals back in Nha Trang could see what I saw, would they still want me to kill him? More than ever, probably. And what would his people back home want if they ever learned just how far from them he'd really gone? He broke from them, and then he broke from himself. I'd never seen a man so broken up and ripped apart. Kurtz couldn't have achieved the power he has without haven't gone off the psychological deep end. Even in war, Willard believes there's some limit to how you use your power.
KURTZ: Have you ever considered any real freedoms? Freedoms from the opinion of others...even the opinions of yourself?
Kurtz feels like he's beyond judgment, and that gives him the power to do what he wants. For most normal people, the judgment of others is what reins us in. And, oh yeah, our sense of right and wrong.