Quote 4
Kurtz: “It’s
judgment that defeats us.”
Here, Kurtz, in his quarters, attempts
to indoctrinate Willard with his ideas. Willard, freed from the
tiger cage and allowed to roam throughout the compound, internalizes
Kurtz’s philosophy. This quotation is part of a longer monologue
in which Kurtz compares the Vietcong’s combat methods to those of
U.S. troops, explaining why the Vietcong will inevitably win the
war. Their victory is sealed because they use their primordial instincts
to murder without emotion or judgment. Kurtz believes that moral
judgment is out of place in war and serves only to thwart victory.
Accordingly, only the ruthless can win. With this quotation and
its encompassing monologue, Kurtz also explains to Willard why he
himself chose to give in to the temptations of the jungle, to deify
himself among the Montagnard tribe, and to practice behavior devoid
of moral constraints. His justification for this lifestyle is that
judgment “defeats us.” It prevents soldiers from winning the war,
and it prevents humans from realizing their full potential to live
as one with the primitive nature both outside and within them.
