Kilgore is analogous. Standing out like white on black, this surfer warrior embodies the American attitude toward its own self-interest. The single reason Kilgore agrees to attack the mouth of the Nung River to let Captain Willard, Coppola's protagonist, in with his boat, is because the surf at that point is rumored to be very good. In pursuit of catching some waves, Kilgore threatens the lives of his own men and Willard's during his attack, justifying it all with a simple "Charlie don't surf!" He takes on the traits of the Chief Accountant, chasing his narrow self-absorption above the lives of others. Both resemble a sort of civilized imagery of their own society at the edge primordial man's realm. The effect of this analogy humorously suggests that the United States is not where it belongs.
Further up the river and deeper into darkness, a second character similarity can be found between Private Lance Johnson and the cannibals aboard Marlow's steamer. Although often thought of by the majority of Marlow's shipmates as nothing more than primitive, the cannibals present an interesting viewpoint from which the novella can be seen. When put in contrast with the pilgrims, the cannibals behave in a more civil manner, containing their primal instincts for their trip up the river while the pilgrims act on their murderous intuitions by frantically firing when in conflict with tribes attacking from the shore. During the long months into Africa, the cannibals demonstrated self-restraint and consequently level-headedness by controlling their hunger with rotten hippo meat. This kind of behavior seems extraordinary from savage men, who provide a balance toward civility between that and savagery. Coppola uses Lance for his portrayal of sensibility where it is least expected. After taking LSD and seemingly loosing touch with reality and the gravity of his situation, Lance continues up the Nung River in a trancelike state.
