What does this quote mean?

Question

It's from apocalypse now:
"I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream. That's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight... razor... and surviving."

Why does he say this?

Answer 1

It pretty much means the same thing as the quote that gave the book "The Razor's Edge" it's title.

"The path to Salvation is as narrow and as difficult to walk as a razor's edge."

Not much room for error in either quote, is there? One mistake and it's 'game over'.

Answer 2

To live, to survive, to thrive: in the face of danger, in the face of death. Thrill seekers challenge to themselves: to crawl, slither, along the edge of a razor and survive. Isn't all of life the edge of a razor, after all, planning only works to a certain degree.

Answer 3

Apocalypse Now Quotes

Answer 4

Apocolypse Now Quotes

Answer 5

You're all wrong...by a mile! The scene has been answered by Coppola a million times.
Remember, he wrote the movie, screenplay and the book.
His Cambodian Army (tribe) is the simplest of military force. But disciplined.
Kurtz tries to explain to Douglas that leave or stay; he would die.
The snail, crawling on the razor's edge, it moves slow, and each move wounds it even more.
But to not move, will kill it as well.
And to continue, Douglas realizes that he's either brilliant or insane. Douglas decides
to follow orders and assassinates Brando.

Answer 6

The line might be a connection to a poor translation from the Upanishads:The meaning is that life is about suffering.

Answer 7

It s existential angst. Kurtz has lost his mind because he can no longer deal with the pain and horror of real living. The true nature of being alive.