Lena Choi

Term paper
Period 1
The Analysis of a Gentle Mafia Family
In The Godfather trilogy, by author Mario Puzo tells an intense story on the rise and fall
of a great Italian Mafia family. He places the main character Michael in a socially corrupt urban
setting and uses the problems that occur in that setting to develop Michael into a stronger
individual that the reader follows as Puzo shows how the Mafia family falls. This reading
experience is highlighted by the Italian background of this family and depicting the role of
loyalty, respect, and everyones desire to achieve the great American dream as the core of the
Mafia family.
Mario Puzo was an Italian immigrant that grew up in Hells Kitchen of New York City,
which is where he sets his novel to mainly take place in. Puzo wrote other novels with
reoccurring themes on American society, immigration, and family similar to those in The
Godfather in his works like The Dark Arena, The Fortunate Pilgrim, and Fools Die. His
bestseller was The Godfather published in 1969. (Ferraro 20) Because of the novels high success,
he was able to pay off the debt he had to his relatives and close friends and prevent the debt from
becoming a burden to his children. (Book Review Digest 1070) Through its success, he was also
able to also have a career as a screenwriter for the movie adaptions of his book. Puzos life
experiences and struggles as an Italian immigrant is portrayed heavily throughout the novel and
is also the reason why the novel was such a success. The book was written during a time when
the nation was going through a rough time. The citizens of the United States had little trust in its

government from the struggles it faced during the Vietnam War. Because of this crime rate rose
heavily, young people were into sex and drugs, and corruption became intensified. The book was
able to have a major impact and have high fame in pop culture. (Hall)
The novel depicts immigrations, specifically in reference to the Italian and Sicilian
immigration during the 1920s. (Forrest) The Mafia system of illegal crime organizations roots
back to the beginning of the urbanization of America. American Mafia groups were able to rise
to power through smuggling alcohol from countries like Canada during the reform era of
Prohibition. These Mafias also profited off of illegal gambling, the selling of drugs, and
becoming the backbone of labor unions and big businesses. (Ferraro 40)
The background knowledge of the Italian immigration is important because it makes the
characters in the story interesting, relatable, and feel almost real in a way. (Schaap 351) For
example, because Don Vito is a first generation immigration, he has two cultural identities
making him a very interesting character to analyze. (Schaap 352) Don Vito Corleone is
conservative and holds moral values from his Italian roots even while being a Mafia leader.
Because of his experiences like being in the working class, being looked down upon in society
for his ethnic background, and the general struggle for his family assimilating into America that
Michael and Sonny dont have, he always has a clear line dividing a crime as acceptable or just
inhumane and have no benefits except the desire of doing evil. (Teresa)
In one part of the novel, members of the Corleone family want to go into the new high
demand business of drugs, but Don Corleone refuses to support this new enterprise because he
believe the selling to drugs especially highly addictive narcotics are immoral to the community.
(Puzo 59) Michaels oldest brother Santino, or Sonny, and Tom Hagen dont understand his
rejection because in their eyes drugs are no different from their other illegal business. (Puzo 62)

This characteristic of Vito also shows the difference why his way of handling situations
are very different from how Michael as Don handled situations. Puzo shows from the start of
Michael as Don as a very intelligent and well brought up, but he lacks the mental and moral
strength to hold the title The Godfather. Vito is always able to clear his mind and make the best
decisions. He also tries his hardest to resort to murder last when he handles his business. For
example, he usually sends threats to ruin someones business or reputation to get his way.
(Dessner 351) He uses his highly powerful status and dark, mysterious presence to play with the
emotions and the psychology of people, but never put the persons life in endanger. (Teresa) Puzo
shows the reader that Michael actually ends up killing more people than during, his father, Don
Vitos entire time span in position as Don because Michael tends to resort to violence first.
(Corleone, Michael 164)
In a way, Michael is a foil to Vito because his vices show why Don Vitos characteristics
have such a high impact throughout the novel even though he dies halfway through the novel. It
is highly likely that Puzo could be suggesting that Vitos character and strong moral values could
be the very reason why the Corleone family was extremely successful in Vitos hands and almost
completely collapse in the hands of Michael. Although Michael spends more time in the novel as
Don than Vito, when the reader thinks of The Godfather, they will think of Vito than rather
Michael because of his God-like to make judgments on what is right and what is wrong.
(Corleone, Vito 166)
Irony in the novel can be shown through the actions of the Mafia family. The book paints
the Corleone Mafia family to be structured by respect and loyalty as its core, which is placed
firmly by Don Vito and not so much by Michael. (Corleone, Vito 166) This is ironic because
considering the awful criminal acts, such as, violence and murder the members of the Corleone

family are kind people and loyal to the point where they can sacrifice their lives for the family.
The reader is able to empathize with Michael and Vito even though they commits many atrocious
crimes. (Ferraro 52)
The major theme of the book is the American Dream. Critics like Cawelti argue that
the entire book is actually a metaphor of the American Dream. The American Dream is the
an idea that roots back from the beginning of the United States, where people came to the new
world with hopes and dreams on being wealthy and live happier lives. The idea suggests that
anything is possible through hard work and that possibility rests in America as a classless society
where people are can rise from the working class to the upper class. Cawelti suggests that the
The Godfather portrays the American Dream as a cruel joke rather than a genuine dream.
(Cawelti 430) Told in the novel, Vito tried to earn an honest living as a grocery clerk during his
early years as an immigrant. However, after seeing Don Fanucci, a local Don, extort money from
local small businesses, he realized how corrupt business actually is and how the constructed
social ladder works. (Puzo 253)
In the beginning of the novel, Vito Corleone is visited by a man named Bonasera who
begs for Don Vito to get revenge for the rape of his daughter. He tells Don Vito his story.
I believe in America. America has made my fortune. I gave my daughter her freedom
and yet taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a boyfriend, not an Italian. .. Two
months ago, he took her for a drive. He had a masculine friend with him. They made her drink
whiskey and then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. They beat
her. Like an animal. (Puzo 19) The Don replies with Sorry., handing Bonasera a drink.
Bonsera continued on saying, I went to the police like a good American. .. The judge
sentenced them to three years in prison and suspended the sentence. They went free that very

day. I stood in the courtroom like a fool and those bastards smiled at me. And then I said to my
wife: We must go to Don Corleone for justice. (Puzo 20)
Kingsland believes that Puzo purposely included this section in the beginning of the
novel to portray the important role of the American Dream by emphasizing on the line, I believe
in America. The Dream is so important in this novel because it serves as a bridge between the
Mafia and America. Critic Gerald Kingsland compares the two as both being good organizations,
both making great efforts protect its power and interests, and both being capitalist systems.
(Kingsland 1214) Another critic David Boroff believes that Michaels character development
from being an isolated, civilized member of the family into becoming the Godfather as moving
East to West in search of a better life. (Boreff 1065)