The Godfather

Rohail Aamer

The Godfather by Mario Puzo, was published in 1969 and quickly became one of the most popular stories ever written, especially with the film adaptation. The book takes place from 1945 to 1955 and it follows the story of the Sicillian Corleone family, which is one of the five organized crime families in New York. The family is led by Vito Corleone, who is portrayed as a wise, cunning old man. Vito has three sons: Sonny, Fredo, Michael. Sonny is the oldest and most violent, Fredo is the most naive, and Michael was the coldest. The Godfather has many themes, such as family, loyalty, betrayal, crime and justice, but the most prominent theme is power. The Godfather shows how people change when they gain power. The reader can see how different characters are affected when they have power.

The following paragraphs includes spoilers

In Chapter 29, Michael baptizes the son of his sister, becoming his Godfather. Vito had just died before this quote: “Michael Corleone spent most of his day in the corner library room… people were ushered in to see him, to offer their condolences. Michael received them all with courtesy, even when some of them addressed him as Godfather or Don Michael… There was only one annoying complication. Connie and Carl’s oldest boy was to receive his confirmation in the Catholic Church and Kay asked Michael to be the Godfather. ‘I don’t often beg you,’ Kay said. ‘Please do this just for me. Connie wants it so much…” And Michael stood Godfather to the son of Carlo and Connie Rizzi” (Puzo 550-552). At this point in the story, Sonny has also died, which is why Michael becomes the new crime boss of the Corleone family. During this scene, many murders of people that opposed the Corleone family take place. At the start of the story, we see Michael as a young college student that didn’t engage in the crimes his father committed but now, with the power of being the head of the Corleone family, we see him become a cold blooded killer.

When Vito Corleone was the Don of the family, he was very well-respected. Vito believed in building good relationships with everyone he met. For example, in the start of the novel, a man named Amerigo Bonasera goes to Don Corleone for justice, as his daughter was beaten by two guys and they only got three years in jail. (Add in quote here) Francis Ford Coppola, the author of the novel, portrayed Vito as a man with seemingly unlimited power who had various influences across New York and the east coast, similar to Michael. The difference is that Michael was a feared crime boss but Vito was a respected one. Power for Vito brought out generosity but power in Michael brought out hate, and violence.

Vito’s rival, Sollozzo, shows another example of the difference in power between the characters of the novel. Vito doesn’t want to hurt the people of New York, only the people he has to, which is why he frowns against prositution, and drugs, both of which Sollozzo engages in. Sollozzo doesn’t care who he hurts and he only cares about money. During the story, Sollozzo offers Vito a narcotics deal. He did this because he wants to establish a drug empire and make himself known as a powerful gangster in New York. Vito refuses this offer as he is against drugs, so Sollozzo tries to kill Vito to establish himself in New York.

The Godfather is a tale of crime, greed, betrayal, and murder. It is a novel about power and it shows how people change when they gain power, big or small. The Godfather is a riveting page-turner that I highly recommend to anyone, especially if you enjoyed the film adaptation. The Godfather is one of the greatest books of all time due to its plot, the development of the characters and how the book shows how power changes people.