In my own personal opinion, I think that Mario Puzo's The Godfather was one of the best books I have read throughout my school career. I would not say it was quite "school appropriate" due to strong profanity and explicit sexual instances, but the overall plot line was as complex as it was interesting. The story of the Corleone family made me cringe, smile, and mourn all at time same time, and it was nice to read a book that relates back to my own heritage. The characters were memorable, villain or hero, and each death had a meaning to the story and was not simply shot and shoved off the edge of the plot. This book was a bit difficult to write for as it is a novel and not a "high diction" work of literature- written more for entertainment than analysis- but the task was accomplished, so I am pleased. I think what made The Godfather so enjoyable to read was that it wasn't your typical "good guy vs bad guy, good guy wins by default of character". Even after finishing the book, I cannot decide if the Corleone's are heroes or villains... they reside somewhere in the middle. Their flaws make them all very believable and their weaknesses understandable to everyone who reads the book: money, personal and physical attraction, sadness, revenge, betrayal, love, and hate.
Overall, The Godfather was a fantastic read, and a book I would not mind having to read again.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Blog Topic #4: Text Connections
Text to Text:
Though the connection may be unfamiliar to most, I have come to see the similarities between Don Vito Corleone of Mario Puzo's The Godfather and Alois Trancy of the critically acclaimed anime series Black Butler. On the surface, it may seem that a weathered mafia don and an abused child ascended to the head of the House of Trancy, their diplomatic dealings, personal losses, and deaths share some like qualities. For example, both know the pain of loss. The Don witnessed the deaths of countless friends, including two sons. He left Italy at the age of 12 with people trying to kill him and went from a poor worker in a grocery store to a multi-millionaire mafia don. Alois was orphaned from a young age, left only with his brother, whose soul was later consumed by a demon. Left to fend for himself, Alois was sold to slavery to the Trancy household, where the unlikely help of the demon Claude Faustus allowed him to ascend from slave to earl. When dealing with enemies, both the Don and Alois rely on others to fight their battles, while they mastermind the plans from behind the scenes (given that one is a thirteen year old boy and the other an aging man). This faith in others proves to be part of their downfall, as both are let down and betrayed by people close to them (the Don, his associates, and Alois, his own butler, Claude Faustus). Finally, both die deaths seemingly unfitting for their characters. The Don, after surviving several deep bullet wounds in the beginning of the book (let alone everything else that has happened to him over the course of his life), dies of a simple heart attack in his own garden. Alois, after trusting Claude to keep him in power and to overthrow the competing House of Phantomhive, Claude kills him in cold blood, and gives his soul to another demon, saying that he had "lost his taste" for a "filthy" soul such as Alois'.
Though the connection may be unfamiliar to most, I have come to see the similarities between Don Vito Corleone of Mario Puzo's The Godfather and Alois Trancy of the critically acclaimed anime series Black Butler. On the surface, it may seem that a weathered mafia don and an abused child ascended to the head of the House of Trancy, their diplomatic dealings, personal losses, and deaths share some like qualities. For example, both know the pain of loss. The Don witnessed the deaths of countless friends, including two sons. He left Italy at the age of 12 with people trying to kill him and went from a poor worker in a grocery store to a multi-millionaire mafia don. Alois was orphaned from a young age, left only with his brother, whose soul was later consumed by a demon. Left to fend for himself, Alois was sold to slavery to the Trancy household, where the unlikely help of the demon Claude Faustus allowed him to ascend from slave to earl. When dealing with enemies, both the Don and Alois rely on others to fight their battles, while they mastermind the plans from behind the scenes (given that one is a thirteen year old boy and the other an aging man). This faith in others proves to be part of their downfall, as both are let down and betrayed by people close to them (the Don, his associates, and Alois, his own butler, Claude Faustus). Finally, both die deaths seemingly unfitting for their characters. The Don, after surviving several deep bullet wounds in the beginning of the book (let alone everything else that has happened to him over the course of his life), dies of a simple heart attack in his own garden. Alois, after trusting Claude to keep him in power and to overthrow the competing House of Phantomhive, Claude kills him in cold blood, and gives his soul to another demon, saying that he had "lost his taste" for a "filthy" soul such as Alois'.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Blog Topic #3: Syntax
- "If the Families had been running the State Department there would never have been World War II he thought with a grin (p. 146)."
- World War II was a terrible, blood-soaked event in history. To enlighten the audience as to the sheer terrifying power of the Italian Mafia, he states that if the "Families" or those who were part of the mafia, were running the State Department, that the entire crisis of WWII would have been averted. This extreme hypothetical situation is intended to scare the reader, to make them wonder to what the exact magnitude of the mafia's power truly is- or if there is a limit at all.
- "Michael laughed. He went out the kitchen entrance and the smell of lemon blossoms penetrated his sinus-filled nose. He saw Apollonia wave to him from the car just ten paces up the villa's driveway and then he realized she was motioning him to stay where he was, that she meant to drive the car to where he stood. Calo stood grinning beside the car, his lupara (shotgun) dangling in his hand. But there was still no sign of Fabrizzio. At that movement, without any conscious reasoning prcoess , everything came together in his mind, and Michael shouted to the girl, 'No! No!' But his shout was drowned in the roar of the tremendous explosion as Apollonia switched on the ignition (p. 352)."
- A well-placed volta by Puzo in this quote serves to not only describe the suddenness of the car bomb, but to symbolize Michael's fleeting love. By giving vivid detail as to the lemon blossoms and seeing Apollonia walking out to the car, Puzo distracts the reader, making them think it is another lovely day in Sicily for Michael and his new wife. However, this nice, quiet moment is shattered like the car as Apollonia started the ignition, thus startling the reader. This moment reflects the short-lived loves in Michael's life. He wanted to marry Kay, but as soon as he went in hiding in Sicily, he fell in love and married another woman, only to have her die. When he sees the car explodes, Michael begins to value the lives of women much more, returning back to the US, to Kay, to marry her as he promised.
- "With a a great effort the Don opened his eyes to see his son once more. The massive heart attack had turned his ruddy face almost blue. He was in extremis. He smelled the garden, the yellow sheild of light smote his eyes and he whispered, 'Life is so beautiful.' He was spared the sight of his women's tear's dying before they came back from church, dying before the ambulance arrived or the doctor. He died surrounded by men, holding the hand of the son he had most loved (p. 408)."
- The death of Don Vito Corleone was not what a fitting death for a mafia boss, nor was it intended to be. Puzo allows the Don to die not of bullets, but by a heart attack in the garden to make him more human and to remind the reader that not even Don Corleone is immortal. Still, the reader is saddened by his death, that even the "yellow sheild of light" could or would not protect him from his demise. Vito's last words are "Life is so beautiful"- though seemingly ironic given that he has killed many times, Puzo's intention behind this irony is to show that the Don does love the life that his family leads and is not ashamed of them in the least. This is reaffirmed in the act of his holding his last remaining son, Michael's hand.
- "She emptied her mind of all thought of herself, of her children, of all anger, of all rebellion, of all questions. Then with a profound and deeply willed desire to believe, to be heard as she had done every day since the murder of Carlo Rizzi, she said the necessary prayers for the soul of Michael Corleone (p. 466)."
- The last example of Puzo's elegant syntax comes from the very last paragraph of The Godfather. As Kay is learning to be a Catholic, she is, for the first time in the book, calm. Finally, she accepts the world of the mafia she is now married to, kneels down, submits herself, and prays for the salvation of her husband, Michael. The purpose of this scene was to show the transformation of Kay from a panicked young woman to a mature wife. Moreover, the scene serves to inform the reader that though Michael may be a good man and husband, he has done some unspeakable things, and is therefore, a sinner.
Blog Topic #2: Diction
To reflect the harshness of the mafia, Puzo's word choice is often curt and blunt, fully intending to shock, horrify, and/or mortify the reader: "One rash man, an arrogant Milanese with more faith in the police than a saint has in Christ, actually went to the authorities with a complaint against his fellow Italians, breaking the ten-century law of omerta (p. 213)." By choosing to identify the rash man as "Milanese", it sets him apart from the onlooking Sicilians who are obviously upset with him in this passage. It is also most unusual for the Italians at this time to have much trust in authorities given the wide-spread influence of the mafia, and for those who defy the mafia, they are seen as lawbreakers themselves.
Throughout The Godfather, Michael keeps many secrets about The Family from Kay, often downplaying their bloody actions. When Michael finally answers Kay as to when he will talk to her about The Family and his own crimes, Puzo chooses to make Michael's voice gentler, but still manages to make the reader's and Kay's heart heavy in his answer, as Michael pays tribute to his father and mother: "... 'But that doesn't mean he (the Don) tells her everything. And, you know, he has a reason to trust her. Not because they got married and she's his wife. But she bore him four children in ties when it was not safe to bear children. She nursed and guarded him when people shot him. She believed in him. He was always her first loyalty for forty years. After you do that maybe I'll tell you a few things you really didn't want to hear' (p. 365)."
Throughout The Godfather, Michael keeps many secrets about The Family from Kay, often downplaying their bloody actions. When Michael finally answers Kay as to when he will talk to her about The Family and his own crimes, Puzo chooses to make Michael's voice gentler, but still manages to make the reader's and Kay's heart heavy in his answer, as Michael pays tribute to his father and mother: "... 'But that doesn't mean he (the Don) tells her everything. And, you know, he has a reason to trust her. Not because they got married and she's his wife. But she bore him four children in ties when it was not safe to bear children. She nursed and guarded him when people shot him. She believed in him. He was always her first loyalty for forty years. After you do that maybe I'll tell you a few things you really didn't want to hear' (p. 365)."
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Blog Topic #1: Rhetorical Strategies
- "Behind every great fortune, there is a crime- Balzac (p. 9)"-- This quote is an adage, as it is an old proverb, directly relating to the story of The Godfather in that the Corleone family's fortune is made in mafia affairs.
- "The bride, however, gave up her virginity with a great deal more willingness than she gave up her purse. For the latter, he had to blacken one of her eyes (p. 47)."-- The prior quote contains an understatement given that the author presents the reader with a situation in which a bride is unwilling to give up her wedding purse to her husband, so he beats her- however, this is stated in a mild manner of "blackening her eye".
- " 'He's a Sicilian,' (p. 73)"-- This quote presents metonymy, given that the situation in the book this quote was spoken by Hagen, by calling Sollozzo a "Sicilian", he is referring to the fact that the man is a part of the Italian Mafia.
- "On the embalming table was the bullet-smashed face of Sonny Corleone. The left eye drowned in blood had a star fracture in its lens. The bridge of his nose and left cheekbone were hammered into pulp. (p. 260)"-- This quote is an example of vivid imagery as the author uses explicit detail to give the reader the gruesome image of the slaughter of Sonny and the violence caused by the mafia.
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