Anely Cavada Feb 3, 2004

Essay Seminar

The Godfather

In the movie The Godfather, Michael Corleone, the youngest son of Vito Corleone, is pulled into a life of deceit murder and tragedies. He chooses to step away from the normal life of war hero and ivy league student to become the head of a major crime family. Michael's moral descent begins with several "rights of passage", changes through various relationships with other characters in the film, and determining his identity and happiness by the end of the film.

Michael experiences three important "rites of passage" throughout the film. It begins with his evening visit to the hospital to see his father and he discovers that he is unguarded. He realized that he has to step up and take the responsibility to take care of his father, who was previously shot and left for dead. This incident expresses Michael's loyalty to his father and the family, and leads him into his first step towards the family business. The second event following the hospital incident is Michael's meeting with McCluskey and Sollozo. Michael realizes that he has to kill these men in order avenge his father's shooting and to protect the family's business interest. He decides the prudent action is to kill McCluskey and Sollozo and he volunteers to do the job himself. This scene is important to Michael's transition because it is Michael's entry into the family business. Michael meets with members of another Family to negotiate a peace treaty within the families, a role usually played by a member of the "business family". Another important observation is how Michaels is dressed, he wears a black and white suit, like a business man instead of a the casual boyish dress, as seen earlier in the movie.
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The final "rights of passage" begins in the Catholic Cathedral in which Michael becomes godfather to Connie's son. As the priest prepares the ceremony, Michael's soldiers prepare themselves to assesinate the others mafia leaders. As the priest anoints the baby with holy water, the assasins approach the victims. As the priest asks Michael if he believes in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and all of his works, Michael's soldiers aim and fire at the rival mafia leaders. As the priest continues with the ceremony, the killings of the leaders complete Michael's induction into the crime family. While he speaks ...

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