How Does One Obtain Power?

There are many ways to obtain power.  While money does have a lot of influence on people, I believe that true power comes from other places.  People that are only influenced and controlled by money does not really mean that you have power over them.  Just because you pay someone does not ensure that they will always be under your control.  Someone that has more money than you or is willing to pay more will easily switch allegiances.  A good example of this is in the workplace.  People are constantly leaving and coming because their bosses are paying them.  This does not mean that they are fully controlled by you.  True power is not bought, but earned.

I believe that through contacts, one can achieve power.  I think that the most important and powerful people in history have become powerful because of the people that they knew and hard work.  Everyone knows that one can not get anywhere in life without working a little bit.  People of power did not always have the power that they have today and they had to have help from others to gain the power.  Through people that the person knew, they were able to use them and gain power of their own.  They could rely on the person to help them and because the relationship was stronger than if they just paid the person because they can relate to each other more.  They know each other better and are more willing to help the person out of good will and not because they are being paid.  They are also more likely to help one out more than once unlike if all that was connecting you and them was money. 

Also, through the people that you influence and are influence by you, you can obtain power.  I think that the people that you influence and the people that are influenced by you will give you more power because the people are willingly following and believing you.  While an absolute monarchy or dictatorship will have more power, the leader of a democratic country will have more people behind them.  A dictator is always looking over their shoulder for the next assassin or making sure that anyone with a problem with him is killed.  A democratic leader will have the comfort of knowing that people were behind them and that they are willingly following them.  They can control them more easily and with less resistance and cooperation of the people that they have power over.  A person that influences many people effectively controls them because they impact their lives in many ways.  Anything that you do will affect people because what they do is influenced by you. 

Sonny and Michael: Character Foils

Sonny and Michael are brothers, friends and character foils.  There are many examples of how they are character foils throughout the movie and I will highlight them.  First, however, what is a character foil?  A character foil is two characters that are put into the same situation but choose different paths -- highlighting their differences.  The first instance that we get a sense of them is during the wedding at the beginning of the movie.  Sonny is busy having sex with another woman while Michael is relaxed, quiet and not as hands on.  Sonny is shown as the aggressive one while Michael is the reserved one. 

Sonny is a brash, over-reactive person.  This is shown when Connie is getting beaten by her husband.  Without thinking, he rushes off to defend her without thinking.  Michael has shown that he would have thought about what could happen and then act appropriately.  Sonny has a huge temper that gets the best of him sometimes and ultimately led to his death.  Michael, on the other hand, has shown that he is more of a thinker.  This is best shown when he volunteers himself to kill McClusky and Sollozzo. 

Michael is the only one that understands the situation that the family is in.  Vito is in the hospital and Sollozzo's men have just tried to assassinate him.  Sonny's brash, over-reacting personality is, for once, not affecting his decision.  Michael, however, has analyzed the situation that they are in and realizes that there is no other way out of this mess.  He understands the consequences of his decision and Sonny is being the reserved one.  Understanding the consequences and the situation was able to help Michael make a case for killing both of the men and convince Tom and Sonny that killing the men is the only option.  By always thinking before reacting, Michael is the foil for Sonny.

Is Coppola Commenting on War?

There has been one of many conflicts in The Godfather that I am commenting on.  When Michael kills Sollozzo and McClusky, he starts a war.  However, I believe that it started even earlier.  I think that the war started with the killing of Luca Brasi.  The Corlerone's then killed Bruno Tattalgia's son.  I think that public opinion is important and they retaliated not only to avenge a death, but to appear to the other families as strong.  To appear strong as well, the Tattaligia's killed Sonny.  Neither side wanted to seem weak so they retaliated by killing. This will eventually lead to war.

There was one line in the movie that makes me question Coppola.  Clemenza says "[p]robably all the other Families will line up against us. That's alright --this thing's gotta happen every five years or so -- ten years -- helps to get rid of the bad blood. Been ten years since the last one" (The Godfather Transcript). The quote makes the viewer think that Clemenza is all for war and that it has to happen eventually.  I think that Coppola is stating that no matter what happens, there will be wars.  This may be indirectly stating that humans are wired to be violent.

Michael's Development

During the course of the movie, Michael underwent major changes. From the beginning of the movie to the killing of Sollozzo and Captain McClusky, Michael becomes more intertwined in the world of the mafia.  While he is becoming more intertwined with the mafia, he is becoming closer to his father.  One of his first lines was, "that's my family, Kay.  It's not me" (The Godfather Transcript).  That contradicts what his father believes.  That all changes once an attempt is made on his fathers life. This pushes him toward the threshold of no return.  The attempted killing of Vito Corleone, changes Michael.  The real value of family is shown through this situation.  No matter how much Michael despises the mafia way of life, family is family.  His values and morals evolve a little from I do not want anything to do with this; to I need to exact revenge.

Michael is sitting on the, "initiation" stage of the hero's journey (Joseph Campbell).  He is going to complete a task that sets him on his journey.  Before Vito was shot at, Michael did not have much of a role in the film.  It is becoming clearer that he is the overall hero of the story.  He is becoming more active and the shooting is what one could say was the call to duty.  He is the prototypical reluctant hero because he does not want to be called into action.  It is so obvious that he does not want to be involved that he states it.  The weapon that he will use is a gun.  It will never be traced back to him and there are many different mentors that have taken him under their wings.  Clemenza, Tessio, Sonny and Tom have all shown him the way and he just has to complete it.  Michael has changed a lot in the recent events and he has grown into someone that is more respected and feared.