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.
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