What Did I Learn From "The Godfather"?

One of my favorite hobbies that I like the most is reading. It helps me improve my English skills and the ability to read and write. Usually, I often read the thriller, horror, or suspense like Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty; Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng; some horror masterpieces by Stephen King. Also, I read nonfiction books or memoirs like Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and Becoming by Michelle Obama. And many more.

Among all the books on my shelf, there is a book that has had an impact on me the most and I still read it when I want to be inspired.

It is The Godfather by Mario Puzo.

I remember back 3 parts of The Godfather which I watched over and over again so many times. The movies were so great and left me with so many lessons from the two main characters. Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone. Even though I watched the movies but I have not had the chance to read this book. And the book did not disappoint me. I must say that there are many rare movies that can be as great as the book. The Godfather was both good at the movie and the book. I fell into every single page of this book, which is covered by the color black of darkness in the world of mafia full of vengeance, betrayal, manipulation, murder, and law and order meant nothing in that world. So let's get into the world of mafia in The Godfather.

I first watched The Godfather movie when I was 14 years old back in Vietnam. My father loved to watch the three parts of this movie. At first, I did not know what the movie was about. All I could see were blood, violence, and a bunch of people killing each other in every scene. But when I knew what this mother was about, I started to realize the values of each part of this movie. If you have time, I highly recommend you to watch three parts of The Godfather.

But I will not talk about the movie today. I am talking about the book. The content is the same as the first and a little bit of the second part of the trilogy. In the first part of today’s episode, I will begin with the main character of this story. Don Vito Corleone, who everyone called the Godfather for respect. Mario Puzo described Vito Corleone on page 11 like this. “Don Vito Corleone was a man to whom everybody came for help, and never were they disappointed. He made no empty promises, nor the craven excuse that his hands were tied by more powerful forces in the world than himself.” The author did not mention anything about the job of this man but it pointed out that whoever came and asked for help, their favor would be done successfully and no trouble came after that. In favor, the Godfather only asked you for friendship. The sentence “And then, no matter how poor or powerless the supplicant, Don Corleone would take that man’s trouble to his heart.” could see that Don Corleone did not mind who the people asked for his help, he would help them with all of his abilities. Vito Corleone is a Sicilian from Italy. His father was murdered by a local mafia chief and he came to America with the help of his relatives. When Vito Corleone was a grown-up man, he and Clemenza, who asked Vito to hide the bag full of weapons for him, first committed a crime by stealing an expensive rug from a rich family. Then Vito himself killed the biggest mobster in the Italian community who always bullied them, abused them, and made money from the blood of his own countrymen. He was Fanucci. His action gained more respect from the people in the community. Vito started his own empire by starting an oil company imported from Italy called Genco. He became a successful businessman. He made friends with people in congress, took over many territories, and made fortune during the Great Depression and Prohibition. Vito Corleone is a man of respect and because of that, he had so many enemies and his enemies started to create tragedies in his family in the future. Especially, the tragedies of the Corleone family were foreshadowed at the beginning of the book.

At the beginning of the book, the author described started the book with a man named Amerigo Bonasera who was in the court watching those men who abused his daughter got away with their crimes. Desperate, his wife told him to come and see the Godfather, Don Vito Corleone, asking for help. The help here is the help of vengeance, which blood must pay with blood. Now, in the next part, it was the wedding of Connie Corleone, the only daughter of the Godfather. It was so weird when there was a contradiction between the first part and the next part. Why talk about vengeance on the wedding day? A little spoiler here, Bonasera was an undertaker who did in the funeral. I feel creepy because an undertaker came to attend the wedding. The darkness was about to begin. Bonasera said in the book that “I believe in America. America has made my fortune.” With an undertaker like Bonasera, he became rich by those dead bodies that can tell us during the time in the book, the life of a person was so cheap and they could be killed or die at any time. The Godfather considered the request of Bonasera because Bonasera seemed like had no respect for him and why he must be bothered to help a man with no respect like Bonasera. In the room with all the talking of killing and vengeance, outside was the wedding of Connie Corleone, the Godfather accepted Bonasera’s request because his daughter would be the same as Bonasera’s daughter, who was being abused terribly by those animals. He knew that Connie would not be happy with this marriage and that his son-in-law was nothing nice. Also, the Godfather’s wife was the Godmother of Bonasera’s daughter.

In every action of Don Corleone, he always considered carefully whether it would harm the family or not. The business deal with Virgil Sollozzo could make the Corleone family rich or even the richest family in Five Families. But Don Corleone denied it because he could see that this drug business was not safe and it could destroy his family. Being denied, Solozzo’s people assassinated Don Corleone on the street to send the message. Luckily he was still alive. The assassination of Vito Corleone had turned the whole family into another way. What I meant here is the third son. Michael Corleone is a war hero and the person who swore that he would never get involved in the family’s business. Don Corleone had 4 biological children. Sonny, a hot temper person, always flirted with any girl even though he had a wife and children, he decided to deal with any problem by himself and he was in business with his father because he saw his father kill Fanucci when he was a child and he wanted to protect his father. Fredo was so weak, not manly or brave enough to do family business; when his father was being shot, he did not do anything other than just sit there and cry. Connie was a girl and he loved her so much and he felt it was not fitting with her. But Michael was different. He could see the potential inside Michael. He went against everything that his family was doing, he had his own visions and his own viewpoint. No one in the family liked politics or welcomed someone who fought for the country instead of family. After knowing what happened to his father, Michael had changed himself. He cared more about the family. He wanted to protect his father and be with him. When he came to the hospital, he realized that there was no one there. None of the security or policemen were there to protect his father. Knowing that Michael moved his father to another room immediately. That was what a good son did to protect his family member. Right after that, he had a fight with Police Captain McClusky, who was a corrupt cop and stood behind the Tattaglia family. While the whole family began to discuss how to deal with the situation and the tension between the Corleone family and other families, Michael told everyone in the room how to kill Sollozzo and McClusky. But what he said just made everyone in the room laugh because they knew that Michael was like a college kid and a person who never cared about the family’s business. What I can see in Michael in this part is that Michael was a smart man and he must consider carefully before telling the family about his plan. He had his own way like his father. Remember that Michael used to fight in the war against many enemies and his military plan must apply in this situation. He knew what danger was while everyone under his father’s regime only followed the order without having any viewpoint on whether the decisions were good or not. Vito Corleone had chosen the right son to be the next Godfather.

As I mentioned previously, Bonasera was like a bad omen for the tragedies coming to the Corleone. Sonny Corleone was brutally murdered on the way to his sister’s house after knowing Carlo beat Connie while she was pregnant. Before Sonny straightened out Carlo a lesson but Carlo did not care. Don Corleone asked Bonasera to pay them respect and made his son look fine at his funeral. Too much blood and Michael was being exiled to Italy, it was the time Don Corleone needed to call for peace between the five families. Don Corleone was a reasonable man and he explained to the five families why he would not get involved in the drug business. He came and asked for peace. He would not seek revenge or more blood had to shed. When coming to this part of the book, I can see the talent of the Godfather in how he could handle everything. Words he said that he would blame someone in the room for causing all the troubles in his family because he was sick. Oh my God, I feel like he was very decisive and tough in each word coming out of his mouth. He would do and he had to do it. A man of the family always acts like that. They must always protect their families in front of the dangers coming. They must always find ways to help their families. They must always consider before they do something. And if something happens, they will stand up and fight.

The image of Don Vito Corleone both in the movie and in the book had inspired so many people in real life. Of course, they won’t follow to be a gangster but follow to be a real man. After finishing the book, one of the most important things that I have learned from Don Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone is that they always put the family first and nothing can replace the family. That is what everyone should remember. Family is where we leave and where welcomes us home. Life is getting busy every day. Sometimes we just run and follow all the hustle of life to make money, to catch up with the wheel of the modern-day. We are all tired but we can not stop. I agree. But we can slow down a little bit and take a rest. Come home for dinner with family, spend a little time with family, and say love to them. And be happy.