THE  TRAGEDY THAT IS  THE GODFATHER

A review by Sean Watts

A loud slap evokes cries from a new born baby in the delivery room. They  are either cries of joy for the beautiful life which lies ahead, or wails of anguish for the sufferings which must be endured. Harmon and Harmon define tragedy as a body of work recounting the fall of persons of high degree. The definition further states that tragedy exemplifies that human beings, through their own failures or through the ironic action of their virtues, inevitably are doomed. As a result, the movie epic The Godfather, which demonstrates Michael Corleone�s transformation from innocent bystander to central manipulator, can be equated with any Shakespearen tragedy.

At the beginning of the movie, Michael Corleone is presented as an honorable honest human being who has been groomed for greatness. As a Harvard University graduate, he enlisted in the marines without the blessing of his father. Despite these facts, he returned home  a decorated war-hero who gallantly served his country during World War II. In this way, Michael has distanced himself from the Mafia. Moreover, he has established himself as a legitimate citizen. In addition, Michael has strong convictions against life as a Mafioso. In the opening wedding scene, Michael relates to his girlfriend, Kay, how is father, Vito, and Luca Brassi helped singer Johnny Fontaine with his contract by threatening the bandleader. However, he goes on to state that those affairs relate to his family and not to him personally. In the garden scene later on in the film, a retired Vito  tells Michael that he envisaged a great life for him. Vito imagined Michael as a man of great political power and influence; Senator Corleone or Governor Corleone. Furthermore, after Vito is gunned down by Sollozzo�s men, Tom Hagen refers to Michael as a civilian in the Mafia war when Michael wishes to go downtown to see Kay. Moreover, Michael�s innocence in the Mafia relations is the reason Sollozzo requests that he be the one to come to the meeting in the restaurant to try to bring about some peace to the conflicts. In addition, after his return from Sicily, Michael tells Kay that in five years, the family business would be completely legitimate. This is indeed ironic because the family business involves the illegal world of the Mafia which can never be completely legitimate. It�s very essence is rooted in crime. However, Michael is presented as a character destined for greatness. He is man who loves his family and is morally upright.

Ironically however, Michael�s love for his family is his downfall. He demonstrates this love when his father Vito lays helpless in the hospital. Michael convinces the nurse to help him move his father to another room. Once he has been moved to safety, he tells Vito, � I�m  with you now Pop.�. Here, love for is father begins to motivate his actions. This is ironic character flaw which will bring about his demise. Then Michael and the baker, Enzo, both unarmed, demonstrate a show of force outside the hospital. Unfortunately, this episode signals the beginning of Michaels�s spiral into the world of the Mafia. Michael�s  surmised that there would be repeated attempts on his father�s life unless Sollozzo and Captain Mc Cluskey were killed. Therefore, Michael�s paternal love and his desire to  safeguard his father is the  prime motivation for his decision to kill Sollozzo and Mc Cluskey. At the restaurant, Michael asks Sollozzo for a guarantee that no more attempts would be made on his father�s life. Unfortunately, Sollozzo is unwilling to give such a guarantee. Consequently, Mike decides that the only alternative is to go through with the killings. In the bathroom, Michael muses over the deed just as the Shakespearen character Macbeth muses over the slaying of his king and cousin Duncan in his castle. However, once the deed is done, like Macbeth, Michael�s destiny is written and he steps into a realm from which there is no return. Michael becomes tainted by this action. Furthermore, retaliation by the Tattaglia family causes the death of his Italian wife Appollonia. His love for her has caused her death.

The baptism scene represents Michael�s literal and figurative transformation into the Godfather. At the church, with organs blaring in the background, the holy sacrement  of baptism begins. However, while this holy ritual occurs, men instructed by Michael Corleone prepare for a ritual which is not as holy.  In the church, as Michael responds that he renounces Satan and all his works, Clemenza and the other Corleone soldiers engage in a cleansing process. Cutting back to the church, Michael affirms that he believes in God and will be baptized. However, on the outside of this sacred sanctuary, Tattaglia, Barzini, Mo Green, and the other heads of the families are baptized in  a river of bloodshed. Consequently, in this way, Michael Corleone becomes the Godfather through the holy anointing of oil and through the gruesome shedding of blood. At the end of the movie, Michael has been transformed from an innocent bystander who shuns the Mafia to  a powerful Don who seems to enjoy the power he wields. Michael steps outside to witness the execution of his brother- in- law, Carlo ,who betrayed the family. Initially in the movie, the honest Michael tells Kay the cold truth about his father�s business in the Mafia. However, at the end of the movie, with his transformation complete, Michael looks Kay straight in her eyes and lies to her about his involvement in Carlo�s death. Michaels�s transformation into the Godfather is now complete.

Consequently, because of his love for his father and family, Michael Corleone, a man of good standing, commits murder. From then on, violence becomes a real and very integral part of his life. First he fears it, then he accepts it. Ultimately, he wields it. As a result, at the end of the movie, Michael becomes a figure who he initially despised. Michael transforms from an innocent bystander into a powerful mafia don. Therefore, the movie epic Godfather is presented in a fashion similar to any Shakepearen play.