Family loyalty of the corleone family in Mario Puzo`s the godfather.

xi ABSTRACT

Yuaningtyas, Priska Fitri (2008). Family Loyalty of the Corleone Family inMario

Puzo’s The Godfather. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Teachers Training and

Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis discusses family loyalty of the Corleone Family in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. The Godfather by Mario Puzo describes the importance of family and friends. The Corleone family is a Mafia family but they only punish the villains who have either threatened or betrayed the family. The Italian culture and Mafia traditions keep the members of the family maintaining severe loyalty.

In this thesis, there are two problems formulated that are going to be discussed related to the topic of this thesis. First is the social background of the Corleone family. Second is why the Corleone family maintains severe loyalty with the members of the family.

To achieve the objectives of the study, library research was used to gather the data. There were two kinds of sources that were used in this thesis. The primary source was obtained from the novel itself, The Godfather. The secondary source was obtained from books related to the theories and other sources were from the internet. The sociocultural-historical approach was applied in this study to get the understanding of the Italian culture and Mafia traditions about family loyalty. The information about social, culture and political situation in Italy and America were important to reveal the life events developed in the novel. The information about family was needed because for Italians, family is a sacred matter. I also employed Mafia traditions to help me identify Mafia better.

The result of this study shows that the head of Corleone family, Don Vito Corleone, is a humble and wise man who helps people sincerely. As everyone always comes to Don Vito Corleone for help, he starts to not believe in society and the government because they cannot handle people right like he does, so he makes his own world and his own rules. Although Don Vito is a Mafia chief, he is not a crazy killer like people seem to think. He is just a responsible man of his own way. That is why the Corleone family has many political and social powers. I also found out that the Italian culture and Mafia traditions keep the relationship of the members tight together to guard the family power. Don Vito Corleone keeps these traditions as fundamental aspects in ruling his family.

In the last part of this thesis, there are two suggestions. The first suggestion is for the future researcher(s) on The Godfather. The second suggestion is to implement The Godfather in teaching English, especially Extensive Reading II.

xii ABSTRAK

Yuaningtyas, Priska Fitri (2008). Family Loyalty of the Corleone Family inMario

Puzo’s The Godfather. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu

Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini berhubungan dengan kesetiaan keluarga Corleone pada novel karangan Marip Puzo berjudul The Godfather. The Godfather menceritakan pentingnya kesetiaan terhadap keluarga dan teman. Keluarga Corleone adalah keluarga Mafia tetapi mereka hanya menghukum penjahat yang mengancam dan mengkhianati mereka. Kebudayaan Italia dan tradisi-tradisi Mafia membuat anggota keluarga Corleone memiliki kesetiaan yang kuat.

Pada skripsi ini, ada dua pertanyaan yang akan menjadi bahan diskusi berhubungan dengan topik skripsi ini. Pertama mengenai latar-belakang sosial kelarga Corleone. Yang kedua mengenai kenapa keluarga Corleone memiliki kesetiaan yang kuat terhadap anggota keluarga.

Untuk mencapai tujuan dari skripsi ini, digunakan metode studi pustaka dalam pencarian data-data. Ada dua macam sumber yang dipakai dalam skripsi ini. Sumber utama diambil dari novel itu sendiri yang berjudul The Godfather. Sumber kedua diambil dari buku-buku yang menunjang teori dan dari internet. Pendekatan sosial kebudayaan dan sejarah digunakan dalam studi ini untuk mendapatkan pengetahuan tentang budaya Italia dan tradisi-tradisi Mafia tentang kesetiaan dalam keluarga. Informasi tentang situasi politik, kebudayaan dan sosial di Italia dan Amerika penting untuk mengungkap peristiwa kehidupan yang terjadi dalam novel. Informasi tentang keluarga juga diperlukan karena untuk orang Italia, keluarga merupakan hal yang suci. Saya juga menggunakan tradisi-tradisi Mafia untuk membantu dalam mengenal Mafia lebih baik.

Hasil dari studi ini memperlihatkan bahwa kepala keluarga Corleone, Don Vito Corleone, adalah orang rendah hati dan bijaksana yang membantu orang dengan tulus. Karena setiap orang selalu datang kepada Don Vito Corleone untuk meminta bantuan, dia mulai tidak percaya terhadap masyarakat dan pemerintah karena mereka tidak dapat menangani orang dengan benar seperti yang dia lakukan, kemudian dia membuat dunia dan peraturannya sendiri. Walaupun Don Vito Corleone adalah kepala Mafia, dia bukanlah pembunuh gila seperti yang orang lain pikirkan. Dia hanyalah orang yang bertanggung jawab dengan caranya sendiri. Itulah mengapa keluarga Corleone memiliki kekuatan politis dan sosial. Saya juga menemukan bahwa kebudayaan Italia dan tradisi-tradisi Mafia menjadikan hubungan anggota keluarga sangat kuat untuk menjaga kekuatan keluarga. Don Vito Corleone menggunakan tradisi-tradisi ini sebagai aspek pokok mengendalikan keluarganya.

Pada bagaian akhir dari skripsi ini, terdapat dua saran. Saran pertama diperuntukkan bagi (para) peneliti The Godfather selanjutnya. Saran kedua untuk penerapan The Godfather untuk pengajaran Bahasa Inggris, terutama untuk mengajar Extensive Reading II.

FAMILY LO IN M

Presented to O

ENGLISH LAN DEPARTEMEN

FACULTY OF SA

LOYALTY OF THE CORLEONE FAMILY MARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER

A Thesis

ted as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Priska Fitri Yuaningtyas Student Number: 031214121

ANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM ENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATIO OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2008

AM ION ON

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DEDICATION PAGE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank Allah SWT for His guidance and blessing to me so I can finish this thesis. Without Him I would never have finished this thesis. What I always believe is that He is closer than my pulse.

My greatest gratitude goes for my parents, my loyal father, Sadiya, S. Pd and my loving mother, Isti Rokhani, S. Pd. I would like to thank them for their endless love and support. I really appreciate the life they have given to me and I will try as best as I can to make them happy. They are the reason for me to be a better person each day. I also would like to thank to my big brother, Hernawan Agus Priyanto for his patience and understanding. I hope he always stands beside me whenever I need. Furthermore, my special thank-you goes to my beloved one, Kurnia Muhamad. I would like to thank him for love, patience, care and support. I am grateful for his unending love, devotion, and concern. I hope Allah SWT always holds and guards him wherever he is.

My next gratitude goes to my major sponsor Henny Herawati, S. Pd., M.Hum. and my co-sponsor Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto Y., M. Hum. for their help, patience, suggestion and encouragement so I can finally finish my thesis. To all lecturers of English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University, I would also like to thank them for the time they taught and gave me knowledge. I wish God to always bless them.

There are also my great friends I would like to thank. They are: Melani, Kiki, Rinma, Nina Prihastuti, Atik, Nina Setyorini, Uri, Rini, Midha, Deni

8

Kartika, Dudung, Adit Gendut, Timur, Cipok, Datu, and Febri for their friendship and care. I appreciate the good times and laughter I shared with them. I wish our friendship were like a circle because a circle there is no end. I hope we can always be friends forever. For my “little ones” Ria, Dimas, Dinda, Liana and Cencen, I would like to thank them for brightening my days. My gratitude also goes to other PBI students year 2003 that I cannot mention one by one.

Last but not least, I thank those who have supported and encouraged me to finish this thesis. May God bless all of them.

Priska Fitri Yuaningtyas

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

_Page

TITLE PAGE ... i

PAGES OF APPROVAL ... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv

DEDICATION PAGE... v

ACKNOWLEGMENTS ... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

ABSTRACT ... xi

ABSTRAK ... xii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 3

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Benefits of the Study ... 4

E. Definition of Terms ... 5

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Review ... 7

1. Critical Approaches ... 7

2. Family ... 9

a. Meaning ... 9

b. Kind of Family ... 10

c. Italian Society and Culture ... 11

d. Social Class Variations in The United States of America ... 12

ix

Page

1. History ... 13

2. Mafia Traditions ... 15

3. The Structure of Mafia ... 18

4. Types of Crime ... 20

C. Theoretical Framework ... 22

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY A. Subject Matter ... 23

B. Approach ... 24

C. Method of the Study ... 25

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS A. Social Background of the Corleone Family ... 27

1. The Structure of the Corleone Family ... 27

2. Becoming a Mafia Family ... 32

3. Having Social and Political Power ... 38

B. The Causes of Maintaining Severe Loyalty ... 44

1. Italian Culture ... 45

2. Don Vito Corleone as a Man of Respect ... 47

3. Mafia as the Way to Keep Family Ties ... 51

a. Obedience ... 51

b. Loyalty ... 52

c. Honor ... 55

d. Pride ... 57

e. Omerta ... 58

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION A. Conclusion ... 62

x

Page 1. Suggestion for Future Researcher(s) ... 63 2. Suggestion for Teaching Extensive Reading II

Using Literary Work ... 64

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... ..69

xi ABSTRACT

Yuaningtyas, Priska Fitri (2008). Family Loyalty of the Corleone Family inMario

Puzo’s The Godfather. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Teachers Training and

Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis discusses family loyalty of the Corleone Family in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. The Godfather by Mario Puzo describes the importance of family and friends. The Corleone family is a Mafia family but they only punish the villains who have either threatened or betrayed the family. The Italian culture and Mafia traditions keep the members of the family maintaining severe loyalty.

In this thesis, there are two problems formulated that are going to be discussed related to the topic of this thesis. First is the social background of the Corleone family. Second is why the Corleone family maintains severe loyalty with the members of the family.

To achieve the objectives of the study, library research was used to gather the data. There were two kinds of sources that were used in this thesis. The primary source was obtained from the novel itself, The Godfather. The secondary source was obtained from books related to the theories and other sources were from the internet. The sociocultural-historical approach was applied in this study to get the understanding of the Italian culture and Mafia traditions about family loyalty. The information about social, culture and political situation in Italy and America were important to reveal the life events developed in the novel. The information about family was needed because for Italians, family is a sacred matter. I also employed Mafia traditions to help me identify Mafia better.

The result of this study shows that the head of Corleone family, Don Vito Corleone, is a humble and wise man who helps people sincerely. As everyone always comes to Don Vito Corleone for help, he starts to not believe in society and the government because they cannot handle people right like he does, so he makes his own world and his own rules. Although Don Vito is a Mafia chief, he is not a crazy killer like people seem to think. He is just a responsible man of his own way. That is why the Corleone family has many political and social powers. I also found out that the Italian culture and Mafia traditions keep the relationship of the members tight together to guard the family power. Don Vito Corleone keeps these traditions as fundamental aspects in ruling his family.

In the last part of this thesis, there are two suggestions. The first suggestion is for the future researcher(s) on The Godfather. The second suggestion is to implement The Godfather in teaching English, especially Extensive Reading II.

xii ABSTRAK

Yuaningtyas, Priska Fitri (2008). Family Loyalty of the Corleone Family inMario

Puzo’s The Godfather. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu

Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini berhubungan dengan kesetiaan keluarga Corleone pada novel karangan Marip Puzo berjudul The Godfather. The Godfather menceritakan pentingnya kesetiaan terhadap keluarga dan teman. Keluarga Corleone adalah keluarga Mafia tetapi mereka hanya menghukum penjahat yang mengancam dan mengkhianati mereka. Kebudayaan Italia dan tradisi-tradisi Mafia membuat anggota keluarga Corleone memiliki kesetiaan yang kuat.

Pada skripsi ini, ada dua pertanyaan yang akan menjadi bahan diskusi berhubungan dengan topik skripsi ini. Pertama mengenai latar-belakang sosial kelarga Corleone. Yang kedua mengenai kenapa keluarga Corleone memiliki kesetiaan yang kuat terhadap anggota keluarga.

Untuk mencapai tujuan dari skripsi ini, digunakan metode studi pustaka dalam pencarian data-data. Ada dua macam sumber yang dipakai dalam skripsi ini. Sumber utama diambil dari novel itu sendiri yang berjudul The Godfather. Sumber kedua diambil dari buku-buku yang menunjang teori dan dari internet. Pendekatan sosial kebudayaan dan sejarah digunakan dalam studi ini untuk mendapatkan pengetahuan tentang budaya Italia dan tradisi-tradisi Mafia tentang kesetiaan dalam keluarga. Informasi tentang situasi politik, kebudayaan dan sosial di Italia dan Amerika penting untuk mengungkap peristiwa kehidupan yang terjadi dalam novel. Informasi tentang keluarga juga diperlukan karena untuk orang Italia, keluarga merupakan hal yang suci. Saya juga menggunakan tradisi-tradisi Mafia untuk membantu dalam mengenal Mafia lebih baik.

Hasil dari studi ini memperlihatkan bahwa kepala keluarga Corleone, Don Vito Corleone, adalah orang rendah hati dan bijaksana yang membantu orang dengan tulus. Karena setiap orang selalu datang kepada Don Vito Corleone untuk meminta bantuan, dia mulai tidak percaya terhadap masyarakat dan pemerintah karena mereka tidak dapat menangani orang dengan benar seperti yang dia lakukan, kemudian dia membuat dunia dan peraturannya sendiri. Walaupun Don Vito Corleone adalah kepala Mafia, dia bukanlah pembunuh gila seperti yang orang lain pikirkan. Dia hanyalah orang yang bertanggung jawab dengan caranya sendiri. Itulah mengapa keluarga Corleone memiliki kekuatan politis dan sosial. Saya juga menemukan bahwa kebudayaan Italia dan tradisi-tradisi Mafia menjadikan hubungan anggota keluarga sangat kuat untuk menjaga kekuatan keluarga. Don Vito Corleone menggunakan tradisi-tradisi ini sebagai aspek pokok mengendalikan keluarganya.

Pada bagaian akhir dari skripsi ini, terdapat dua saran. Saran pertama diperuntukkan bagi (para) peneliti The Godfather selanjutnya. Saran kedua untuk penerapan The Godfather untuk pengajaran Bahasa Inggris, terutama untuk mengajar Extensive Reading II.

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of five parts. The first part is background of the study. The second part presents the problem formulation. There are two problems that will be discussed. The third part is objectives of the study. The fourth part is benefits of the study. The fifth part, which is the last part of the introduction part, is the definition of terms.

A. Background of the Study

Most people agree that family is very deep and close relationship. Nobody needs convincing that relationships are important in our lives, whether in a family, society or country. Actually, the bases of all relationships come from family. According to Pikunas in Structure, Sound and Sense, family is an enduring social group based on marriage and blood relationship (Pikunas 58). As we know, there are people that call themselves as a family although they do not have blood relationship. We all are influenced by the family we have, from the first day we breathe. It is stated by Stagner that the first factor influencing individuals’ personality is the family situation, namely the treatment received from parents, in terms of affection, authority, and discipline (Stagner 48). In other words, family has power and control over us. If one attacks a family member of ours, it feels like we are attacked too.

Family is interesting to study because there are many things in the family that make people feel responsible for their own families. The meaning of family

itself is universal. One agrees that he needs a family to depend on because he cannot live alone. For an Italian, for instance, a family has a high value that needs honouring. It is so sacred that every member should respect family. As moral values behind the meaning of family, of course, are interesting to discuss so they are often portrayed in a work of literature. Therefore, the rise, difficulties, conflicts and loyalty in a family can be good themes for novelist to express his concern.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo (1969) is a novel about Don Vito Corleone’s family, a mafia Sicilian family. The novel shows how important family and friendship can be to some people and how far some people will go to keep their word. We can easily feel attracted to the world of the Corleone family because we do not get the feeling that they are doing anything wrong because we do not see civilians become victims of their actions. Those who are punished are villains who have either threatened or betrayed the family. Each individual within the Corleones is known as a family. Grabianowski’s Mafia: An Overview states that not everyone within a family is actually related to one another, although it is common for them to include outsiders into the family as their brothers or fathers. The family ties are very close and deep because they have the same view with other members of the family.

The cultural background of this novel is very clear because the pride to be an Italian family is also shown in the novel. Although the Corleone family has lived in the United States of America for years, but they sometimes still speak in

Italian language and use Italian words. Even, they still eat Italian food. They do their way in an Italian way.

According to Cawelti in Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture, the best-selling novel and film of the late 1960s and 1970 were Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. Its impact has been so great that millions of copies of the book had been sold in little over three years, and many more millions of movie admission-that one does not need much prescience to predict that this work will be a major turning point in the evolution of popular literature (Cawelty 51). The novel then inspired Francis Ford Coppola to make The Godfather into the movie. There are three sequels of the film, namely, The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Godfather III. However, the one that is based on The Godfather novel is the first film, The Godfather. What we can learn from this novel is the importance of having family loyalty because we can use it as a safeguard and social supports.

Reading this novel can make us feel that we enter The Corleone Family’s world, and live in their rules. The loyalty to the godfather is true, not only from the godfather’s own family but also from the members of the Corleone organized crime. This kind of loyalty is interesting to study because everyone on the family is willing to give their lives to the Don, the godfather.

B. Problem Formulation

The problems of this study are formulated as follows: 1. What is the social background of the Corleone family?

2. Why does the Corleone family maintain severe loyalty with the members of the family?

C. Objectives of the Study

Based on the explanation above, there are two general objectives of this study. The first one is to reveal the social background of The Corleones. It can be used as guidance in recognizing the power of this family. The second one is to identify the motivations of upholding never ending loyalty to the family.

D. Benefits of the Study

There are three groups of people who can get benefits from this study. They are readers in general, the teachers of literature, and English Department students.

For the readers in general, it is hoped that they will get some knowledge about literary work especially Popular Literature and Mario Puzo’s work especially The Godfather. For the readers who are teachers of literature, this study can be used as a source to help the students understand The Godfather better. For English Department students, it is hoped that they will be encouraged to read novels because they will get other benefits rather than reading novels for pleasure. We can always learn something from the novels.

The way Don Vito Corleone thinks can make us learn that we have to be careful and wise when dealing with the society around us. This novel brings me into a bigger appreciation towards my family and my friends. I feel the loyalty for

them is very important as a safeguard and social supports. Therefore, in writing the thesis, I hope that the thesis could give benefits to myself, the readers, teachers and other students, so we could uphold good loyalty to our family and friends.

E. Definiton of Terms

In this study, there are some key words that I would like to define in order to avoid misunderstanding.

1. Family: According to Pikunas’ Structure, Sound and Sense, family is an enduring social group based on marriage and blood relationship. As a primary group, the family with children is bound together by kinship and intimate relations marked by care, affection, and support, as well as mutual sharing in various activities and concerns (Pikunas 58). According to Hawes in The Family in America, a family is a group of two or more people, including a house holder, related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together (Hawes 248). In this novel, family refers to everyone who has the same views with Don Vito Corleone and they are not only those who have blood relationship, but also other people who are not included genetically. In this study, those who have the same views with Don Vito are considered as his family, The Corleone Family.

2. Loyalty: According to Lutes, in Loyalty in Life, loyalty means faithful to a cause, faithful to someone to whom fidelity is held to be due, faithful to an idea, etc. In this study, loyalty is the quality of faithfulness and the condition of being closely tied to another by affection or faith to the Don.

3. Godfather: In Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Agnes states that a godfather is the head of a mafia family or syndicate or any person having much influence or authority in some area (Agnes 608). In this study, the godfather is a head of mafia family called The Corleones. He has much influence on politic and his society.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter includes all the theories that support the analysis of the novel. It consists of the Theoretical review, Family, Loyalty, Types of Crime, Review on Italian Culture and The Theoretical Framework.

A. Theoretical Review

This part contains the literary theory related to the study. The theory is the theory of critical approaches.

1. Critical Approaches

According to Rohrberger and Woods Jr in Reading and Writing about Literature (Rohrberger and Woods Jr 3), there are five approaches that can be applied to analyze a work of literature. They are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural-historical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach.

The first approach is the formalist approach. It emphasizes on the total integrity of the literary piece. It focuses on its esthetic value and through how meaning is derived from structure and how matters of technique determine structure (Rohrberger and Woods Jr 6).

The second one is the biographical approach. This is the approach in which we consider the author’s background to appreciate his work of literature. It insists that a work of art is a reflection of personality; therefore, it is necessary to appreciate the ideas and personality of the author to an understanding of the

literary object. The basis of writing the literary work is the knowledge and sources about the author (Rohrberger and Woods Jr 8).

The third one is the sociocultural-historical approach. It insists that the attitudes and the actions are the “subject matter” of the literature. The critics are required to pay attention to the social environment in which the work of literature is written and to its influence towards the work of literature (Rohrberger and Woods 9).

The fourth one is the mythopoeic approach. It seeks to discover universally repeated structures are structures that found first expression in ancient myths and folk rites and they are so basic to human thought that they have meaning to all men (Rohrberger and Woods Jr 11).

The last one is the psychological approach. This approach pays attention to the certain repeated structure but the attention is from the different knowledge’s point of view, namely psychological theories. This approach leads to the exploration of the unconscious area of the human mind, which led to the conclusion that it was this area that was wellspring of man rich imagination, his capacity for creation and the complexity of his thought, behavior, and that the contents of his region of the mind found expression in symbolic words, thoughts and action (Rohrberger and Woods Jr 13).

This study uses the sociocultural-historical approach. The settings of the novel are in Italy and the United States of America and in a particular of time. The Corleones also live like true Italian style although they live in America. They still use Italian language, even they still eat Italian food. The sociocultural-historical approach then is used to analyse this family.

2. Family

In this part, the meaning of family and variation in family composition are presented.

a. Meaning

According to Pikunas’ Structure, Sound and Sense, family is an enduring social group based on marriage and blood relationship. As a primary group, the family with children is bound together by kinship and intimate relation marked by care, affection, and support, as well as mutual sharing in various activities and concerns. The leading functions of family are providing affection, support, and companionship, bearing and raising children, teaching and transmitting culture, religion, economics, and moral to the young, developing personalities, dividing and discharging labor within the family outside. Family is also the chief vehicle for ensuring a smooth or a rough start in life since family makes up the basis for every society. It serves three vital humans’ needs everywhere.

First, the family is the means for producing children and continuing the human race. Second, the family provides for the protection and early training of infants. Human infants are perhaps the most helpless of all living creatures. They must be fed, washed, and dressed. They cannot move far by themselves. As they grow older, they must be trained to be a responsible member of society. Third, the family sets up a division of labour so that each member of contributes something. The man usually earns a living while the woman looks the household. Both

parents care for the children, who also assume responsibilities as they grow (Pikunas 58-73).

Horton and Hunt’s Sociology state that family is the basic social institution from which other institutions have grown as increasing cultural complexity made the necessary. Therefore, family is very important in forming society in which it is the basic institution, which develops the society. Further, they say that family is very important in children rearing and to fulfil human needs. “Family is a kinship grouping which provides for the rearing of children and for certain other human needs.” Family must carry a lot of functions such as conceiving and raising the children, caring for the ill and aged, etc. Besides, the members of a family have certain responsibilities toward one another (Horton and Hunt 216).

Grabianowski’s Mafia: An Overview states that family means each individual gang within the Mafia is known as a family. Not everyone within a family is actually related to one and other, although it is common for relatives of mobsters to be inducted into the same family as their brothers or fathers.

b. Kind of Family

According to Hurlock’s Personality Development, there are many kinds of family compositions. There are nuclear family and extended family. Nuclear family is composed of two parents and their children, whereas extended family consists of a nuclear family plus relatives who live under the same roof. The family members may all be singletons, or some may be singletons while others are multiple births twins either identical or nonidentical, triplets, etc (Hurlock 365).

In The Family in America, Hawes states that extended family plays a major role in visions of ideal society. In nostalgic views of American life, the nuclear family may play the starring role, but the extended family is omnipresent and provides by far the best character actors. The extended family may also include people who are not related by blood but who make an important contribution to family life (Hawes 324).

c. Italian Society and Culture

Davies’ Italian Customs states that in Italy the family is the centre of the social structure and provides a stabilizing influence for its members. In the north, generally only the nuclear family lives together; while in the south, the extended family often resides together in one house. The family provides both emotional and financial support to its members. They respect and defer to those who are older, those who have achieved a level of business success, and those who come from well-connected families. Heated debates and arguments often erupt in meetings. This is simply a function of the free-flow of ideas.

Davies’ Italian Community states that while the notion of characteristics based on ethnicity is a problematical one, particularly if it is negative, Italians are a sociable, company-loving people. With respect to immigrant communities, there is another reason for seeking the company of compatriots. To be a stranger in a foreign land was a daunting experience - there was the necessity to earn a living, which was difficult enough, but there was also the barrier of language. Thus, the ties of kinship and also of community and region, became very important in immigrant communities across the country. This was also true in Italy were the

unification of Italy was still so recent at the end of the 19th century that, for many, even today, the ties of region are more important than national ties.

She also states that in an effort to cushion the shocks of life in the new country, Italian immigrants planted fig trees in their greenhouses and grapevines in their backyards, played favourite folk songs at social gatherings, cooked traditional foods and visited friends and family on weekends. Customs and traditions are rooted in the family, whether nuclear or extended, as well as in institutions and organizations in the community. The motivation for the gatherings were secular, sacred or both. The celebration of marriages, births, name days, anniversaries and birthdays provided a reason to get together. Food was the vehicle for social interaction. Many of the customs and traditions of the Italian community revolve around seasonal religious festivals all of which had their prescribed foods and rituals (Italian Community).

d. Social Class Variation in The United States of America

All persons, families, and societies differentiate some roles and positions as more important, more powerful, more privileged, more prestigious, and more highly rewarded than others. According to Eshleman’s The Family: An Introduction the grouping or ranking of persons in a hierarchy of unequal positions is referred to in sociology as social stratification. There are three variations of social class; wealthy families, middle-class families, and blue-collar families (Eshleman 247).

Wealthy families have been identified as the “very rich”, the “upper class”, and the “ruling class.” This grouping of families is large in power and influence.

They possess enormous resources of wealth and social standing. When we turn to the family structure of the very rich, some interesting bits and pieces emerge. Families are described by researches as extremely lineal and concerned with who they are, rather than what they do (Eshleman 251). Similar to Eshleman, Kephart’s The Family, Society, and The Individual also states that it is obvious that the upper stratum is a moneyed class, pride in family name is also their hallmark (Kephart 152).

The second one is middle-class families. They form the linkage between the powerful wealthy families and the working class and powerless, financially poor families. Residing in a middle position, the possibility exists of moving upward as well as the threat of moving downward (Eshleman 252).

The last one is blue-collar families. It is the blue-collar family, more than any other, whose members conform to the traditional image of husband and wife roles. The husband’s role is to be a good provider, and the wife’s role, although she is often employed, is to do the housework and care for the children (Eshleman 257).

The Corleones is a very rich and powerful family. They also own respect from the society although sometimes they are feared by people.

B. Mafia 1. History

According to Cahill’s The Urban Reader, the word “mafia” literally means swank, or dolled up, but it probably derives from a Sicilian term meaning beauty or pride. In the context of crime, Mafia apllies to the older, strictly Sicilian

element of the Mob. “La Cosa Nostra,” or Our Thing, is a broader term that means the modern American-born organization (Cahill 211).

According to Hawes’ The Family in America, Mafia and the many satellite elements that constitute organized crime are big and powerful enough to affect the quality of American life. Mafia generates corruption on a frightening scale. It touches small firms as well as large, reaches into city halls and statehouse, taints facets of show business and labor relations, and periodically sheds blood. It has a multiplier effect on crime; narcotics, a mob monopoly, drives the addicted to burglaries and other felonies to finance the habit (Hawes 211).

Grabianowski’s Mafia History gives explanation that the current structure of the Mafia took centuries to develop. It all began on the island of Sicily. Although there are major organized crime groups from other parts of Italy, the Sicilian Mafia is generally considered to be the blueprint for all other Mafia organizations.

Several unique factors contributed to the development of organized crime on Sicily. The island is located at an easily accessible and strategically important place in the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, Sicily was invaded, conquered and occupied by hostile forces many times. This led to an overall distrust of central authority and codified legal systems. The family, rather than the state, became the focus of Sicilian life, and disputes were settled through a system in which punishment was dealt beyond the limits of the law (Mafia History).

In the 19th century, the European feudal system finally collapsed in Sicily. With no real government or functioning authority of any kind, the island quickly descended into lawlessness. Certain landowners and other powerful men began to

build reputations and eventually came to be seen as local leaders. They were known as capos. The capos used their power to extract tributes from farmers under their authority (much like the feudal lords before them). Their authority was enforced through the threat of violence. Their criminal activities were never reported, even by the victims, because of the fear of reprisal. This was the beginning of the Sicilian Mafia (Mafia History).

Pendergast’s Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th -Century America states that the most famous criminal organization in the United States has its origin in medieval Sicily, where wealthy landowners once hired groups of bandits to guar their estates. Eventually, the bandits gangs grew so strong they were able to challenge the established authorities in both Sicily and Italy. Although most Mafia members are of either Sicilian or Italian descent, they represent only a small percentage of their respective cultures. Many Americans of Italian or Sicilian heritage resent the popular culture stereotypes that suggest that all those sharing their ethnic heritage are criminals (Pendergast 934).

2. Mafia Traditions

According Lucky in The Rules of Conduct, there are five rules of Mafia Tradition. The rules are obedience, loyalty, honor, pride and silence. The first rule is obedience. Obedience means that someone is willing to do what one is told. In Mafia organisation, all members must do what their boss tells them to do. As a matter of fact, obedience is about respect. A boss is the only one who can give the order to whack someone. If they have a problem with the enemy, they must not go thinking that they have the right to get rid of the problem by their own. They must

keep cool and think with a smart head. The problem later on must be discussed with the boss and he will decide. They have to do and always do what the boss says, and nothing more. All members must not start any fights that they cannot win. If it happens the boss will finish it for them. Grabianowski’s Mafia Induction states that the prospective mobster must also show a penchant for making money or at the very least a willingness to commit acts of violence when ordered to.

The second rule is loyalty. Always remain loyal to members of the Family is the concern. The Family always comes first, with no exceptions. Thus all members must be a team player. Never in the way of each other’s interests. They must be prepared to defend the Family with their life. An attack on any member should be considered an attack on all members, to be avenged no matter what really stand with this one. They also must remember that the other Families are family too. They are expected to help out any faction in need, unless that faction is at war with their own Family, in which case they are to be treated as mortal enemies. Unless, the Don says otherwise then they can play nice (The Rules of Conduct).

The third rule is honor. This one is simple, and is tied up into the first two rules. Basically all members are acquired to be a stand-up guy. They must keep their eyes also ears open and their mouth shut. When they see something that is not their business, they must not see it. If they hear things not for them to consider, they had better not hear it. Remember not to try to be a saint or a nice guy, because the things are not their business (The Rules of Conduct).

The fourth rule is pride. If they take pride in their business and their Family, the rest will come naturally. They must be a man of honor and always do right by their Family. We have to remember that in Sicily, the word mafia was

once used to describe individuals of pride, excellence, grace and self-confidence. They have to apply it in their life and live it up. They also have to respect the women and the elders (The Rules of Conduct).

The last rule is silence. This is the basic rule of all, the sacred oath of

Omerta. Basically it means silence, but the word Omerta was once used to

describe manliness. Omerta is the root of Mafia tradition. They must not or never have any dealings with authorities under any circumstances. It is good for them to keep the identities and activities of their Family as secret at all costs. Mafioso who betrays their family will be punished. Therefore they must obey the rules in order to avoid this punishment. Violation of this code is punishable by death penalty. Nobody is going to give them a pass on this one. Therefore, they must not wag their tongues unless they want to die (The Rules of Conduct).

In The Urban Reader, Cahill states that despite its continuing evolution, organized crime follows certain basic patterns that vary little. It must buy or force freedom from the law and from accepted rules of commerce. It must milk gambling, the narcotics trade, industrial relations and usury. It must find outlets for its accumulated profits. These are six main forms of activity (Cahill 212).

The first one is the political fix. It takes many forms, but the most important, from Mafia view, is obtaining the cooperation of the policeman and the politicians. Nowhere has organized crime subverted more than a tiny minority of public officials. But a minority can be enough both to undermine law enforcement and to bend regulations, purchasing procedures and legislation to a shape pleasing to the mob. The second one is gambling. Gambling is far and away the Mob’s biggest illicit income producer. The third one is loan-sharking or usury. It nets

several billions – it is impossible to say how many – in revenue for the Mob. Dollar for dollar, usury is Mafia’s best investment; though the gross is lower than it is in gambling, profit is higher. The fourth one is narcotics traffic. Narcotic traffic, chiefly in heroin, is less lucrative than gambling, but still profitable enough. Because of the risks involved in peddling drugs directly, Mafia once again contracts the retail trade to its sharecroppers, saving for itself the less dangerous and infinitely more profitable role of importer and wholesaler. The fifth is labor racketeering. It has no price tag, but obviously nets the Mob many millions. It takes several forms. One of the simplest is extortion. The last one is business infiltration. It is the organization’s fastest-growing source. Indeed, mafia’s penetration of the above-ground world of finance and commerce is probably the greatest threat that it poses to the nation today. A business can be acquired in any number of ways, from foreclosure on a usurious loan to outright purchase. Once brought under the Mob’s umbrella, a business almost always ceases to operate legitimately. If it is a restaurant or a nightclub, it buys coal or oil from one Mafia affiliate, rents linen from another, ships garbage out through still another (Cahill 212-217).

3. The Structure of Mafia

Grabianowski’s The Structure of La Cosa Nostra states that the structure described below refers specifically to La Cosa Nostra. Other groups have similar structures, but they may differ in some ways.

Each group is made up of several gangs, known as families. The number of families can range from fewer than 10 to more than 100. Sometimes, the

emergence of a new family must be approved by the heads of other families, while in some cases a group can splinter off from another family and consolidate its power, becoming recognized as a new family over time. Each family has separate business dealings, but the dealings of the families can intermingle to a large extent depending on their proximity to one another and the commonality of their ventures (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

The leader of each family is known as the boss, or don. All major decisions are made by the boss, and money made by the family ultimately flows to him. The boss's authority is needed to resolve disputes and keep everyone in line (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

Just below the boss is the underboss. The underboss is the second in command, although the amount of power he wields can vary. Some underbosses resolve disputes without involving the boss. Some are groomed to replace the boss if he is old or in danger of going to jail (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

Beneath the underboss are several capos. The number of capos varies depending on the overall size of the family. A capo acts like a lieutenant, leading his own section of the family. He has specific activities that he operates. The capo's territory may be defined geographically or by the rackets he operates. The key to being a successful capo is making money. The capo keeps some of the money his rackets earn and then passes the rest up to the underboss and boss (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

The "dirty work" is done by the soldiers. A soldier is the lowest rank among made men. They're part of the family, but they hold little power and make

relatively little money. The number of soldiers that belong to any given capo can vary tremendously (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

In addition to soldiers, the Mafia will use associates. Associates are not actual members of the Mafia, but they work with Mafia soldiers and capos on various criminal enterprises. An associate is simply someone who works with the mob, including anyone from a burglar or drug dealer to a lawyer, investment banker, police officer or politician (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

There is one other position within the family that is somewhat legendary --

the consigliori. The consigliori is not supposed to be part of the family's

hierarchy. He is supposed to act as an advisor and make impartial decisions based on fairness rather than personal feelings or vendettas. This position is meant to be elected by the members of the family, rather than appointed by the boss. In reality, consiglieres are sometimes appointed and are not always impartial (The Structure of La Cosa Nostra).

4. Types of Crime

According to Farley’s American Social Problems, criminologists do not entirely agree on an appropriate definition of the term crime, the most common definition is a legalistic one: if someone commits an act that is against the law, he or she has committed a crime. There are five types of crime according to Farley. They are street crime, white-collar crime, organized crime, political crime, and victimless crime (Farley 136).

Street crime is something of a misnomer, because most of this crime occur within private households or business, not out on street. The defining

characteristics of this type of crime are that it has a clear-cut victim who is usually aware quite promptly that he or she has been victimized, and that it is committed by an individual or a small group of people (Farley 137).

White-collar crime refers to the broad category of crime committed in occupational settings. White-collar crime may be classified into at least three distinct, though partially overlapping types; individual crime against employers, individual crimes against consumers, and corporate crimes (Farley 138).

The third one is organized crime. Organized crime is similar to corporate crime in that it involves large-scale organizations rather than individuals, but it is different in one very important way. Organized crime appears to be involved in virtually all types of illegal activities, but there clearly are certain types that predominate. In general, organized crime provides illegal services for which someone is willing to pay. Thus, illegal gambling, prostitution, the importation and distribution of illegal drugs, and loan sharking are among the primary activities (Farley 141).

Political crime usually includes any crime that involves abuse of a government or political office or position, or crime carried out in an effort to gain such office or to exercise political influence. Political crimes are aimed not at obtaining wealth but at gaining political power or weakening political opposition (Farley 143).

The last one is victimless crime. It involves neither personal violence nor the taking or damaging of property. Some victimless crimes may be harmful to the person committing them, such as drug abuse (Farley 144).

This study is about the third crime, the organized crime, because The Corleones are one of the biggest organized crime families. They have illegal businesses like gambling and prostitution. But, they do not agree on drugs selling because they know that drugs can cost live of children and society.

C. Theoretical Framework

The theories above will help me in finding the reasons of Corleone family to uphold strong loyalty to each member of the family. To find the social background of Corleone family, I need to know what it means by family and the social class variations. Based on those sides, I find out what group the Corleone family belongs to. The types of crime help the writer to recognize that The Corleones is an organized crime family that is respected by the society and also feared at the same time. The head of the family, Don Vito Corleone, is a man of respect that everybody comes to him for asking help. Those aspects bring me to have better understanding about the social background of Corleone Family.

To know the reasons of upholding strong loyalty to each member of the family, the writer uses review on Mafia history, tradition, and Italian values.

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology in conducting this study, which consists of three parts. The first part discusses about subject matter that contains a brief description of the novel. The second part is the critical approaches used in this study. The third part is about the research procedure, which discusses the steps the writer followed to answer the two questions stated in the problem formulation.

A. Subject Matter

Mario Puzo’s The Godfather is the subject matter in this study. The Godfather is a novel written by an American author, Mario Puzo, and which was originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. This novel consists of 448 pages and is divided into 32 chapters. Puzo’s works are The Dark Arena (1955),

The Fortunate Pilgrim (1965), The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw (children's

book) (1966), The Godfather (1969), Fools Die (1978), The Sicilian (1984), The

Fourth K (1990), The Last Don (1996), Omertà (2000), The Family (2001). The

Godfather is his best-known novel from other novels he wrote.

According to Cawelti in Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture, the novel The Godfather belongs to popular literature genre. This novel provides a portrait of an organized crime family, The Corleone Family. In The Godfather, Puzo takes us inside the violence-infested

society of the Mafia and its gang wars. He shows us its trials by gunfire and torture and the nature of Mafia friendship. The Godfather is essentially the story of a man and his power. It describes the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family headed by Don Vito Corleone and called as The Godfather. The Godfather is a friendly man, a reasonable man, a just man. The godfather is a man who values highly on friendship. Another thing is that The Godfather is a person who does not give too many promises, but if he promises something to his friends, then he will do extreme things like having someone killed to keep his word.

B. Approach

In conducting this study, I use sociocultural- historical approach as proposed by Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature. A family for Italians is a sacred matter. They respect the meaning of family and its values so much. That is why sociocultural-historical approach is used in this study, so I can get the understanding of the Italian culture relating to family values. The settings of the novel are in Italy and America, so I need to use the sociocultural-historical approach. The reason of using socio-cultural-historical approach is that because the understanding of social, culture and political situations in Italy and America are important to reveal the life events developed in the novel. Rohrberger and Wood say that this approach can lead to an ethical judgement concerning the truth of an author’s statements. Then, what we read on the novel is proven with the events that happened in the real life at that moment.

C. Method of the Study

The method used to collect the data for this study is library study. I used both primary and secondary sources in this study. I used the novel of The Godfather as the primary source. The secondary sources consisted of several books, which describe theory of approaches, family, types of crime and the history of mafia. The books are: American Social Problems; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America; Literature and Language Teaching; Personality Development; Reading and Writing About Literature; Sociology, Structure, Sound and Sense; The Family: An Introduction; The Family

in America; The Family, Society, and The Individual; and The Urban Reader.

I applied some steps in conducting this study. First, I selected the literary work that would be analysed in this study. I decided to choose Mario Puzo’s The

Godfather (1969) as the primary source of my study.

The next step was reading the novel several times to gain deeper understanding about the story in this novel. I also took notes, which was done while reading. In taking notes, I wrote some important things that could support the analysis of this study. So, it was very useful to avoid confusion for myself in analysing this study.

The third step was watching the movie of The Godfather, The Godfather

II, The Godfather III, in order to help me more understand about the novel. Those

movies still brought the overall story perfectly although some stories from the novel were removed. By watching those trilogy movies, I got the perfect picture of the novel-the characters and the place and the situation in Italy-.

Then I found an interesting topic to be discussed in this study. Since the first time I thought about the topic, I had had an idea that it should be about the Corleone Family. Finally, I got one topic that was the best and interesting topic to be discussed.

The next procedure was collecting the references related to my study. The references were some books and some articles from the Internet that could help me understand the literature and the novel better because the references consisted of information about literature and the novel.

Then, after all the procedure above, I had to concentrate on the problem formulation, especially on the background of Corleone Family. It was important because if I understood how the Corleone Family built then I would easily see the reasons why the godfather, Don Vito Corleone, was feared and loved at the same time. In focusing the Corleone Family, I observed all the members of Corleone Family on their attitude, behaviours, emotions, and expression of feeling.

After I finished writing my analysis, I proposed suggestions for future researchers and for the implementation of teaching and learning English by using the novel The Godfather. I also provided the appendices that contained the lesson plan of teaching English using the novel, biography of the author, the works of Mario Puzo, the summary of the novel The Godfather and the picture of Mario Puzo.

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

The analysis presented in this chapter focuses on the concept of loyalty in an Italian family and in the Organized Crime Mafia. Before the analysis on the loyalty in the Corleones organized crime family, the social background of the Corleone Family is presented.

A.Social Background of the Corleone Family

To know the social background of a family is not easy because we have to know from what side we appraise them. Organized crime family is not like family in general. To know the social background of Corleone Family, there are three things to discuss. The first one is the structure of the Corleone Family. This is the introduction of The Godfather’s family. The second one is how they become a Mafia family. The last one is how they have social and political power.

1. The Structure of the Corleone Family

In Sociology, Horton and Hunt state that family is the basic social institution from which other institutions have grown as increasing cultural complexity made the necessary. Therefore, family is very important in forming society in which it is the basic institution, which develops the society (Horton and Hunt 216). Biologically, the Corleone Family consists of one father, one mother and four children.

Standing at the door with him were two of his three sons. The eldest, baptized Santino but called Sonny by everyone...The second son, Frederico, called Fred or Fredo, was a child every Italian prayed to the saints for...The third son, Michael Corleone, did not stand with his father and his two brothers but sat a table in the most secluded corner of the garden...Conny Corleone was a not quite pretty girl, thin and nervous and certain to become shrewish later in life. (Puzo 14-18).

Don Vito Corleone is the head of the family and his wife’s name is Carmella Corleone. Vito has four biological children; they are Santino Corleone, Frederico Corleone, Constanzia Corleone, and the youngest child Michael Corleone. Actually there is another child but he is not in blood relationship with the family. He is Tom Hagen who is roughly the same age as Santino (people call him Sonny). Young Tom is brought home by Santino because Tom is an orphan who lives on the streets of New York. Tom has no place to go because he has no parents. He is then taken in by the Corleones. He lives with the family until he gets married. The Corleones become a powerful family in the society because the members, either blood relationship or not, are connected by strong love and respect to each other.

They are two kinds of family, nuclear and extended families (Hurlock 365). The Corleone Family belongs to an extended family. According to Hawes, extended family plays a major role in visions of ideal society. In nostalgic views of American life, the nuclear family may play the starring role, but the extended family is omnipresent and provides by far the best character actors. The extended family may also include people who are not related by blood but who make an important contribution to family life (Hawes 324). In the novel, the Corleones always welcome everyone who proclaims their friendship to the family and then they will be treated as the members of the Corleone Family. Grabianowski’s

Mafia: An Overview states that each individual member of the gang within the Mafia is known as a family. Not everyone within a family is actually related to one and other, although it is common for relatives of mobsters to be inducted into the same family as their brothers or fathers. So, like Tom Hagen, any other members of the Corleone Family are treated as their own blood brothers.

The Corleone Family is an Italian family. Corleone itself actually is a name of a small town in the province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. The family is called the Corleone Family because young Vito Andolini, later called the godfather, is assigned the Corleone surname while passing through emigration at Ellis Island in New York. Davies’ Italian Community states that to be a stranger in a foreign land was a daunting experience - there was the necessity to earn a living, which was difficult enough, but there was also the barrier of language. Thus, the ties of kinship and also of community and region became very important in immigrant communities across the country. Being shy and unable to speak English, Vito Andolini is unable to respond when asked for his proper name. People call him Vito Corleone as a remembrance that he comes from Corleone town, Italy. Young Vito Andolini comes to America at the age of twelve. In Italy, he has no future because some people want to kill him.

THE DON was a real man at the age of twelve. Short, dark, slender, living in the strange Moorish-looking village of Corleone in Sicily, he had been born Vito Andolini, but when strange men came to kill the son of the man they had murdered, his mother sent the young boy to America to stay with friends. And in the new land he changed his name to Corleone to preserve some tie with his native village. It was one of the few gestures of sentiment he was ever to make (Puzo 193).

The young Vito Andolini is sent to America because his mother wants to save him from the murderers of Vito’s father. Vito’s father is involved in a feud

with another villager who takes his case to the Mafia. The father refuses to be defeated and in a public quarrel and kills the local Mafia chief. A week later, he is found dead and his body is torn apart by lead blasts.

A month after the funeral Mafia gunmen came inquiring after the young boy, Vito. They had decided that he was too close to manhood, that he might try to avenge the death of his father in the years to come. The twelve-year-old Vito was hidden by relatives and shipped to America (Puzo 193). Vito Andolini inherits Italian descent, especially Sicilian. The proof can be found when Vito’s daughter, Constanzia, is on her wedding day. Many people come to Don Vito Corleone to ask for his help and he cannot refuse because on such occasion, of especially the wedding party, he cannot refuse his friends’ request of help. This is such a culture matter that no Sicilian can refuse requests on their daughter’s wedding days. When Kay Adams, Michael Corleone’s girlfriend, asks Michael why there are so many men coming to the Don’s office on this wedding day, he says that it is a Sicilian culture because his father cannot refuse them. “Because they know that by tradition no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter’s wedding day. And no Sicilian ever lets a chance like that go by” (Puzo 25).

Grabianowski’s The Structure of La Cosa Nostra states that there is one other position within the family that is somewhat legendary – the consigliori. The

consigliori is not supposed to be part of the family's hierarchy. He is supposed to

act as an advisor and make impartial decisions based on fairness rather than personal feelings or vendettas. This position is meant to be elected by the members of the family, rather than appointed by the boss. In reality, consigliories

are sometimes appointed and are not always impartial. Tom Hagen is the

consigliori of the Corleone Family. He is not an Italian, but he has lived with The

Don’s family since he is a kid. He becomes a consigliori because The Don really trusts him, although he is not a Sicilian. It is such a tradition that to be a

consigliori of Mafia family, he has to be full-blooded Sicilian.

The Don had broken a long-standing tradition. The Consigliori was always a full-blooded Sicilian, and the fact that Hagen had been brought up as a member of the Don’s family made no difference to that tradition. It was a question of blood. Only a Sicilian born to the ways of omerta, the law of silence, could be trusted in the key post of Consiglori (Puzo 47).

It can be seen that it is not a matter of Sicilian blood for The Don. The most important thing is the loyalty he gets from this man.

Tom Hagen knows that his position is the family is very crucial. He is the counsellor of the Don, his right-hand man. He realizes that he is the only one who can bring the Don crash down to destruction because he knows everything that the Don knows, nearly everything. But, he also knows that he will never betray the Don because he knows the risks.

But no Consigliori had ever betrayed a Don, not in the memory of any of the powerful Sicilian families who had established themselves in America. There was no future in it. And every Consigliori knew that if he kept the faith, he would become very rich, wield power and win respect (Puzo 47). Thus, Tom Hagen knows that every Sicilian Family has a real Sicilian consigliori except the Corleone Family although he knows for sure that Corleone Family is from Sicily, the town of Mafia.

2. Becoming a Mafia Family

In The Urban Reader, Cahill states that the word “mafia” literally means swank, or dolled up, but it probably derives from a Sicilian term meaning beauty or pride. In the context of crime, Mafia applies to the older, strictly Sicilian element of the Mob. “La Cosa Nostra” or Our Thing. It is a broader term and it means the modern American-born organization (Cahill 211). Don Vito Corleone comes from Sicily, Italy where Mafia is born. He runs away from Italy to America because his father is murdered in Italy. Growing up in America makes him become one of the strongest Mafia family heads in America. Grabianowski’s Mafia History gives explanation that the current structure of the Mafia took centuries to develop. It all began on the island of Sicily. Although there are major organized crime groups from other parts of Italy, the Sicilian Mafia is generally considered to be the blueprint for all other Mafia organizations. “In Sicily at the turn of the century the mafia was the second government, far more powerful than the official one in Rome” (Puzo 193).

According to Grabianowski’s Mafia History, several unique factors contributed to the development of organized crime on Sicily. The island is located at an easily accessible and strategically important place in the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, Sicily was invaded, conquered and occupied by hostile forces many times. This led to an overall distrust of central authority and codified legal systems. The family, rather than the state, became the focus of Sicilian life, and disputes were settled through a system in which punishment was dealt beyond the limits of the law. As Don Vito is from Sicily where Mafia originates, he knows how to form and maintain this organized crime.

According to Farley in American Social Problems, an organized crime is similar to a corporate crime that involves large-scale organizations rather than individuals, but it is different in one very important way. An organized crime appears to be involved in virtually all types of illegal activities, but there clearly are certain types that are predominate. In general, organized crime provides illegal services for which someone is willing to pay. Thus, illegal gambling, prostitution, the importation and distribution of illegal drugs, and loan sharking are among the primary activities (Farley 141). In the novel there are many businesses that the Corleone family has: the illegal and legal ones. The legal business is an olive oil importing business named Genco Pura Olive Oil Company.

For the next few years Vito Corleone lived that completely satisfying life of a small business wholly devoted to building up his commercial enterprise in a dynamic, expanding economy. He was a devoted father and husband but so busy he could spare his family little of his time. As Genco Pura olive oil grew to become the best selling imported Italian oil in America, his organization mushroomed (Puzo 210).

The very first business is at first a satisfying company, but as time goes by, there are a lot of companies like this that make Vito Corleone loose economically.

However, since he had started off relatively helpless, economically, since he did not believe in advertising, relying on word of mouth, and since if truth be told, his olive oil was no better than his competitors’, he could not use the common strangleholds of legitimate businessman. He had to rely on the force of his own personality and his reputation as a “man of respect.” (Puzo 210-211).

It is clear that Vito Corleone starts thinking to have a new business to make his life better economically. He knows that he needs a new thing to make more money rather than just having this olive oil importing business.

But great men are not born great, they grow great, and so it was with Vito Corleone. When Prohibition came to pass and alcohol forbidden to be sold, Vito Corleone made the final step from a quite ordinary, somewhat ruthless

businessman to a great Don in the world of criminal enterprise. It did not happen in a day, it did not happen in a year, but by the end of the Prohibition period and the start of the Great Depression, Vito Corleone had become the Godftaher, the Don, Don Corleone (Puzo 211).

To do it his first step is force some Italian bootleggers who smuggle alcohol and whiskey from Canada to use his deliverymen and trucks to distribute their product over New York City. The fee is so big that Vito Corleone cuts his oil business drastically and uses the trucks almost exclusively for the service of the bootleggers.

This despite the fact that these gentlemen had accompanied their offer with a silky threat. But even then Vito Corleone was so mature a man that he did not take insult at a threat or become angry and refuse a profitable offer because of it. He evaluated the threat, found it lacking in conviction, and lowered his opinion of his new partners because they had been so stupid to use threats where none were needed. This was useful information to be pondered as its proper time (Puzo 212).

It is a big step for Vito Corleone to be a man of respect. He is so wise that does not get pushed easily. This is one of his good sides that make him a trusted man. He then makes his empire bigger than before.

As time went by the Corleone empire became larger, more trucks were added, the “sheet” grew longer. Also the men working directly for Tessio and Clemenza grew in number. The whole thing was becoming unwieldy. Finally Vito Corleone worked out a system of organization. He gave Clemenza and Tessio each the title of Caporegime, or captain, and the men who worked beneath them the rank of soldier. He named Genco Abbandando his counsellor, or Consigliori (Puzo 212).

Vito Corleone now has his own empire, his Corleone Family. He has his

caporegime, consigliore and some men to trust. He has everything a family can

have. In American Social Problems, Farley states that an organized crime is similar to corporate crime in which it involves large-scale organizations rather

vocabulary and give opinions concerning the passage

about the answers presented

Source

Appendix 6

Pre-Reading Question Instruction:

Discuss with your friends:

1. What is friendship meant to you?

2. Do you help friends to get something in return? Why? 3. What are the types of true friends?

4. Do you believe you have armed yourself with true friends? Why?

Reading Activity

Read the following text carefully!

THE FRIENDSHIP

Amerigo Bonasera followed Hagen into the corner room of the house and found Don Corleone sitting behind a huge desk. Sonny Corleone was standing by the window, looking out into the garden. For the first time that afternoon the Don behaved coolly. He did not embrace the visitor or shake hands. The sallow-faced undertaker owed his invitation to the fact that his wife and the wife of the Don were the closest of friends. Amerigo Bonasera himself was in severe disfavour with Don Corleone.

Bonasera began his request obliquely and cleverly. “You must excuse my daughter, your wife’s goddaughter, for not doing your family the respect of coming today. She is in the hospital still.” He glanced at Sonny Corleone and Tom Hagen to indicate that he did not wish to speak before them. But the Don was merciless.

“We all know of your daughter’s misfortune,” Don Corleone said. “If I can help her in any way, you have only to speak. My wife is her godmother after all. I have never forgotten that honor.” This was a rebuke. The undertaker never called Don Corleone “Godfather” as custom dictated.

Bonasera, ashen-faced, asked, directly now, “May I speak to you alone?” Don Corleone shook his head. “I trust these two men with my life. They are my two right arms. I cannot insult them by sending them away.”

The undertaker closed his eyes for a moment and then began to speak. His voice was quiet, the voice he used to console the bereaved. “I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I believe in America. America has made my fortune. I gave my daughter her freedom and yet taught her never to dishonour her family. She faound a ‘boy friend,’ not an Italian. She went to the movies with him. She

stayed out late. But he never came to meet her parents. I accepted all this without a protest, the fault is mine. Two months ago he took her for a drive. He had a masculine friend with him. They made her drink whiskey and then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. They beat her. Like an animal. When I went to the hospital she had two black eyes. Her nose was broken. Her jaw was shattered. They had to wire it together. She wept through her pain. ‘Father, Father, why did they do it? Why did they do this to me?’ And I wept.” Bonasera could not speak further, he was weeping now though his voice had not betrayed his emotion.

Don Corleone, as if against his will, made a gesture of sympathy and Bonasera went on, his voice human with suffering. “Why did I weep? She was the ligt of my life, a affectionate daughter. A beautiful girl. She trusted people and now she will never trust them again. She will never be beautiful again.” He was trembling, his sallow face flushed an ugly dark red.

“I went to the police like a good American. The two boys were arrested. They were brought to trial. The evidence was overwhelming and they pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced them to three years in prison and suspended the sentence. They went free that very day. I stood in courtroom like a fool and those bastards smiled at me. And then I said to my wife: ‘We must go to Don Corleone for justice.’ ”

The Don had bowed his head to show respect to the man’s grief. But when he spoke, the words were cold with offended dignity. “Why did you go to the police? Why didn’t you come to me at the beginning of this affair?”

Bonasera muttered almost inaudibly, “What do you want of me? Tell me what you wish. But do what I beg you to do.” There was something almost insolent in his words.

Don Corleone said gravely, “And what is that?”

Bonasera glanced at Hagen and Sonny Corleone and shook his head. The Don, still sitting at Hagen’s desk, inclined his body toward the undertaker. Bonasera hesitated, then bent down and put his lips so close to the Don’s hairy ear that they touched. Don Corleone listened like a priest in the confessional, gazing away into the distance, impassive, remote. They stood so for a long moment until Bonasera finished whispering and straightened to his full height. The Don looked up gravely at Bonasera. Bonasera, his face flushed, returned the stare unflinchingly.

Finally the Don spoke. “That I cannot do. You are being carried away.” Bonasera said loudly, clearly, “I will pay you anything you ask.” On hearing this, Hagen flinched, a nervous flick of his head. Sonny Corleone folded his arms, smiled sardonically as he turned from the window to watch the scene in the room for the first time.

Don Corleone rose from behind the desk. His face was still impassive but his voice rang like cold death. “We have known each other many years, you and I,” he said to the undertaker, “but until this day you never came to me for counsel or help. I can’t remember the last time you invited me to your house for coffee though my wife is godmother to your only child. Let us be frank. You spurned my friendship. You feared to be in my debt.”

The Don held up his hand. “No. Don’t speak. You found America a paradise. You had a good trade, you made a good living, you thought the world harmless place where you could take your pleasure as you willed. You never armed yourself with true friends. After all, the police guarded you, there were courts of law, you and your could come to no harm. You did not need Don Corleone. Very well. My feelings were wounded but I am not that sort of person who thrusts his friendship on those who do not value it-on those who think me of little account.” The Don paused and gave the undertaker a polite, ironic smile. “Now you come to me and say, ‘Don Corleone give me justice.’ And you do not ask with respect. You do not offer me friendship. You come into my home on the bridal day of my daughter and you ask me to do murder and you say”-here the Don’s voice became a scornful mimicry-“ ‘I will pay you anything.’ No, no, I am not offended, but what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?”

Bonasera cried out in his anguish and his fear, “America has been good to me. I wanted to be a good citizen. I wanted my child to be American.”

The Don clapped his hands together with decisive approval. “Well spoken. Very fine. Then you have nothing to complain about. The judge has ruled. America has ruled. Bring your daughter flowers and a box of candy when you go visit her in the hospital. That will comfort her. Be content. After all, this is not a serious affair, the boys were young, high-spirited, and one of them is the son of a powerful politician. No, my dear Amerigo, you have always been honest. I must admit, though you spurned my friendship, that I would trust the given word of Amerigo Bonasera more than I would any other man’s. So give me your word that you will put aside this madness. It is not American. Forgive. Forget. Life is full of misfortunes.”

The cruel and contemptuous irony with which all this was said, the controlled anger of the Don, reduced the poor undertaker to a quivering jelly but he spoke up bravely again.”I ask you for justice.”

Don Corleone said curtly, “The court gave you justice.”

Bonasera shookhis head stubbornly. “No. They gave the youths justice. They did not give me justice.”

The Don acknowledged this fine destination with an approving nod, then asked, “What is your justice?”

“An eye for an eye,” Bonasera said.

“You asked for more,” the Don said. “Your daughter is still alive.”

Bonasera said reluctantly, “Let them suffer as she suffers.” The Don waited for him to speak further. Bonasera screwed up the last of his courage and said, “How much shall I pay you?” It was a despairing wail.

Don Corleone turned his back. It was a dismissal. Bonasera did not budge. Finally, sighing, a good-hearted man who cannot remain angry with an erring friend, Don Corleone turned back to the undertaker, who was now as pale as one of his corpses. Don Corleone was gentle, patient. “Why do you fear to give your first allegiance to me?” he said. “You go to the lawcourts and wait for months. You spend money on lawyers who know full well you are to be made a fool of. You accept judgement form a judge who sells himself like the worst whore in the streets. Years gone by, when you needed money, you went to the banks and aid ruinous interest, waited hat in hand like a beggar while they sniffed

around, poked their noses up your very asshole to make sure you could pay them back.” The Don paused, his voice became sterner.

“But if you had come to me, my purse would have been yours. If you had come to me for justice those scum who ruined your daughter would be weeping bitter tears this day. If by some misfortune an honest man like yourself made enemies they would become my enemies” – the Don raised his arm, finger pointing at Bonasera – “and then, believe me, they would fear you.”

Bonasera bowed his head and murmured in a strangled voice, “Be my friend. I accept.”

Don Corleone put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Good,” he said, “you shall have your justice. Some day, and that day may never come, I wall call upon you to do me a service in return. Until that day, consider this justice a gift from my wife, your daughter’s godmother.”

When the door closed behind the grateful undertaker, Don Corleone turned to Hagen and said, “Give this affair to Clemenza and tell him to be sure to use reliable people, people who will not be carried away by the smell of blood. After all, we’re not murderers, no matter what that corpse valet dreams up in his foolish head.” He noted that his first-born, masculine son was gazing through the window at the garden party. It was hopeless, Don Corleone thought. If he refused to be instructed, Santino could never run the family business, could never become a Don. He would have to find somebody else. And soon. After all, he was not immortal.

GLOSSARY

• undertaker : someone whose job is to arrange funerals • merciless : cruel and showing no kindness or forgiveness

• custom : something that is done by people in particular society because it is traditional

• ashen-faced : looking very pale because you are frightened

• the bereaved : the person or people whose close friend or relative has just died

• insolent : rude and not showing any respect

• unflinchingly : not changing or becoming weaker, even in a very difficult situation

• sardonically : showing that you do not have a good opinion of someone or something

• spurn : to refuse to accept something or someone, especially because you are too proud

• scornful : feeling or showing that someone is stupid and does not deserve respect

• quivering jelly : shake slightly because you feel very afraid • erring : someone who makes a mistake

• allegiance : loyalty to a leader • scum : unpleasant people

• murmur : to say something in a soft quiet voice • corpse valet : someone who arrange dead body of a person

Comprehensive questions

1. Why did Amerigo Bonasera come to Don Vito Corleone? 2. Why was Bonasera’s daughter beaten?

3. Do you agree with ‘justice’ –an eye for an eye- from Bonasera’s view? Why? 4. Why did Bonasera go to the police at first instead of going to Don Vito

Corleone?

5. Why did Don Vito Corleone refuse to help Bonasera at the first time? 6. Why did Don Vito Corleone feel disrespected?

7. What does actually the story tell?

Post-Reading Question

1. What is the topic of this novel?

2. Which one of the two main characters, Don Vito Corleone and Bonnasera, do you like? Why?