THE REPRESENTATION OF MARIO PUZO'S LIFE BACKGROUND IN THE SETTING OF THE GODFATHER
THE REPRESENTATION OF MARIO PUZO'S LIFE BACKGROUND IN THE SETTING OF
THE GODFATHER AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
DEBIE KHARISMAWATI
Student Number: 054214055
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010
THE REPRESENTATION OF MARIO PUZO'S LIFE
BACKGROUND IN THE SETTING OF
THE GODFATHER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
DEBIE KHARISMAWATI
Student Number: 054214055
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2010
What am I to you. . . . tell me darling true
T o me you are the sea. . . . fast as you can be
A nd deep the shade of blue
When you're feeling low. . . . to whom else do
you go
S ee I cry if you hurt. . . . I 'd give you my last
shirt
Because I love you so
I f my sky should fall. . . . would you even call
Opened up my heart. . . . I never want to part
I 'm giving you the ball
When I look in your eyes. . . . . I can feel
butterflies
I love you when you're blue. . . . tell me darling
true
What am I to you. . . . .
For
My Beloved Parents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am so excited that finally I can finish my thesis and my four years' education in Sanata Dharma University. I can not go through all of those years without the help from all of the people who supported me. I want to dedicate this page to all of those people who have helped me through my college life.
First of all I want to show my gratitude to Dewi Widyastuti, S.pd., M. Hum., as my sponsor for helping me to write my thesis. Thanks for being patient and the advices while helping me. I also want to show my gratitude to Adventina Putranti, S.S, M. Hum as my co-sponsor. Thanks for the correction and the advice in writing my thesis. I want to say thanks to all of my lecturers and staff in English Letters Department in Sanata Dharma University. I want to say thanks to my family, my Mom who is my best friend and also my biggest enemy at the same time, my Dad who is the most handsome man in the house, and my little sister Yessica. I want to say thanks to all of the support, help, affection, and lo ve. I am happy and I am proud to be the part of this family (I started to cry when I type this part).
I also want to say thanks to all of my friends in Sanata Dharma University especially from English Letters 2005: Cita, Della, Pipi, Ori, Dimas, Lita, Agung, Jimmy, Tetty, Weny, Nani, Priska, Fajar, Putri, and Estu. I want to say thanks to all of my classmates and my friends in The Underpants, in Newly Married Couple, in Sweeney Todd, in The Importance of Being Earnest, in Wine in The Wilderness, in In Love With Madonna, in Lady Kerbstone Pygmalion, in Engagement, and my friends in my latest play performance in Grease.
I want to say thanks to all my friends in KKN 2008, Hellen, Felly, Tya, and Susi for making the hard time become a good time. I want to say thanks to all of my ex-Rover friends, Be, Agung, Ronny and family, Henry, and Eno for the friendships. I also want to say thanks to my friends in Just Listen for the opportunity to sing together. I want to say thanks to all of my ex-boys wherever they are all now for giving me the bitter sweet memories that brought the inspirations to me. I want to say thanks to my biggest best friend Hani for the friendship and support, for laughs and tears that we go through together, and I believe seven years is only the beginning of our friendship. At last but not least, I want to say thanks to Fabian William Darwin and the family for the time, memory, support, friendship, and advice. I believe God always blessed William and the family. At last but not least, I want to say thanks to God for giving me a wonderful life and wonderful people around me.
Debie Kharismawati
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ...........................................................................................................iAPPROVAL PAGE .................................................................................................ii
ACCEPTANCEPAGE ...........................................................................................iii
MOTTO PAGE........................................................................................................iv
DEDICATION PAGE .............................................................................................v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................viii
ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................x
ABSTRAK ................................................................................................................xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................1
A. Background of the Study...............................................................................1 B. Problem Formulation.....................................................................................3 C. Objectives of the Study..................................................................................3 D. Definition of Terms .......................................................................................3CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ..........................................................6
A. Review of Related Studies.............................................................................6 B. Review of Related Theories...........................................................................8 1. Theory of Setting .................................................................................8a. Place..........................................................................................9
b. Occupation and Daily Manner..................................................10
c. Time..........................................................................................10
d. General Environment................................................................12 C. Mafia in the United States .............................................................................12
1. Mafia Tradition.....................................................................................14
2. Mafia Activities....................................................................................15 D. Mario Puzo’s Life Background .....................................................................16 E.
Theoretical Framework .................................................................................18
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................20
A. Object of the Study........................................................................................20 B. Approach of the Study...................................................................................21 C. Method of the Study......................................................................................22CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ....................................................................................23
A. Setting in the Godfather.................................................................................23 1. Setting of Place 23a. Long Beach House....................................................................24
c. Hell's Kitchen............................................................................29
d. Corleone, Sicily.........................................................................31 2. Daily Manner and Occupation..............................................................31
a. A Better Living and The Structural Crime Organization in the United States after World War II..............................................34
b. Mafia's Control in Occupation after World War II and Marriage Tradition in Corleone................................................................35
c. Middle Class Life in Hell's Kitchen..........................................38 3. Setting of Time 40 4.
General Environment ............................................................................43
a. Moral Values in Family.............................................................44
b. The Importance of Education in Corleone Family and Women's Education After World War II..................................................45
c. Religious Aspect in Corleone Family.......................................................................................46
d. Social Environment in the United States and Corleone............47 B. The Representation of Mario Puzo’s Life Background in the Setting...........49
1. An American Born in Italian Immigrant Family..................................50
2. Puzo's Childhood in Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood..............................51
3. Puzo's Retired Time in Long Island......................................................52
4. Puzo's Father's Occupation and Middle Class Life in Immigrants' Neighborhood.......................................................................................53
5. Puzo's Lifetime Experience in the Historical Events and the Setting of Time of The Godfather.........................................................................54
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ..............................................................................59
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................64
ABSTRACT
DEBIE KHARISMAWATI. The Representation of Mario Puzo's Life Background Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty in the Setting of The Godfather. of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2009.
The Godfather is a novel of Mario Puzo that tells about the story of
Italian mafia family in New York. Puzo brought a story about an Italian immigrant mafia, who really exist, by exploring the structure and the culture of the mafia in 1920 – 1950. The setting of this novel is related to the lifetime of Mario Puzo as the author of this novel and this relationship is interesting to be analyzed further. This thesis is going to discuss the representation of Mario Puzo's life background in the setting of his own novel The Godfather.
There are two problems that have been formulated to understand the analysis better. Since the setting is the main focus of the analysis, therefore the first problem deals with the description of the setting in the novel. The description of the setting includes the setting of place, daily manner and occupation, setting of time, and general environment. The last problem is to find out the representation of Mario Puzo's life background in the setting of The Godfather.
To analyze the novel, Biographical approach will be used. This approach is considered to be appropriate to apply in analyzing the representation of Mario Puzo’s background in the setting of The Godfather. The method used in conducting the analysis was library research. It means that the data that support the analysis were obtained mostly from some books and references from library. The data from reliable sources in the Internet were also used to add some references. To make thorough analysis, there were some steps to take. First step is to choose literary work as the object of the study. Second step is to find theories and data that related to the topic and problem formulation. The last step is to arrange the data and the theories that had been classified in systematic way to make the application easier.
It can be concluded that there are five aspects that show the representation of Mario Puzo's life background in the setting of The Godfather. Based on the description of four elements of setting (setting of place, daily manner and occupation, setting of time, and general environment) there are five aspects that related between the setting in the novel and the author's life background. The five aspects are: An American Born in Italian Immigrant Family, Puzo's Childhood in Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood, Puzo's Retired Time in Long Island, Puzo's Father's Occupation and Middle Class Life in Immigrants' Neighborhood, Puzo's Lifetime Experience in the Historical Events and the Setting of Time of The Godfather.
ABSTRAK
DEBIE KHARISMAWATI. The Representation of Mario Puzo's Life Background Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, in the Setting of The Godfather. Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009.
Novel karya Mario Puzo yang berjudul The Godfather bercerita tentang keluarga mafia Italia di New York. Puzo membawa kita ke dalam cerita tentang mafia imigran dari Italia yang benar ada keberadaannya pada tahun 1920-1950 dengan eksplorasi terhadap struktur keorganisasian dan tradisi dari mafia pada saat itu. Setting dalam novel ini berhubungan erat dengan waktu masa hidup Mario Puzo sebagai pengarang novel ini dan hubungan tersebut sangat menarik untuk dikaji lebih jauh. Skripsi ini tidak hanya semata untuk mencari referensi tentang kehidupan pengarangnya tetapi juga untuk memahami kejadian-kejadian bersejarah yang terjadi semasa hidup pengarang yang bisa dilihat dari elemen setting novel tersebut. Skripsi ini membahas tentang gambaran latar belakang kehidupan pengarang yang terdapat dalam setting novel The Godfather.
Ada dua rumusan masalah untuk memahami lebih baik dalam menganalisa. Rumusan masalah yang pertama adalah mencari deskripsi setting dalam novel karena setting menjadi fokus dalam analisa skripsi ini. Deskripsi setting terdiri dari setting tempat, kehidupan sehari- hari dan jenis pekerjaan karakter dalam novel, setting waktu, dan lingkungan umum karakter dalam novel. Rumusan masalah yang terakhir adalah untuk mencari gambaran latar belakang kehidupan Mario Puzo di dalam setting dari novel The Godfather.
Metode yang dipakai dalam analisa masalah adalah studi pustaka. Data yang diperoleh berasal dari referensi buku-buku di perpustakaan. Data-data dari sumber terpercaya di Internet juga dipakai dalam metode analisa. Untuk menganalisa secara keseluruhan maka dibuat beberapa langkah. Langkah yang pertama adalah memilih karya sastra yang akan dianalisa. Yang kedua adalah mencari beberapa teori dan data-data yang berhubungan dengan topik dan rumusan masalah. Langkah yang terakhir adalah menyusun semua data yang sudah terkumpul secara sistematis untuk mempermudah penggunaannya dalam menganalisa.
Ada beberapa kesimpulan yang bisa ditarik dari analisa masalah. Diantaranya terdapat empat elemen dalam setting yang terdapat dalam The Godfather. Elemen tersebut adalah setting tempat, kehidupan sehari- hari dan jenis pekerjaan karakter dalam novel, setting waktu, dan lingkungan umum karakter dalam novel.
Kesimpulan berikutnya adalah terdapat hubungan antara deskripsi setting dalam novel dan latar belakang hidup pengarangnya. Maka, dapat ditarik kesimpulan bahwa gambaran latar belakang hidup Mario Puzo dapat ditemukan di beberapa aspek elemen setting dalam novel The Godfather.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Being different from poems, a novel is such a complicated arrangements
of characters, plot, setting, symbols, and other elements mixed up in one spirit in the form of long narrative. Its length and multic iplity of episodes give the author enough room to explore in some details the complexities of human nature. Mc Namee said that the long narrative has always been a popular form of literature (1952: 283). To understand further about the content of the story we should learn about the elements of the story itself, for example is studying the setting element of the story. Setting described the time and place or social condition that happened in the story. Setting can be related to the background of the author of the story such as the time when the author lived, the place where the author lived, and what had happened in the life time of the author. This makes one of the work of Mario Puzo, The Godfather, suitable for learning about the relationship between the setting element in the story of The Godfather and the lifetime of the author Mario Puzo.
Puzo brought a story about an Italian immigrant mafia, who really exists, by exploring the structure and the culture of the mafia. Furthermore in that period, 1920 – 1940. Many mafia families spread out in many states and one of them is in New York. There are five big families in New York and some appeared in the novel of The Godfather. The five families controlled New York in the 1930s and dominated the organized crime (www.organized-crime.de/lauhtm01.htm. May 7th 2009). One of the examples of famous mafia chief is Joe Bonanno who had already ran a New York Empire for 30 years ( www.query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html . May 7th 2009).
Another example of mafia chief in that period is Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano who also one of the strongest mafia chief in New York while Al Capone controlled Chicago ( www.biography.com/key/charlesluciano/2316/htm Sept 1st 2008).
Another consideration in using The Godfather to find the representation of Mario Puzo's life background is the life time of the author who was born on October 15th 1920 in New York. The life time and where he lived related to the setting time and place in his novel The Godfather. The social condition in his childhood after World War II that also known as The Great Depression in US lead to the development of organized crime in US that later became the setting in his novel.
The close relationship between life background and his novel lead to the discussion to find the representation of his life time in his own work.
This thesis is aimed not only to find the references to the author's life but also to understand the historical event that happened in author's life time that is represented in the setting element of his work. This thesis is going to discuss the representation of Mario Puzo's life background in the setting of his own novel The
Godfather. However, this novel is chosen because of the content of the story and how
it is presented. Understanding the setting of the story is worthy to discuss to reveal the representation of author's life background. the representation of author's life background.
B. Problem Formulation
The problem formulation will be conducted in order to reveal the representation of Mario Puzo's life background in the setting and will be answered in the analysis. The problem formulation consists of major questions below: 1.
How is the setting described in this novel? 2. How does the setting in the novel of The Godfather represent Mario Puzo's life background?
C. Objectives of the Study
Considering the questions that have been formulated on the problem formulation, the analysis is aiming to identify how the setting is described in the novel. To find the representation of Mario Puzo's life background, the next analysis is to find the relationship between the setting of the novel and the life background of Mario Puzo from his autobiography. Those two analysis is committed to achieve a deeper understanding about to reveal the representation of Mario Puzo's life background in the setting of his novel The Godfather.
D. Definition of Term
To avoid misunderstanding that may arouse in this thesis and to give a limitation on the discussion, it is necessary to define the terms setting, background, and representation which have been the key concepts of this thesis.
1. Setting
According to C. Hugh Holman, setting is defined as the physical, and sometimes spiritual, background against which the action of a narrative takes place.
Setting also the actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room, the occupation and daily manner of place, for example, epoch in history or season of the year (1986: 468). The definition according C. Hugh Holman seem to be the most applicable for the analysis since the analysis will also deal with the descriptions of setting both place and time and the social condition in The Godfather.
2. Representation
According to Ann Marie Baldonado there is an implied visual component to these primary definitions. Representations can be clear images, material reproductions, performances and simulations. Representation can also be defined as the act of placing or stating facts in order to influence or affect the action of others. Of course, the word also has political connotations. Politicians are thought to 'represent' a constituency. They are thought to have the right to stand in the place of another. So above all, the term representation has a semiotic meaning, in that something is 'standing for' something else. The definitions above seem to be the most applicable for the analysis since the analysis will deal with the representation of Mario Puzo as the author of The Godfather ( http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Representation.html . March 21st 2010).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies
has led many people to criticize and study this work. One
The Godfather
of the studies is comparing The Godfather with another work from Philip Milton Roth Portnoy’s Complaint. Dick Schaap compares those two works through the character in both of the story.
There are strong similarities between Michael Corleone and Alexander Portnoy. Neither of them, for instance, wishes to enter his father's line of work. Each of them falls for a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant girl. Of course, there are some differences, too. When Alexander Portnoy's father is frustrated, he gets constipated; when Michael Corleone's father is frustrated, he gets someone killed (www.newyorktimes.com/thegodfather/rev/10945.html. February 3rd 2009).
Schaap tries to compare the character of Michael Corleone in The Godfather and the character of Alexander Portnoy in Portnoy’s Complaint. Both of the characters enter their father’s business and fall in love with a white – Protestant girl that in The is represented by Kay Adams “Her name, too, was outlandish to their ears;
Godfather
she called herself Kay Adams” (1969: 10). There are some differences in relation of the family background between Portnoy's Complaint and The Godfather. In The
Godfather the Corleone is Sicilian but in Portnoy’s Complaint the Portnoy family is
Jewish. Another difference is the kind of family business while in The Godfather the
( www.newyorktimes.com/thegodfather/rev/10945.html . February 3rd 2009). In his analysis Schaap discussed the comparison between two characters in the different work literature. Schaap only focused on the difference of social background that caused difference characteristic between two characters in the literary work but not discussed the real setting or social condition that became the representation of the social condition or setting in the novels.
Another stud y that used the same work of literature, The Godfather, is the study of character development of Michael Corleone by Yuliana Rahayu. According to Yuliana the character of Michael Corleone in The Godfather is influenced by the Mafia tradition and the society of Italian immigrants.
Silence is a rule that would not consider the position of the mafia members. All members who made terrible violation will have no excuses. Mafioso who becomes a traitor will punish to death, even though they have a close relations hip with the boss. In this thesis the writer put Silence as the first and the basic rules of all. Silence later on will followed by four developed rules (Rahayu : 2005).
In her thesis Yuliana focused on how the character of Michael Corleone is developed by the influence of the family background. In her thesis Yuliana explained about the Italian mafia tradition and how it affected the character of Michael Corleone. Yuliana only focused on the development character of Michael Corleone and the family tradition in the literary work.
Another study discussed about the symbol in The Godfather which is “the family” that gave the deepest impact on American public. John G. Cawelti explained paradigm of criminal organization term.
This symbol's influence has virtually changed overnight the American public 's favorite term for a criminal organization. As Puzo develops it, the symbol of the family is the unifying principle of The Godfather. The novel is a tale of family succession, showing the rise of the true son and heir and reaching a climax with his acceptance of the power and responsibilities of Godfather (1976: 53).
Cawelti only discussed about how to embody certain fantasy in a specific cultures such as The Godfather which used Italian mafia culture through symbol, theme, and the formula of the story as the literature of crime without any comparison between the setting and social condition in the novel and the setting in the real setting.
The difference between my thesis and Dick Schaap's study is that Schaap compares two different literary works, Portnoy's Complaint and The Godfather, and I only use one literary work, The Godfather, as the object of the study and try to reveal the representation of the author's life background in the setting element of the novel.
There is a similarity between Rahayu's thesis and my thesis where both of us use The
Godfather as the object of the study. Even though we use the same novel, we have a
different discussion in the analysis. Rahayu analyzed the character in the novel and I analyze the setting in the novel to reveal the representation of the author's life background on it. Another difference is the different between Cawelti's study and this thesis. Cawelti discussed about the formula of the story rather than the element of the story.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Setting
a. Place
Murphy's Understanding Unseen (1972: 141-147) also explained thoroughly about place in the setting. There are three kinds of place.
1. Familiar Place A writer may choose to set his story in which he considers is familiar to most of his readers, either from experience or by close acquaintance. For example American writer may choose to write about events that take place in New York or other states in United States.
2. Unfamiliar Place A writer may choose to set his novel that is likely unfamiliar to many of the readers of his own nation. For example the American writer may choose to write about events that take place in India.
3. Imaginary Place A writer may choose to set his book in an entirely imaginary place which is not familiar to anyone at all.
William Kenney in his book entitled How To Analyze Fiction stated that setting has elements to compose the setting itself. One of the elements are the actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room that can be categorized as setting of
b. Occupation and Daily Manner
Hugh Holman and William Harmon in their book entitled A Handbook To stated some elements in setting and one of the elements is occupation and
Literature
daily manner of living of the characters (1986: 468). William Kenney also stated the same theory about the elements of setting. Kenney stated that the occupations and modes of day-to-day existence of the characters is one of the elements that composed setting (1966: 40).
c. Time
C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon in their book entitled A Handbook
To Literature stated that setting has elements to compose the setting itself and one of
the elements is the time or periods in which the actions takes place, for example epoch in history or scene of the year (1986: 468). Kenney in How To Analyze Fiction also stated that the time in which the action takes place is one of the elements of setting (1966: 40).
Murphy's Understanding Unseen (1972: 141-147) also explained thoroughly about time and place in the setting. There are four kinds of time and three kinds of place.
1. Present Time
A writer may choose to write a book about his own time, about the things that are
2. Past Time A writer may choose to go backward in time, to write about historical events, to attempt and to light the past time to the reader
3. Future Time A writer may, in his imagination, take his readers into the future.
4. No Specific Time A writer may choose to give his readers no indication of time in which the story takes place. It takes place, as it were, in no time or any time. They are like the old fairy tales, they happen 'once upon a time'.
Being different from Murphy, Ganette said, that it is quoted in Nurgiantoro's book, that setting of time has two meanings. It refers to the time when the author wrote the story or the time of the story itself (1995: 33-35). Harvey in
Character and The Novel add society as one of the part of setting in literature.
According to him, social environment in the novel basically refers to the society that is taken mostly in the no vel. The social environment shows a social condition of the people who live in there (1965: 56). Society, as do all other aspects of novels, functions as an element that is organized to identify, at least, the part of the novel.
From society, we find a concept or idea that is constructed in the novel (Langland, 1984: 4). From the theories above, the relationship between time, place, and social environment or society is that the description of the setting of place must be attached to the description of the society of the novel at a certain time. Those elements of
d. General Environment Of The Characters
C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon in their book entitled A Handbook stated that setting has elements to compose the setting itself and one of
To Literature
the elements is the general environment of the characters, for example: religious, moral, mental, social and emotional condition through which the people in the narrative move (1986: 468). William Kenney also stated that the religious, moral, intellectual, social, and emotional environment of the characters (general environment) is one of the elements that composed setting (1966: 40).
C. Mafia in the United States
The start of the development of organized crime start in 1930, a year after the stock market crashed. Organized crime is involved in narcotics distribution in New York is tautological because narcotics distribution is an organized crime and whoever is involved in it is by definition in organized crime. Most typically, organized crime is defined in ways that emphasize high levels of cooperation among groups of professional criminals. In this way, the category organized crime is viewed as synonymous with the category organized criminals. In popular parlance, for instance, organized crime has been equated with "the mob," "the Mafia" or "The Syndicate." (www.law.jrank.org/pages/1631/Organized-Crime.html. May 7th 2009).
The Mafia organization made infamous by such films as The Godfather is faction in the Castellammarese War during the early 1930s in New York City ( www.spiritus-temporis.com/castellammarese-war . May 7th 2009). The Castellammarese War is the name given to a bloody internal power struggle between two factions of Italian-American mafia figures that took place in 1930 and 1931. It culminated in the brief establishment of Salvatore Maranzano as capo di tutti capi, before he himself was killed and "the Commission" of five mafia families of equal stature was established.
The name of the war is derived from the fact that one side in the conflict consisted, at least at first, of immigrants sent by powerful Sicilian mafioso Don Vito Cascio Ferro from the vicinity of the town of Castellammare del Golfo in western Sicily, including Joseph Bonanno, Stefano Magaddino, Joseph Profaci, Joseph Aiello, and the faction's leader, Salvatore Maranzano. Their adversaries, who hailed both from elsewhere in Sicily and adjacent of regions of southern Italy such as Calabria and Campania (particularly Naples) were led by Joe "The Boss" Masseria and also included Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Albert Anastasia, Vito Genovese, Willie Moretti, Joe Adonis, and Frank Costello. The Five Families are the five major Italian- American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in New York City since the 1930s. The Five Families, under the suggestion of Salvatore Maranzano and Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano were responsible for the establishment of The Comission a council which demarcated territory between the previously warring factions and governs La Cosa Nostra activities in the United States. The Five
(www.associatedcontent.com/article/502871/the_castellammarese_war_the_creation. May 7th 2009).
Maranzano set himself up as a "boss of bosses," but he did not hold on to his power for very long. That same year, Luciano and Genovese ordered the murder of Maranzano who they believed was plotting to betray them. On that same day, most of Maranzano's followers, 40 in number, were killed. Luciano then made all of the five families equal players in New York. Today, these are the Bonanno, Jackie, Colombo, Genovese, Lucchese crime families. Luciano's victory over Maranzano ushered in a new era in Mafia activity dominated mostly by those who had been born in this country. This new generation proved that it was just as ruthless as the old and ready to expand into new territory. (www.organized-crime.de/lauhtm01.htm. May 7th 2009).
1. Mafia Tradition
There are several Sicilian mafia tradition like send a dead fish with something that belongs to someone means that the owner of that thing has been murdered and the dead body is thrown to the sea (www.americanmafia.com/Cities/New_York_New_Jersey.html. May 7th 2009).
There are also Rules of Conduct in mafia tradition that contains five rules. First is obedience that means that they should respect their boss and willing to do what the boss asked to them. They can't start a fighting or discussing business until the boss asked them to do so. If they obey this rule the boss will punished them. Family. An attack on any member should be considered an attack on all members. One Family should respect other Families unless the war between them happens. Third rule is honor that means the member of the Family must keep their eyes, ears and their mouth shut. When they see or hear something that is not their business they better not to see and hear that. The fourth rule is pride that means that they must be a man of honor. In Sicilian the word mafia is to describe individuals of pride, excellence, grace, and self- confidence. They also have to respect women and the elders. The last rule is silence or Omerta (www.americanmafia.com/Cities/New_York_New_Jersey.html. May 7th 2009). is the root of mafia tradition. The members of the family must not
Omerta
or never have any dealing with authorities under any circumstances. It is good for them to keep the identities and activities of their Family as secret at all costs. The one who betrayed the Family will be punished or ma be killed. Some Sicilians believe that people who can do this Omerta rule is only Sicilian people that is why the important member of the family such as Caporegime or Consigliere should be Sicilian or Italian (www.newmafia2000tripod.com/mafia2000/id77.html. May 7th 2009).
2. Mafia Activities
Cahill in The Urban Reader states that there are six major activities in mafia activities. The first one is the political fix that means obtaining the cooperation than a tiny minority of public officials. 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 activity is gambling. Gambling is far and away the Mob's biggest illicit income producer. The third is loan – sharking or usury.
It is the Mafia's best investment because the profit is higher than gambling. The fourth is narcotics traffic. Narcotics traffic, especially in heroin, is less lucrative than gambling but still profitable enough. Because of the risks, mafia 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 and the sixth is infiltration business (1971: 212) .
D. Mario Puzo's Life Background
Mario Puzo is an American novelist and got famous because of his work . The Godfather stayed in the New York Time’s bestseller list for about
The Godfather
sixty-seven weeks. Mario Puzo was born on October 15th 1920 into an Italian immigrant family in Hell’s Kitchen New York. His father was a railway track man.
Mario Puzo lived in above railway yards with his family. He has six brothers and sisters. In the World War II Puzo joined US Air Force that stationed in East Asia and Germany.( www.litweb.net/biography/11/Mario_Puzo.html . Sept 1st 2008).
Mario Puzo literary work, The Godfather is his fourth novel that was published in 1969 when he was forty – nine years old. This book was also adapted in house in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. He died when he was 78 years old because of heart failure. His last book The Family is completed by Carol Gino who is his longtime companion and published in 2001.
The period of the 1920s, when Puzo was born, was widely regarded as an era of prosperity. Unemployment amongst urban workers remained, on average, under 7 percent. Per capita income grew by a third during a decade of economic expansion that remained relatively unmarred by inflation and recession. The standard of living improved across the board for the employed sector of the economy. Such improvements were measured not only in increases in earnings between 1922 and 1929, but in living conditions. In the 1920s the gap between the City's infrastructural capacity and its population once again widened. This happened because many immigrants came to United States. Especially Italian immigrants and Irish immigrants (1967: 73).
The crash of stock market and the increase of poverty directly also affected the number of unemployment in the United States. Throughout the decade, the number of jobless never sank below one – sixth of the potential labor force, with the result that a large part of the population was unable to consume and much of it was literary destitute (1968: 871). Poverty increased the number of crime and became the era of organized crime in the United States.
Meanwhile in the 1940s and 1950s after World War II Hollywood was in its greatest condition. Many movies and famous actor and actress made their their fortune and became famous. One of them is Frank Sinatra who is a singer and actor. There are also many famous American actors such as Clark Gable and actress that became a pin- up-girl during and after the World War II. Such as Greta Garbo, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russel, and Jayne Mansfield.
They were loved by millions around the world, men and women alike (www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9332633. May 7th 2009).
The increase of the population after World War II affected the increase of the number of transportation. There were some famous car brand that developed in 1940s and 1950s and became the favorite. One of the brand is Cadillac that began reaching for US luxury-car leadership in 1930s and clinched it for good in 1950s.
Several developments in 1940s laid the foundation for Cadillac's high 1950s success. The superb engine make the early 1950s Cadillacs some of the best road cars of that day (www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac//cad1950/cad50s.htm. May 7th 2009). Another favorite car is Chevy. The 1950s saw more significant changes in the Chevrolet than had occurred in any previous decade since 1920s and 1930s. 1950s was a banner year for 1950 Chevrolet sales and all General Motors sales. There was very little foreign competition, the economy was booming and every General Motors automobile manufacturer had a new postwar car designs in their showrooms (www.50classicchevy.com/history.html. May 7th 2009).
E. Theoretical Framework
background in the setting of The Godfather. To answer first problem formulation, which is to find out how the setting of The Godfather is described, I will use the theory of setting from Holman and Harmon which the actual geographical location, scenery, and physical arrangements, daily manner, general environment of the character, and the description of time in which the actions takes place in the novel are the elements of the setting both time and place. The theory from Holman and Harmon will help to find the description of the setting in the novel. Murphy's theory also used to answer the first problem. Murphy categorized the kinds of setting of place and setting of time. Murphy's theory will help to categorize the kind of the setting in the novel. Harvey's theory will be used to answer the first problem formulation also. Being similar like Holman and Harmon's theory about setting, Harvey stated that the social environment shows a social condition of the people who live in there, which is in this case the character who live in the place mentioned in the novel. It will help to find both social environment and social conditions as the elements of the setting. Ganette's theory will be used to answer the first problem formulation which is helping to find the setting of time in the novel.
To answer the second problem formulation, l will use the descriptions of the setting in the novel that has been answered in the first problem formulation. After the setting elements have been analyzed, the next step is to find the relation with the biography of Mario Puzo and the lifetime history when Puzo lived.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study This thesis will analyze a novel entitled The Godfather. This novel is
written by an Italian immigrant author Mario Puzo in 1969. The Godfather was Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group USA Inc. New York in 1969. This novel contains 479 pages including 32 chapters. The novel used for this analysis was published by the same publisher in 1969. Mario Puzo not only wrote The Godfather but he also wrote some fictions like Dark Arena, Fortunate and Omerta.
Pilgrims, Fools Die, The Fourth K, The Last Don,
The novel The Godfather is about the story of Sicilian Mafia family that represent by Corleone family. Don Vito Corleone is the leader of Corleone family that became the strongest family in New York area. The conflict begins when Virgil Solozzo offers Don Vito Corleone an offer to be his business partner in narcotics business. In his offer, Solozzo will give Corleone family the percentage from the business profit if Corleone family agrees to use their power on government to protect the business. Don Vito Corleone thinks that it is too risky and refuses Solozzo’s offer.
Solozzo is very disappointed and tries to kill Don Vito Corleone. Fortunately Don Vito Corleone still alive even he got five shoots in his body. This thing makes Sonny Corleone, the eldest son, wants to make revenge with Solozzo and Tattaglia family that involved, and it makes Solozzo offer some discussion with Corleone family. Michael Corleone that in the first time did not want to involve in family business also wants to make revenge. Finally Michael killed both Solozzo and the corrupt police officer McCluskey when they were having a discussion. Tattaglia family gives a fight back because the dead of Bruno Tattaglia and it caused the dead of Sonny Corleone.
At last Michael replaced the position of Don in Corleone family and moved the family into Las Vegas.