Family loyalty of the corleone family in Mario Puzo`s the godfather - USD Repository
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
ION ON
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
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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
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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
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page TITLE PAGE
...................................................................................................... i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ............................................................................................... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ....................................................... iv
DEDICATION PAGE........................................................................................ v
ACKNOWLEGMENTS ............................................................................................... vi
............................................................................................ viiiTABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRAK ....................................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1
A. Background of the Study
.................................................................... 3
B. Problem Formulation
............................................................... 4
C. Objectives of the Study
.................................................................... 4
D. Benefits of the Study
....................................................................... 5
E. Definition of Terms
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
B. Mafia ................................................................................ 13
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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 .......................................................................... 23
A. Subject Matter
................................................................................... 24
B. Approach
................................................................ 25
C. Method of the Study
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS .......................... 27
A. Social Background of the Corleone Family
................................ 27
1. The Structure of the Corleone Family
.................................................... 32
2. Becoming a Mafia Family
.................................... 38
3. Having Social and Political Power
.......................... 44
B. The Causes of Maintaining Severe Loyalty
........................................................................ 45
1. Italian Culture
........................... 47
2. Don Vito Corleone as a Man of Respect
.............................. 51
3. Mafia as the Way to Keep Family Ties
.......................................................................... 51
a. Obedience
............................................................................... 52
b. Loyalty
.................................................................................. 55
c. Honor
.................................................................................... 57
d. Pride
................................................................................ 58
e. Omerta
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ................................................................................. 62
A. Conclusion
................................................................................. 63
B. Suggestion
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Page .................................... 63
1. Suggestion for Future Researcher(s)
2. Suggestion for Teaching Extensive Reading II
................................................................. 64
Using Literary Work
..................................................................................................... ..69 BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. 71
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ABSTRACT
Yuaningtyas, Priska Fitri (2008). Family Loyalty of the Corleone Family in Mario
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.
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ABSTRAK
Yuaningtyas, Priska Fitri (2008). Family Loyalty of the Corleone Family in Mario
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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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).
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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).
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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).
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- Pendergast’s Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20 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
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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
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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
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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