crime literature

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Applied Sciences and Business Economics

Volume 1, Issue 3, 10-31, 2014

ISSN: 2312-9832

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An Investigation of Crime and Mafia Literature: “The God

Father” by Mario Puzo

Hafsa Rehman*1

& Muhammad Ajmal2

1Lecturer in English, Roots College International (IGCSE), Islamabad, Pakistan.

2PhD Research Scholar (English), International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan.

*Corresponding Author‘s Email: [email protected]

Abstract

This research unfolds the ambiguous and labyrinthine ways of the world of crime literature and investigates the

novel of ―The God Father‖ by Mario Puzo an Italian-American Novelist. He is pioneer of Mafia Literature that

is sub-category of crime literature. A critical analysis has been done in collaboration. We have tried our level

best to reach out the reasons of such obnoxious crimes revealed and exposed in this piece of literature by the

novelist very dexterously. It is an acknowledged fact that social injustices lead to aggression that in turn leads to

violence. After being suppressed for centuries first in Italy and then in America, the Sicilians formed a criminal

brother hood in order to safeguard their rights. The Sicilian immigrants were denied their social rights in order

to improve their living standard; hence, they switch to crimes for the better future of their children.

Keywords: Maria Puzu, Crime Literature, Mafia Literature, Social Injustice, Sicilian, Immigrants,

Violence, Human Rights

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Applied Sciences and Business Economics [ISSN: 2312-9832] Volume1, No.3, 10-31, 2014

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1. Introduction

―American Mafia is the natural result of year‘s long social injustices faced by the poor Sicilian immigrants.‖

Social injustices have a direct relation with violence. After being ignored and humiliated for many years, people

tend to vent their aggression through violence. According to a prison psychiatrist, violence is often pursued as

an anti-dote to humiliation (Gilligan). Gilligan further states that it was revealed to him in his study that awfully

ferocious criminals he knew had themselves been subjected to equally ferocious violence in their past and their

being treated as such in the past was exactly what made them so tyrannous.

Now, it depends on the situation whether the victims vent that aggression by harming others or themselves. At

times, the aggression is vented by execution of violence on one‘s own self rather than others. Gilligan gives us

examples of both kinds. He tells about a case where a violent criminal committed suicide in the prison after

committing serious crimes. Later, it was learned that the victim had been subjected to heinous humiliation in his

childhood. He had been exposed to pedophilia along with heterosexual and homosexual incest as a child.

Sociological theories also reinforce this relation between social injustice and crime (Hagan, Shedd, and Payne

381-407). The ―Neutralization Theory‖, proposed by Skyes and Matza explains how the threat of injustice can

encourage criminal behavior and justify violence. It is universally accepted idea that all humans have a moral

code within them that hampers them from doing violent and criminal acts. Now, if a person commits such an act

of violence, he has to think of some logic in order to off-ramp the ―inner values‖.

The basic argument that is put forward by the offender for the violent or criminal act is that he thinks the

circumstances forced him to commit that act, and that there was no way out of that situation, i.e., the offender is

able to deny the responsibility of the offence (Siegal). Siegal further says that the offender considers that the

offence serves the victim right, i.e., the victim deserves being victimized. Along with accusing with spite the

condemners who censure the violence of offender, the offender further maintains that their offence will prove to

be constructive in the long run, i.e., they commit violence for the ―greater good‖ (Siegal).

Another theory of Sociology also explains the relationship between injustice and violence/crime. The ―General

Strain Theory‖ tells that increase in strain results in increase in anger that consequently leads to increase in

crime/violence (Agnew 59). Agnew says that negative circumstances lead to the feeling of fear, resulting in the

feeling of revenge, and this feeling of revenge paves way for violence and crime. The theory says that if a

person aspires for extraordinary aims that are essentially legitimate, but the circumstances are not encouraging

for the achievement of those goals, the chances of the individual to commit delinquent acts increase.

In short, the General Strain Theory creates a direct link between the strain and crime/violence. Another theory

called the theory of anomie, presented by French Sociologist Emile Durkheim, says that the possibility of

individuals committing delinquent acts increases with increase in societal breakdown (Agnew and Passas2-3).

Hence, this theory also finds some relationship between violence and social injustice. Durkheim opines that

demoralization is an essential result of decline of societal morals. One feels isolation and worthlessness in a

society that does not guarantee equality and justice, hence, leading individuals to violence.

2. Objectives

Following are the objectives of this research:

To discover the underlying causes of ―violence‖ among Italian Americans.

To explain the relationship of social injustices with crime and violence.

To demonstrate that social equality is a pre-requisite if any administration wants to make the

society free from violence and crime.

To explore how injustices were done to the Sicilian immigrants in America, and how at a later

stage, the immigrants resorted to violence to ensure their rights. It will be investigated how the

immigrants were denied justice, and were subjected to humiliation and ethnicity.

To unravel the motives behind the formation of the most impregnable criminal syndicate that

was earlier unheard of,―The American Mafia‖. It will be tried to explore how social injustices

forced the otherwise peaceful Italian immigrants to form criminal brotherhoods in order to

safeguard their rights.



3. Literature Review

Lochner (2007) shows that individual perceptions of the probability of arrest are strongly correlated with

individual criminal activity and that such perceptions adjust with experience of criminal behaviour and arrests.

Similarly, Langan and Farrington (1998), building on a large body of cross-national studies, find substantial

negative correlations between the likelihood of conviction and crime rates.For example, Borjas, Grogger and

Hanson (2010) sugges t that such a mechanism may have operated against low-skilled black Americans, who are

thought to be close labour market substitutes to the immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1980s

and 1990s, whose incarceration rate has risen substantially in recent years.

Shaw and McKay (1969) argued that three structural characteristics of an area –low economic status, ethnic

heterogeneity and residential mobility –led to the disruption of community stability, which in turn accounted for

variations in crime and delinquency. Aoki and Todo (2009) is a representative example of this approach and

examine the effect of migrant stocks on overall crime rates across the 96 departments of France in 1999. A

similar study by Bianchi, Buonanno and Pinotti (2008) examines the crime-immigration link across Italian

provinces over the period 1990-2003.

Crime fiction is the genre of literature which talks about the crime, its execution and detection. Although it was

once considered cheap literature because it was a part of popular art (as opposed to the high art which included

the paintings of famous painters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, architecture, classical literature and music etc.,) but

in latter half of the twentieth century, it started gaining popularity and was read by all the classes of society

equally.

The first known crime novel is 'The Rector of Veilbye' written by Steen Steenson. The novel is based on a true

story which was known to most Danish people because of the Danish Church History and the Danish tradition

of telling stories orally. The novel tells how a suitor of the rector's daughter takes his revenge when the rector

does not accept him as his son-in-law. The Danish Ministry of Culture included the novel in the Cultural Canon

of Denmark.

Agatha Christie, another famous crime novelist, is considered the bestselling novelist of all times (according to

Guinness Book of World Records). Her most famous crime novel, 'And Then There Were None' is the world's

bestselling mystery ever. The original name of the novel was 'Ten Little Niggers' but it was changed because of

being considered offensive.

Another very famous crime novel series written by Conan Doyle is "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".

Doyle creates a very intelligent and shrewd detective who could solve apparently unsolvable mysteries. The

human made character of Sherlock Holmes is so mesmerizing and capturing that is has overshadowed the fame

of its creator. The series achieved so much fame because of the detective Sherlock Holmes that it hid the

author‘s other works from the populace. In fact, Sherlock Holmes is a proto superhero who takes seconds to

work out the principles of anatomy laws in order to render the opponent stalemate. He is able to turn the flesh

into pulp singlehandedly. He can disarm a man within no time and leave him as well as the audience

thunderstruck.

In his article in The New York Times, Jeremy McCarter writes that it is ironical that in modern fiction, the

imaginary characters become far more famous than their creators as well as their other works. He further states

that ―Holmes seemed so real, so magnificently lifelike, that some readers thought he really existed (McCarter).

The fictional character of Sherlock Holmes is renowned for his shrewd reasoning that is essentially logical, his

adaptation of disguises and his ability to use his forensic skills to solve mysterious and difficult cases. What

makes the character outstanding is his extraordinary genius and ability of deriving plenty of clues and

information from utterly chaotic scenes. Another interesting aspect of this detective is that he would refuse the

staggering sums offered by the rich if their cases did not appeal him, and on the contrary, would spend many

weeks in solving the cases of his humble clients. The series became so famous that any inquiry into crime

novels is essentially flawed if it does not talk about this work.

―Three Seconds‖ is a crime novel written by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom in Swedish which was

translated into English by Kari Dickson. Although the title of the novel gives the idea of brevity, the novel is

pretty long-489 pages. Its authors won a prize—the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers‘ Award for Swedish

Crime Novel of the Year (Maslin). The novel tells the horrible ways in which the drugs and ammunition is



transported to the prisons of Sweden. In the opening pages of the novel, the drug mules smuggle the

amphetamine from Sweden to Poland by ingesting small rubber parcels of the drug! At another place in the

novel, the same drug is transported via Tulip flowers. The transporter buys fresh tightly closed Tulip flowers,

heats them at a specific temperature so that they open, puts small packets of the drug in each flower and then

cools them again at a specific temperature so that they remain tightly closed for exactly the time by which they

reach the desired place, the prison, falsely as a present from a resident businessman.

Though the reviewer of The New York Times appreciates such instances in the plot, she calls the

characterization faulty. ―Fans of the genre are more apt to appreciate the devilishness of such plot details than

the tiresome, vaguely flawed character development that comes with them (Maslin).‖ IUBookGirl thinks that

―Three Seconds has a smart, intricate, well-written plot that I think any thriller or crime novel fan will enjoy.‖

The plot shows the strange state a police infiltrator finds himself in, where he is wanted dead both by the police

and the drug traffickers. Initially, the plot starts at a slow pace but turns more nerve-catching as it progresses.

A new sub-genre within the genre of crime novels is the Mafia novel. Mario Puzo, an Italian-American writer, is

the pioneer of this sub-genre. ―The Godfather‖ is Puzo‘s 3rd

criminal and 1st Mafia novel that proved to be a

great success. "The Godfather", when being filmed, was thought of by the producer as: "a popular, sensational

novel, pretty cheap stuff (Horne)". The reason behind this presumption was that the crime novels were

considered as popular art meant only for uneducated and lower class of the society. The popular art was

produced mainly for the ―masses‖ while the high art was meant for the ―aristocrats‖. The people who read

popular novels were considered as ―Philistines‖. Therefore, when Puzo was writing the novel, he was not very

hopeful about its success. But when the novel was published, it broke the past records of sale. The novel

introduced an entirely new sub-genre of the crime novels. After the success of The Godfather, many other

writers wrote novels on the same theme.

Vincent Canby, in his review in The New York Times, called the novel "one of the most brutal and moving

chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment." The novel chronicles the

development and working of Mafia in different parts of America. It tells how social injustices such as ethnicity

and class distinction led the poor immigrants to turn aggressive and switch to violence in order to save their self-

respect and get their legal rights. Canby also talks about the contradicting behaviors of different characters in the

novel. In one scene, a character is shown as performing the usual works such as wedding and baptism etc. and in

another scene, he is shown as blowing the brains of a rival. ―It's nothing personal, just their way of doing

business as usual (Canby).‖ Don Vito Corleone, the most feared man in the American underworld, is shown in

his youth as a hardworking man earning honest bread for his family. But later, he becomes the most influential

and richest Don of the American Mafia.

Mel Gussowcalls the novel "a commentary on greed in a capitalistic society (Gussow)". It is the demon of greed

that leads the Five Families to run heinous businesses of prostitution, racketeering, illegal gambling and even

the forbidden business of drug trafficking. Most of the murders are done for the sake of gaining money. In a nut

shell, ―The Godfather‖ is the account of how the Sicilian immigrants made their fortune in America through

illegal means.

An interesting irony that is to be found about the novel and its author is that Puzo himself knew nothing about

the Mafia. Although he gives minute details of the execution of crime by the Mafia, he was actually an outsider.

He was grown up in an Italian ghetto in America called ―Hell‘s Kitchen‖ where Mafia groups were certainly

actively operating, yet he had no firsthand information about this criminal syndicate. Puzo stated in 1972 in

''The Godfather Papers and Other Writings'' that ''I'm ashamed to admit that I wrote 'The Godfather' entirely

from research. I never met a real honest-to-God gangster. I knew the gambling world pretty good, but that's all

(Gussow).''

After the book was published, he was introduced to several gangsters who, he said, ''refused to believe that I had

never been in the rackets.'' He added, ''but all of them loved the book (Gussow).‖ Although the word Mafia was

unheard of in America before the fame of this novel, the term as well as the phenomenon was neither new nor

fascinating for the Italian-Americans. Mafia was a common thing is Sicily from where most of the Italians had

immigrated to America, because in Italy, Mafia was formed years before it did in America. For this reason, ―The

Godfather‖ was not that alluring for Italian-Americans who were well aware of it and were not impressed by the

movie when it was released. Gussow writes in The New York Times that ―the author was sometimes subjected

to the charge that ''The Godfather'' was unflattering to Italian-Americans (Gussow).‖

Although The Godfather was a great success as a novel, it was not the favorite work of Puzo himself. He



preferred his previous works to The Godfather. Puzo had got a meager amount as advance from his publisher

and he was indebted with a huge sum to his friends and relatives. He was addicted to alcohol and his addiction

had costed him dearly. He could not accumulate a good sum with the help of his previous novels which were not

a hit. The Godfather earned him money as well as respect, but he liked his previous works more. He was of the

view that The Godfather was not according to his standards and this is why he wasn‘t expecting much from that

novel. ''I wished like hell I'd written it better,'' he said. ''I wrote below my gifts in that book (Gussow).''

Puzo‘s own favorite was his second novel called ―The Fortunate Pilgrim‖ which was partly autobiographical

since it talked about the life of an Italian-American family in America. But there was no denying that ''The

Godfather'' and the Corleones transformed the author's life and made him one of the most popular and wealthiest

of the novelists (Gussow).

An interesting aspect of the novel is the separation of men and women's world (SparkNotes Editors). What is

ironical about the novel is that it shows the expulsion of women from the business at the time when the women

had started to get out of the closet and participate in the outer world. The novel opens with the wedding of Miss

Connie Corleone in which all the old friends of the Don were invited. The setting is decorated in Italian style

and a band is playing music with girls dancing beside them. At the time the women were singing and dancing,

the Don was sitting in his dark ―corner room‖ listening to his old friends‘ supplications. The supplicants had

come to pay their homage to the Don and ask him some favors.

It was the Italian tradition that no one rejected requests on their daughter‘s wedding. Fathers, in the

contemporary society as depicted in the novel, arrange marriages for their daughters, and revenge on their

enemies. The last one who is given the honor of meeting the Don in private is Luca Brasi, the Don‘s right hand

man. Brasi enters the room, kisses the hand of the Don, offers his envelope bulging with money to the Don as a

wedding gift, and says: "May their first child be a masculine child (Haskell)."

Let‘s look at the other side of the picture now. It is the second half of the twentieth century. America is passing

through the period of transition when the set values of the society are being challenged. Women have started to

come out of their houses and participate in the economic growth of the country. They are no longer being

considered the vehicle for bearing children as the law sanctions the women the right to abortion. In 1950s,

women were autonomous enough to make contraceptive choices (Meldrum 102-103). On the 50th

anniversary

of women‘s suffrage in 1970, thousands of working women march down the Fifth Avenue in spontaneous

support (Haskell). Again, in the same year, Kate Millet publishes her work ―Sexual Politics‖ and consequently,

her portrait is on the cover of The New York Times. In the succeeding year, the last issue of New York

Magazine of that year announces the birth of Ms. Magazine whose first issue was to appear in the very next year

(Haskell).

Women are shown in the novel as typical Italian females who have no other business than raising the children.

Husbands and fathers never discuss the affairs of business in front of their wives and daughters. Women mostly

stay at homes and never actively participate in the running of the business. However, the time at which the novel

was written was the transformational period when these social norms were being called to question by the

women of America. This typical portrayal of the women reminds one of the classical times when the women

assumed the roles of passive living beings. According to an article published in The New York Times, ―Men (in

The Godfather) are prized as soldiers and captains in a continuing war, while the women stay at home, become

grieving mothers and widows, bury and lament and resent (Haskell).

This is exactly what we see in the novel. Connie never interferes in the business matters of her husband. When

he is killed by her brother Michael, first she cries and weeps mercilessly, and later she bows and prays to God

for his salvation. Just like a typical Italian wife, she never believes that her husband was an accomplice in the

death of his elder brother Sonny. All her sympathies remain with her husband who had treated her most of the

times as an animal. At his murder, she laments and rues in exactly the manner in which the deaths of heroes in

the classical epics are lamented. Similarly, we see Mrs. Corleone visiting the church regularly. When her

daughter-in-law Kay asks her the reason for going to the church daily, Mrs. Corleone says: "I go for my

husband...I say prayers for his soul every day so he go up there (heaven)‖.

Haskel points our attention to the way violence is executed in the novel. It is interesting to note that personal

matters and the business affairs are kept segregated. When the eldest son of Vito Corleone makes the list of men

who were to be killed in order to avenge the attack on his father, Tony, the consigliore, reminds Sonny that he

was taking the attempted murder of his father personal whereas it was all business. Sollozzo had no personal

enmity with the Don except that he was a hurdle in the progress of his business of drug trafficking. Hence, the



men who were sent by Sollozzo to kill the Don did not hurt the second son Freddo who was there in the car

waiting for his father. Similarly, despite being an easy target, Sollozzo never attempted to kill the Don‘s

youngest son Michael who was studying in the college. The number of assassinations in the whole novel is not

very great .No civilians or outsiders are killed in the whole novel. ―Violence is internecine; no civilians are

maimed or brutalized (Haskell)."

According to Haskell, there is another motive, more important than gaining money, behind this operation of

Mafia. And that primary motive is to gain ―respect‖. The Italians as immigrants were disdained by the natives

and were abused and molested by them. They were denied respectable jobs despite being qualified for that. They

were even denied justice which is the right of every human being. In the beginning of the novel, we see how the

court makes fun of Amerigo Bonasera whose beautiful daughter was mortally disfigured by the two American

boys. Hence, in order to get the rights and respect, which are indispensable for any self-made man, Vito

Corleone switches to violence.

McCrath is all praises for the beautiful plot of the novel. In his opinion, the simplicity of plot helps to emphasize

the historical feature of the novel. The novel is partly fictional and partly factual because it deals with the grim

reality that the poor Italian immigrants had to face when they immigrated to America. They had come to

America in hope for a better future after being subjugated for years in their homeland. But all their hopes and

dreams were shattered once they entered the American border. McCrath writes that the operatic style of the

novel along with its straightforward and blunt plot reinforces the sad reality that the minority in America passed

through.

While giving his views on the story of the novel, McCrath says that ―it‘s the great story of assimilation and

upward mobility‖. The immigrants in America aspired for high social status as that of notable Americans. From

the damp and dirty slums and ghettos of the minorities, they wished to rise as high as even to become the

president of America. We see the Corleone family move to acres big house in Long Beach from Hell‘s Kitchen

(a ghetto where the Italian immigrants passed their days of misery). McCrath directs our attention toward the

dreams of Michael Corleone who wishes that his children or the grandchildren become politicians of America

and who also fancies the kind of justice in which everyone gets precisely what they deserve, ―even (or specially)

if that means getting whacked (McCrath)‖.

Schaap considers the delineation of the character of Don Vito Corleone a great accomplishment. Puzo portrays

him is such a why as renders him both superhuman and miraculous. Within no time, the Don can solve the

unsolvable problems and can handle the grave situations without losing patience. He uses his power of

―reasoning‖ in order to convince his opponents and follows the principle of ―never making a threat‖. He is

considered a god by his kinsmen. At some times, he is as fierce as the hell, and at other times, he as peaceful and

calm as a summer‘s day. He is both, extremely tyrannous and extremely friendly.To quote, “Puzo performs a

neat trick; he makes Don Vito a sympathetic, rather appealing character, part robbing hood and part Robin

Hood. Without sugarcoating Don Vito's sins, Puzo makes the man believable and, more important and

understandable (Schaap).‖

Schaap is also delighted by the modus operandi through which the Mafia is portrayed by Puzo. This is another

feat of Puzo that deserves apposite appreciation. Because the Families are involved in illegal businesses, its

running certainly involves the execution of crimes even that of murder. But what is remarkable is the fact that

innocents are not involved in this killing. The Families fight with each other but no civilians are victimized in

these skirmishes. ―The plot revolves around gang warfare…For the most part they only kill each other; as far as

I can recall, only two innocents get killed in the entire book, and one of them is a horse--a magnificent horse, to

be sure (Schaap).‖

Schaap also appreciates the narrative technique of the novel. The pace of the narrative changes according to the

requirements of the scenes. The violent scenes come and go with an increased pace, but the pace slows when the

scene shifts to the calm and serene gatherings of Michael and Kay. Consider the scene in which the death of the

Don is shown or where the eldest son Sonny is murdered. The narration of these scenes intensifies the effect of

these events. Schaap further adds that ‗the deeper strength of the narrative comes from examinations of the

Mafia mind, a dedication to a peculiar kind of professionalism, a conviction that street justice is more equal and

more honest than the justice practiced in the courts (Schaap).‖

One thing that Schaap does not approve is the inclusion of impertinent of scenes and characters in the novel.

Puzo adds some characters that have nothing to do with the main plot and theme of novel. Schaap considers it

the weakness of ―The Godfather‖. He says ――The Godfather is weakest when Puzo reaches out to drag in



dramatic scenes that advance neither his plot nor his characters. Obviously, he has collected vivid vignettes,

based partly or wholly on fact, that he could not resist throwing in (Schaap).‖ For example, the characters of

Johnny Fontane and the abortionist doctor are total digressions that occupy a great portion in the novel but have

no direct relation to the plot of the novel.

Schaap does not consider these scenes completely a waste. Some of these scenes gain importance as they

provide us with memorable phrases that have become the most quoted phrases of English literature. The Dons of

Mafia talk big and their speech is boastful and long-drawn-out. The Don often uses the phrase ―I‘ll make him an

offer he can‘t refuse‖. Now, one wonders what that offer is that no one can afford to discard. Yes, the offer is

this: Do as directed, or else, I‘ll kill you! The novel abounds in many such phrases of threat and swearing.

He (Puzo) adds a scene in which Don Vito "coined a phrase that was to become as famous in its way as

Churchill's Iron Curtain (Schaap)." At the big meetng with the rival Mafioso, Vito Corleone says, "We will

manage our world for ourselves because it is our world, Cosa Nostra (Schaap).Then, in another scene, Corleone

utters a sentence that is strikingly true: "Lawyers can steal more money with a briefcase than a hundred men

with gun and masks."

Christ Messenger considers ―sexuality‖ a very important aspect of the novel. Almost all the women in the novel

are shown as sex icons. Women are the Hollywood's major capital asset that Hollywood studio owner Woltz

makes optimum use of. Showcasing the women and marketing them is what made Woltz the most successful

person in the American film industry. As Christ Messenger writes: "For the women in The Godfather become

essences, colors, animals, ripe or rotting fruit, virginal New Englanders, shrews, spoiled "guinea" daughters, old

crones, Hollywood bitch wives who are 'out fucking' (Messenger 162)". Messenger considers the women in the

novel as mythical signifiers. First, he denies giving them roles that of an activity, and next, he constructs their

characters in the novel sensationally on physical attributes only. Almost, all the women in the novel appear in

the context of sexuality: Lucy has some sexual "deformity" that has been discussed in the novel in minute

details. Kay's illegal sexual relationship with Michael and that of Sonny with Lucy is also very elaborate.

Messengerhighlights Puzo‘s obsession of sexuality by pointing out that even the horse that Woltz bought for an

enormous sum is portrayed sexually (Messenger 162). Woltz pats it like a lover, admires its "great brown eyes"

which "glinted like golden apples (Puzo 60)". Later, when the animal is killed, we see its head placed beside

Woltz on his comfortable bed soiled in blood. Another instance of sexuality is when the owner of the studio,

Woltz, rapes a twelve year girl whom Tom watches staggering out of Woltz' house. Then, we see the party that

is arranged by Woltz for the over-aged film actresses that are no longer loved by the young men. For

euphemistic reasons, the get-together is named as "Hollywood Movie Star Lonely Hearts Club (Puzo 182)". The

party is arranged in order to give, the women who had been "desensitized physically" and are no longer haunted

by the young lovers, an opportunity to prey on young lovers (Messenger 163).

The setting of the party is not that of a nightclub or an orgy. Rather, it is a movie set with beautiful lightening

where a new up-coming film is screened and the lovers are provided with semi-private loveseats. In a scene

from the novel not filmed by Coppola, the film actress Deanna Dunn advances toward Nino Valenti "without

even a courteous and friendly word of preparation (Puzo 185)".

Schaap directs our attention toward the over-dramatization of some scenes. He is of the view that because of this

over-dramatization, one feels unoriginality and dullness in the novel. This banalitytakes away some of the charm

and charisma that is found in the novel and at times, the novel feels monotonous and droning. Schaap further

states that the tiresomeness in the novel is burgeoned by the complete absence of humor. Usually, the writers do

add some humorous characters or scenes in their writings for the sake of diversity. But in ―The Godfather‖ the

grim and overwrought atmosphere of the novel is further amplified because of complete nonexistence of

comicality. Despite these minor flaws, Schaap considers the novel a great accomplishment. He says: ―Allow for

a touch of corniness here. Allow for a bit of over-dramatization there. Allow for an almost total absence of

humor. Still Puzo has written a solid story that you can read without discomfort at one long sitting (Schaap).‖

By reading the reviews that have been written on ―The Godfather‖ so far, one gets the idea that the critiques

have explored almost every aspect of the novel. Starting from the very structure of the novel to the narrative and

the characters, almost every area of the novel has been scrutinized. The reviewers have explored all the themes

that are there in the novel. The critiques have gauged and assessed all the themes of violence, sexuality, get-rich-

quick, and ethnicity that are found in the novel.

What strikes the reader is the fact that so far, almost no critique has talked about the most important aspect that



is just ―floating on the surface‖ of the novel. The novel explicitly states that it was the injustice of the American

society with the pitiable Italian immigrants that forced them to turn ferocious at the end. Although Puzo

fictionalizes this fact quite unambiguously, the critics have refrained themselves from highlighting this. The

researcher will go in for this aspect of novel and will analyze how social injustices led to the formation of the

American Mafia. Analysis of this aspect of the novel is exactly what makes this research different from the

previous researches.

American Mafia, also known as ―Cosa Nostra‖, is a secret Italian-American criminal brotherhood. It has its

roots in the Sicilian Mafia that was formed in Italy much before the American Mafia. It came into existence

after the massive influx of Sicilian immigrants in America. Initially, the Mafia started its operation in the lower

East Side of America, but gradually, it expanded its operations to all the parts of America. The major businesses

of Mafia included prostitution, drug trafficking and illegal gambling along with infiltration in legal businesses

such as construction, labor unions and the garment industry.

Today, most of the organized crime in America is controlled and executed by Mafia. The Mafia groups refer to

themselves as ―Families‖ and currently, big Mafia Families are operating in at least 26 different cities of

America not to mention the smaller groups that are operational in almost every part of the country.

Excluding the crime groups of non-Italian origin, the American Mafia is still considered the most vicious crime

syndicate that controls most of the crime activity in America and in some parts of Canada. Before discussing the

history of America Mafia, it is important to understand the formation of Sicilian Mafia.

4. Research Methodology

This is a qualitative research in which content analysis of the novel will be conducted and the reasons behind the

transformation of certain characters from peaceful hard workers into callous Mafiosi will be discovered. I will

try to demonstrate how social injustices such as inequality, racial abuse, and lack of opportunities etc. force even

the most humane men to switch to violence.

• Analysis of Characters:

Back in his youth, Vito Corleone is shown as a peaceful man who feeds his family through hard work. Later, he

becomes the most feared Don of the underworld. Michael, the youngest son of Don Corleone, never expected to

be a part of ―family business‖ (Mafia), but later, he succeeds his father as the new Don. By analyzing the

reasons behind the transformation of these men, I will demonstrate how social injustices led these men to turn

violent Dons of the American Mafia.

• Analysis of Circumstances:

In Sicily, Michael Corleone is leading a peaceful life with his wife, but his wife dies in a bomb blast meant for

Michael Corleone planted by his guard who did this just to reach America. As Fabrizzio knew that he had no

chances of improving his life in Sicily, he agrees to kill Michael in exchange for reaching America where he

could live a better life. After that incident, Michael also enters the ―Family Business‖ (the Mafia).

5. Content Analysis

As mentioned earlier, social injustice is a must if peace in the world is to be maintained. Throughout the history,

the importance of social justice has been delved on by different sages and religions. All the major religions of

the world, including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, have stressed on the need for social justice.

According to the Business Dictionary, social justice means: ―The fair and proper administration of laws

conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion,

etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice.‖

But the sad part of the story is that the importance of social justice is not acknowledged by the bigoted rulers of

the world. And because of this, the nations sometimes have to pay dearly as a consequence. The entire social

system of a country is essentially precarious if it does not guarantee justice to her citizens. When justice is

denied, people take illegal measures to take revenge. ―The Godfather‖ shows the consequences of denying

justice in a clear way. The novel opens with the judicial proceedings of a case where a young Italian lass‘ jaw

was broken by two American boys in an attempted rape. The girl is mortally disfigured and the father laments



the permanent disfigurement of his young and beautiful daughter.

After the offence of the blue blooded American boys is proved, the judge administers his ―justice‖. He

announces a sentence of three years imprisonment, and owing to the ―clean record‖ and young age of the boys,

the sentence is ―suspended‖. The verdict of the judge renders the poor father flabbergasted. All his life, he had

believed in America. He had raised his daughter in American style. He had served America the way he would

serve his own country, but the verdict of the judge had shattered all the trust he had in American justice.

The culprits mockingly smile at the father of the victim as they meet their parents. At this, Amerigo Bonasera,

father of the victim, shouts hoarsely to the parents of the offenders: ―You will weep as I have wept – I will make

you weep as your children make me weep.‖Then he turns to his wife and says: ―They have made fools of us. For

justice, we must go on our knees to Don Corleone (Puzo 8).‖ All the proceedings of the court had been a

―farce‖. The poor Italian was denied justice just because of his race and the high class of the assaulters. As

American justice fails to giveBonasera justice, he vows to go to the Mafia Don to avenge his daughter.

This Don to whom Bonasera resolves to go is the victim‘s godfather whom Bonasera never met in his entire life

because of his illegal activities. In his utmost desperation, the poor father breaks the principle to which he had

abided throughout his life. He now goes to the Don, and tells him about the judicial proceeding: ―The evidence

was overwhelming and they pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced them to three years in prison and suspended

the sentence. I stood in the courtroom like a fool and those bastards smiled at me (Puzo 28).‖

The Don, already disillusioned by ―American justice‖, chides Bonasera for being stupid enough to believe in

America, asks him the reason for giving his first allegiance to America, and says: ―You go to the law courts and

wait for months. You spend money on lawyers who know full well you are to be made a fool of. You accept

judgment from a judge who sells himself like the worst whore in the streets (Puzo 31).‖ Yes, indeed the judge

had sold himself like the worst whore in the streets…Despite the solid proofs he sends the ―animals‖ free just

because of their being blue-blooded. And now, the Don administers his justice to avenge his goddaughter. He

sends two massive men who used to drive trucks in the past but were recruited by the Don because they had

‗made their bones‖ in torturing the enemies, and gives them just one instruction: ―If those punks get out of the

hospital in less than a month, you guys go back to driving trucks (Puzo 63).‖

The next morning, the newspapers publish the unrecognizable photos of those two boys whose bodies rather

resembled battered pulps. In this way, the wild fire of revenge burning inside Bonasera is put off by the Don

instead of by American justice. Justice has been administered to the culprits, though in an unjust way. The

Italian American has indebted himself to the Don after he was made fool of by American justice! Now that

Bonasera is indebted to the Mafia Don, the Don is fully entitled to call on him in any future time to return his

favor to him. And this is exactly what makes the Don powerful. Later in the novel, the Don will go to Bonasera

to ask for a favor in return to the favor he has done to him.

As the narrative of the novel progresses, we see many instances in which the Don shows his violent nature. He

is running an illegal business of gambling besides the legal business of importing olive oil from Italy. His illegal

business certainly needs protection for which he has hired criminals and bribed lawyers, judges as well as the

parliamentarians. The Corleone family is not the only family in America that is indulged in such activities.

There are other powerful families also that run equally despicable businesses such as prostitution and drug

trafficking. To guard his business from law enforcing agencies and his rivals, the Don needs to hire expert

criminals who had ―made their bones‖ in the execution of crimes. The Don has recruited the most violent men

of earth for the purpose of his business. When it comes to that, Don‘s violence knows no bounds.

One of Don‘s right hand men is Luca Brasi. Luca‘s is the most feared man in the eastern underworld. There is

some secret about Luca that no one dares to tell Michael. Michael is considered too young to listen to Luca‘s

crime. Luca‘s type is very helpful for Mafia as Mafia makes use of their die-hardness for the running of their

business. In one instance, when Luca is ordered to finish-up with the two men who were sent by the enemies of

the Don, Luca‘s true character is shown. The way he kills the two men mirrors the violence and cruelty of

Mafia. Luca binds the two men hand and foot and stuffs two towels in their mouths to keep them from crying:

Then Brasi took an axe from its place against the wall and started hacking at one of the Capone men. He

chopped the man‘s feet off, then the legs at the knees, then the thighs where they joined the torso. Brasi was an

extremely powerful man but it took him many swings to accomplish his purpose. By the time of course the

victim had given up the ghost and the floor of the warehouse was slippery with the hacked fragments of his flesh

and the gouting of his blood. When Brasi turned to his second victim he found further effort unnecessary. The



second Capone gunman out of sheer terror had, impossibly, swallowed the bath towel in his mouth and

suffocated (Puzo).‖

This is how the Don is running his business in Mafia style. Later, Don sends message to his enemy telling him

that that was the way he treated his enemies. We see another instance of Don‘s violence where he gets Woltz‘

horse killed that was worth six million dollars. He gets the innocent horse killed just because Woltz had denied

giving his godson a part in the picture he was making.

The Mafia Don is a feared violent man who treats his enemies with iron hands. But his character is justifiable

when we scrutinize his past. In his youth, he was as humane as a saint. He earned his livelihood by hardworking.

He had been an honest and principled man. But the circumstances forced him to change his principles. Back at

Sicily at the age of twelve, Mafia men came to kill him after killing his father. The Mafia thought that as Vito

Corleone was near manhood, he would avenge his father‘s murder. But Vito‘s mother sent him to America in

order to save his life.

When he reached America, he changed his name to Vito Corleone. In America, he had to live in an over-

crowded ghetto. Here, though the Italians contributed to the American economy, but were denied their social

rights. The government provided them no security for their lives or money. Fanucci, an Italian rogue, used to

exhort money from the residents of that area through threats of physical violence. As the victims of his violence

were Italians, so government did not care about this matter. During World War 1, Vito Corleone lost his job in

the grocery store. Then, he worked in the railroad where the work was slow and he could earn just a few days‘

pay a month. Besides not getting month‘s pay, he was also subjected to severe humiliation by the American

foremen:

Also, most of the foremen were Irish and American and abused the workmen (Sicilians) in the foulest language,

which Vito always bore stone-faced as if he did not comprehend, though he understood English very well

despite his accent (Puzo 199).

All the good jobs were given to American and Irish people out of prejudice. Vito Corleone, along with all other

Italians, was in a helpless situation. He had a wife and three children to feed but he didn‘t have any work. This

helplessness will ultimately lead him to resort to violence. The human rights theory in Sociology explains that

when there is uncertainty and lack of opportunity, the ultimate result is aggression and violence. Ha Joon

Chang says that: ―Equality of opportunity is not enough. Unless we create an environment where everyone is

guaranteed some minimum capabilities through some guarantee of minimum income, education, and healthcare,

we cannot say that we have fair competition.‖ In this atmosphere of helplessness, it was natural for Vito

Corleone to resort to criminal resources in order to save his family from starving to death.

Another worry, besides not getting enough money to feed his family, was Fanucci who wringed exhortation

money from all the residents. Things turned from bad to worse. Vito Corleone had no job and his family had to

starve to death. The authorities didn‘t give a damn to how the poor Italians were living. To save his family from

starving to death, Vito Corleone had no other choice but to accept the offer of his neighbors Tessio and

Clemenza. They started hijacking trucks loaded with precious garments that were to be sold to poor Italian

families whose daughters could otherwise never dream of wearing such dresses. This adventure earned Vito

enough money to feed his family.

One day, Fanucci stopped Vito Corleone on his way and threatened him to give exhortation money. He tells him

that: ―After all, this is my neighborhood and you should let me wet my beak.‖ He used the Sicilian phrase of the

Mafia, ‗Fari vagnari a pizzu.’ Pizzu meant the beak of any small bird such as a canary. The phrase itself was a

threat for getting money. When Vito Corleone does not reply him, Fanucci unbuttons his coat to show him his

gun. The he says; ―Give me five hundred dollars and I‘ll forget the insult. After all, young people don‘t know

the courtesies due a man like myself (Puzo 202).‖

Now, what Corleone gained from the hijacking of garment truck was seven hundred dollars and out of them, he

was demanded by Fanucci five hundred dollars; or else, he is threatened by Fanucci as: ―Otherwise the police

will come to see you, your wife and children will be shamed and destitute (Puzo 202-3).‖ It becomes evident

from Fanucci‘s threat that the police was in league with him in this exhortation business. The poor immigrants‘

money and life was not safe in America. Instead of protecting them, the police was itself a party in this business.

Fanucci was demanding share from money thatVito had risked his life and freedom to earn (Puzo 203).

From there, Vito started to learn a lesson that would, after few years, transform him into an entirely different



man. While discussing with his two other partners Clemenza and Tessio whether to give Fanucci money or not,

Vito Corleone suggests not paying a penny to him as they had earned that money by risking their lives. Here,

Clemenza tells Vito how they were bound to give Fanucci money he had demanded. Fanucci had connexions

with the police, and was authorized by criminal Maranzalla to operate in that neighborhood (Puzo 204).

Fanucci was a real Mafiosi who levied tribute on the shopkeepers and the gambling games that ran in that

ghetto. The government had turned a deaf ear towards the woes of immigrants. Hence, the immigrants had to

take care of their money themselves. Vito Corleone had decided not to lose his money that easily. He had to take

some serious steps in order to protect his hard earned money.

Next day, he sets a meeting with Fanucci and tells his wife to take the two children downstairs and wait there

until he allows her to come back. His wife‘s face went white with fear. She was alarmed not by Fanucci but by

her husband. Her husband had always been a polite and peaceful man, but now, his wife smelt something amiss.

―He was changing visibly before her eyes, hour by hour, into a man who

radiated some dangerous force. What she was seeing was the shedding of

his protective coloration of a harmless nobody now that he was ready to

start on his destiny (Puzo 206).‖

Vito Corleone had decided to kill Fanucci instead of giving him the tribute he had demanded. Fanucci, to him,

was not worth the sum he had demanded. He had no kinship with him and he owed no gratefulness to him.

Then, it was beyond his comprehension why should he give him the sum he had demanded. To Vito, it was far

better to liberate the world from a man like Fanucci. Certainly, his death would be no great loss to the world

(Puzo 207).

He deliberated on the consequences of killing Fanucci. Fanucci was friends with powerful men and police who

would definitely seek vengeance. There was also fear of receiving death penalty. But Vito Corleone brushed

aside this fear also. After all, he had been haunted by strange men since he was twelve when his father was

killed by the Mafia people. He had lived at the verge of death ever since. He had immigrated into a bizarre land

with a bizarre language taking a bizarre name (he changed his name once he entered America to conceal his

identity. He was born Vito Andolini). Living a tough life without the love of his parents had made him strong

and hence, he no more feared death.

When Fanucci arrived at his home, Vito gave him five hundred dollars. Fanucci counted the money and put it in

his purse, and demanded two hundred dollars more. Vito promised to give two hundred more in near future.

Fanucci agreed and left Vito‘s house. Vito then followed Fanucci through the roofs of the houses, and got him

before his house. There he killed Fanucci with the gun Clemenza had given him some days ago. Then, he took

back the wallet from Fanucci‘s pocket that held the money he had given him.

This killing was crucial in the transformation of Vito Corleone. He had killed Fanucci to release the helpless

residents from his threats. Fanucci had himself killed a young Italian some years ago. That killing had further

increased Fanucci‘s dread and fear and he had accelerated his business of money exhortation in its wake. The

American government was least concerned by the plight and helplessness of these immigrants. What these

immigrants do in later years to gain respect and protection in society was fully justifiable. The American society

was itself responsible for the grouping together of these immigrants and forming Mafia.

The extent of American government‘s indifference towards what was going on in the communities of Italians

can be judged by the fact that no one even questioned Vito about Fanucci‘s murder. Although Vito was the most

obvious suspect because Fanucci was killed right after his meeting with Vito Corleone, the police did not come

to his door for any inquiries. The government will be awakened only when this violence will reach the other

parts of America also.

Even until now, Vito Corleone had not become a Mafia Don. His harmless nature can be gauged from his

conversation with his cronies, Tessio and Clemenza. Although the police did not suspect him for the murder of

Fanucci, Tessio and Clemenza knew full well that Fanucci was murdered him. After two weeks, Tessio and

Clemenza come to Vito‘s house and propose him that they should take the place of Fanucci by exhorting money

from gamblers and storekeepers. They told Vito: ―Nobody is collecting money (exhortation money) from the

store owners on Ninth Avenue. Nobody is collecting from the card games and gambling in the neighborhood

(Puzo 211).‖ Vito, having no intention to harm and molest others, refused curtly to accept their suggestion. He

said: ―Why come to me? I have no interest in such things (Puzo 211)‖. His reply testified his peaceful nature and



proved that what he turned into was not his own fault, it was the fault of the society‘ apathy.

In a few days, everyone came to know about Vito‘s killing of Fanucci. As the people hated Fanucci because of

his activities, they began to respect Vito. They also respected him because of his daring stunt of killing Fanucci

and because of the dread he aspired after of that killing. Even then, Vito never thought of replacing Fanucci for

getting tributes from the storekeepers and gamblers.

Due to his humility and humanity, all the poor residents in the neighborhood used to come to him if they had

any problems. One day, a poor Italian lady in the neighborhood came to him and requested him to talk to her

landlord who had ordered her to vacate his tenement. The poor lady had no money to shift to another house.

Vito Corleone offered him money so that she could hire another tenement, but she told him that she could not

live in a strange neighborhood alone with her children as she was a widow. She requested him to talk to her

landlord and persuade him to let her live in the same tenement.

Next day, Vito Corleone requested the landlord to let the poor lady stay at the same tenement but the landlord

curtly denied by lying that he had already rented that tenement to someone else at a high rate. Vito Corleone

took out three notes of then dollars each and handed them to the landlord as six month‘s advance. He says:

―Here is the six months‘ increase in advance. You needn‘t speak to her about it, she‘s a proud woman. See me

again in another six months (Puzo 214).‖ The landlord denied his offer but later allowed the lady to stay in his

tenement and returnedCorleone‘s advance once he came to know about his killing of Fanucci.

Now, Vito Corleone was a ―man of respect‖. Storekeepers used to come to him for help when threatened by

hoodlums and robbers. Vito Corleone used to help them all and was duly rewarded for that. When he

accumulated a good sum of money, he decided to enter the business of importing olive oil with his boyhood

friend Genco Abbandando along with Tessio and Clemenza. He bought a number of trucks for freight purposes

and his business flourished because of his sharpness and intelligence.

It was the period of Prohibition when the government banned the production and sale of alcohol, and the

following period of Depression that Vito Corleone became ―The Godfather‖, Don Corleone.

When the government banned the production and sale of alcohol, a group of smugglers came to Vito Corleone

in order to get his automobile for smuggling alcohol. The profits offered by them were too great to resist. Vito

Corleone almost abandoned the business of olive oil to use his trucks and freight men exclusively for trafficking

alcohol. As this adventure was full of risks, Vito Corleone, once again using his intelligence and wit hired

influential lawyers who had connexions with higher authorities. As the business progressed, the Corleone

organization had a long list of officials on its monthly payroll.

With the government‘s decision to lift the ban on production and sale of alcohol, and the following period of

Depression, Corleone‘s business got a severe setback. But Corleone was already prepared for that. He had

entered the business of illegal gambling and this business flourished in this area also. His defeat of Maranzane,

the underworld Mafiosi who controlled all the gambling activities of Manhattan earned him awe and respect in

the underworld. Meanwhile, he organized his business and gave the name of Consigliori to his counselor Genco

Abbandando, and Caporegime to his right hand men Tessio and Clemenza.

Here, we see that Vito Corleone has undergone a dynamic change. Some time back, he had curtly denied

extracting money in an illegal way by taking the place of Fanucci. When Clemenza and Tessio proposed him

that they now they should wring money from storekeepers and gamblers, Vito Corleone told them that he was

not interested in that. And now, he had entered the business of trafficking alcohol and gambling. This change

took place when it dawned on him that there was no possibility of his earning honest bread in America. Now

that Vito Corleone had entered the world of crimes, the unjust American society will have to face the music. A

sage, Fredrick Douglas had already warned the unjust world that: ―Where justice is denied, where poverty is

enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized

conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.‖

With all this fortune and respect, although his behavior changed towards the American law and society, he was

all humility towards his fellow Italians. He was the one to whom every poor Italian came to ask for favors: ―He

made himself the protector of the Italian families who set themselves up as small speakeasies in their homes

selling whisky at fifteen cents a glass to bachelor laborers (Puzo 218).‖ Had he been honest like other Italians,

he too would have been selling whisky at fifteen cents a glass while other Americans played in dollars.



He was the kind of man who fully acknowledged the services of his men who risked their lives and freedom for

him. With misery and poverty reigning all over the Italian colonies, his men used to walk the streets with their

heads held high. Vito Corleone had indulged himself in illegal business to wipe off poverty from his house and

to earn the due ―self-respect‖ that every human being deserves. If he had denied using wrong means in his olive

oil import business, or if he had not taken part in illegal business of alcohol, his condition would have been the

same as that of other misery stricken Italians.

By choosing the path that he did, he earned respect as well as made fortune. If he had vowed to lead a law-

abiding life, then he too would have been a jobless Italian with his family starving to death: ―Everywhere in the

city, honest men begged for honest work in vain. Proud men demeaned themselves and their families to accept

official charity from contemptuous officialdom (Puzo 219).‖ Certainly, Vito Corleone was not the kind of man

who would accept charity from contemptuous Americans who had closed to them all the paths of progress and

success. Besides, there was no possibility for Americans to get respectable works to make both ends meet.

The Italians were denied respectable jobs by American Capitalists and hence, the path that Don Corleone chose

was the only possibility open to him. This echoes with the Don‘s oft quoted phrase that ―every man has only one

destiny‖. Hence, it was no fault of Don Corleone in what path he pursued to gain respect and fortune; it was his

destiny that was decided by the contempt and hatred that Americans bore for the helpless Italians.

Those Italians who had joined the Corleone Organization lived a satisfied life. Don Corleone took extreme care

of those who had risked their lives and freedom for him. While other Italians lived an extremely poor life

stricken with disease and starvation, ―the men of Don Corleone walked the streets with their heads held high,

their pockets stuffed with silver and paper money (Puzo 219).‖

The Don provided that sense of respect and security to his men, which was the duty of the government to

provide to its citizens. During the time when insecurity pervaded among the Italian immigrants, the Don‘s men

had ―no fear of losing their jobs (Puzo 219)‖. And in case any of Don‘s men got arrested, his family was entitled

to get the same amount that the free man used to earn (Puzo 219). This was how he came to be called as ―The

Godfather‖. The Italians used to go to him for justice as American justice they did not trust because of the racist

judges and lawyers.

All the fortune that the Don gained did not affect his humanity and modesty. Even when he became an

influential person, he used to help his countrymen with great pleasure. Whenever the poor people needed a

favor, they would go to him instead of the government to ―get on the home relief, to get a young boy a job or out

of jail, to borrow a small sum of money desperately needed, to intervene with landlords who against all reason

demanded rent from jobless tenants (Puzo 220).‖

The Don exercised great power and authority amongst the judges, lawyers and police because of the money he

gave them every month. And because of his humanity, he had gained the respect of all the Italians as well:

Don Vito Corleone helped them all. Not only that, he helped them with

goodwill, with encouraging words to take the bitter sting out of the charity

he gave them. It was only natural then that when these Italians were puzzled

and confused on who to vote for to represent them in the state legislature, in

the city offices, in the Congress, they should ask the advice of their friend

Don Corleone, their Godfather (Puzo 220).‖

And by this, he gained substantial political power also. It was essential for politicians to maintain good terms

with the Don because he had the power to influence the political set up of the country also.

Having talked about the humanity and generosity of the Don, we can now turn to his cruelties and illegal

business. It appears strange that a man so humane and generous would indulge in great crimes of violence that

the illegal business of gambling entails. But we can easily give the reasons for these acts of the Godfather.

Though he was the Don of American Mafia and extreme violence was executed on his orders, he never felt any

scruples for that. The reason for that is explicit enough. It was the American system itself that was responsible

for his cruelties. Having begun his life as a peace-loving man, he was humiliated and deprived at every stage.

The injustices that he had to face made him change his course of life. The Godfather had denied accepting the

fate offered by the American system. He was a self-made menand as such, could not lead the life of humiliation

his fellow Italians were leading. He was a proud Sicilian, and decided to get his rights and freedom in a different

way i.e. by force. As X Malcolm said: ―Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice



or anything. If you're a man, you take it.‖

The course that the Don took to gain fortune and respect was essentially an evil one. The American Mafia

worked under the directions of the Don and its operation costed the lives of many rivals. Bribery and threat are

the weapons used by the Don with the power of which his business grew like mushrooms. But of course, there

was no legal way for the poor Italians to improve their standard of living. The government had subjected the

immigrants to racial prejudice, and their rights were not secure.

The justice that the Don believed in was a far cry from American justice. His justice can be contrasted with the

injustices of American law. Let us analyze the justice and impartiality that was practiced by the Godfather, and

later, we shall contrast it with the so called justice of American law.

When the Second World War started, the Don bribed the doctors to submit wrong medical certificates of his

men who were obliged by the law to fight for the country. He spent huge amount of money to save his men from

fighting on borders as he needed them to get the best out of the war. But, to his annoyance, his own youngest

son enrolled himself for the Army and went to fight on the borders. Don Corleone did not consider America

worth the lives of Italians who were suppressed at every stage by the administrators.

To Don‘s surprise, some young Italians working in his organization also left him and volunteered to fight for

their country. Though Don Corleone used to punish his offenders with death penalty, he forgave them all. This,

because of the fact that his own son had also offended him and the Don had excused him. So, as justice

demanded, had to forgive the others also who had done the same as his own son. This shows how much

principled and just the Godfather was.

This is the kind of justice that the Don believed in. Now, let us see the kind of ―justice‖ that America believed

in. Nazorine and his future wife, both Italians, had saved three hundred dollars from the sweat of their blood,

and given the enormous sum to an American wholesaler of furniture to furnish their newly rented flat. The

wholesaler had already gone bankrupt but pretended solvent and took the huge sum from the hardworking

Italians with the promise to deliver the furniture next week. But next week, his furniture warehouse was sealed

on the orders of the court and he had flown away with the enormous amount of three hundred dollars by tricking

Nazorine.

Nazorine, just like a good citizen, went to the lawyer to get back his hard earned money. The lawyer told

Nazorine that there was no way of retrieving the money unless the court passed the verdict, and that would take

at least three years. And even when the verdict was passed, ―Nazorine would be lucky to get back ten cents of

the dollar (Puzo).‖

The Godfather was amazed when he came to know about this. Surely, this was an open injustice that Nazorine

had to wait for more than three years to get his money back. And even after the period of three years, there was

no chance of getting more than ten cents on a dollar. When Nazorine came to the Don for help after his

disillusionment from American justice, the Don could not believe that such an open injustice could be done to a

hardworking citizen. He listened to Nazorine‘s complain ―with amused disbelief. It was not possible that the law

could allow such a thievery (Puzo).‖

The poor Italian‘s hard earned money was embezzled, but the law could not do anything. The wholesaler could

not be held liable although he was a big fish who owned property in a posh area, had an expensive car for his

personal use, and his children were studying at an expensive school. The law was unable to do justice with the

poor Italian. If the law could not do justice to those Italians, then there was no point in respecting law. In fact,

the American law was itself an accomplice in whatever injustices were done to poor Italians. Martin Luther once

said: ―Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become

the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.‖

It is strange that the American justice could not bring a thief like that wholesaler to justice. It was so

easy in America to rob others of their money and rights, and not be punished by the courts. The wholesaler had

played the game well. His all property was in the ownership of his spouse. His business was amalgamated so he

was not legally responsible to anyone individually. This type of theft wasn‘t a new phenomenon in America.

―Under law, there was nothing to be done (Puzo 230).‖

It was then the fault of American justice that Nazorine, a law-abiding citizen, was forced to go to an underworld

Don for justice. And of course, the Don would use illegal means to force the wholesaler return Nazorine‘s



money. This incident had a profound impact on the Godfather as it taught him an important lesson: If American

law had no objection on that theft of the wholesaler, then the illegal business of gambling run by the Godfather

was also by all means justified.

Another instance in the novel gives us a clearer picture of the freedom given to the swindlers in American law.

One day, three men came to the Don‘s house to inspect the furnaces in that area. They checked the furnace of

the Don‘s house, opened up all its parts and told him that the furnace needs to be fixed. They told him that they

would charge him one hundred and fifty dollars and then will pass him for county inspection.

Later, the Don found out that the three men were not furnace inspectors, but employees of a private company

that used to wring money from people by fooling them just as it had fooled the Don.

The two instances are important because they satisfied the consciousness of the Don by telling him that as the

law had licensed the swindlers like the wholesaler and the fake furnace inspectors, so it shouldn't have any

objection on his own business of illegal gambling: ―What impressed the Don was the legal validity of these sales

swindlers. Clearly, there was a place for a man of his talents in that other world which had been closed to him as

an honest youth. He took appropriate steps to enter that world (Puzo 232).‖

Let us take a break here and analyze Don Corleone‘s character in the light of theories presented by Sociology.

The ―Neutralization Theory‖, presented by Matza and Skyes. Their theory proposes that every human being has

a code of morals that distinguishes between good and bad. This moral code keeps them from breaking laws and

committing crimes. Thus, whenever a person breaks law of commits an immoral act, he employs ―reason‖ in

order to justify that act. This theory rejects the old theories about criminology that postulate that a criminal

develops his own code and banishes that code of morality that is present in every person. Matza and Skyes‘

theory said that the delinquents always feel remorseful about their illegal acts. Hence, they reason to themselves

and try to justify their offence.

This is what we see in the case of Don Corleone. Though he is the Don of Underworld Mafia, and commits

crimes even as heinous as murder, he does have a moral code all the same. This is why the above mentioned

incidents of Nazorine and furnace inspectors affect him profoundly, since he finds an excuse for his own crimes

in them. As the law had no objection on the swindlers like the wholesaler and the furnace inspectors, Don

Corleone‘s gambling business was also not that bad.

The theory of Neutralization also says that the delinquent draws a line between the crimes he can commit and

those that he cannot. And this is what Don Corleone does. Though he does not feel scruples for illegal

transportation of alcohol and the business of gambling, he considers business of prostitution and drug trafficking

below him. His started hating his son Freddo once he got to know about his relationship with prostitutes. He

curtly rejected the offer of Sollozzo to provide security to his drug business in return for huge money. Hence, we

see that Don Corleone did have the moral code that prevented him from such businesses.

The theory says that the delinquents blame the circumstances for their crimes. They feel obliged by their

situation to commit crimes. Don Corleone too, was a victim of circumstances that forced him to enter the

underworld of crimes. The world of respect and fortune had been closed to the Don when he tried to enter it as

an honest citizen. Hence, he had to enter that world by severing himself from honesty. So, all the blame of

Don‘s sins lies on the American prejudice and its social injustices.

The story of social injustices in America did not end with the Italian immigrants. Even the second generation of

Italian immigrants that was purely American was subjected to those injustices. In the novel, we see that the

youngest son of Godfather, Michael Corleone, kept himself aloof from the ―Family Business‖. He fought

bravely on the borders for the sake of America. Later, he got himself enrolled in the school for further studies.

His life was also full of injustices and humiliations that he had to bear in his youth. Although he was a peaceful

man believing in America and American justice, his illusions were shattered when he experienced the reality.

When Michael Corleone‘s father got hurt in an attempted assassination, he unwillingly helped his elder brother

Sonny in the business. He disdained his family business so much that although he did not participate directly in

it, yet he felt guilty on even participating in it indirectly. He helped his brother by attending on the telephone,

but regretted having done even that also.

After visiting his girlfriend, he went to see his father in the hospital at late night. There, he got to know that his

father was an easy target for the assassins as all the guards that were supposed to be guarding him were locked



up by the police captain named McCluskey. When he asked the nurse about the guards, she said: ―The police

came and made them all leave about ten minutes ago (Puzo 125).‖ The police captain whose job was to ensure

the Don‘s security, had sold himself to Sollozzo and on his orders, had locked up all the guards who were meant

to be guarding the Don. The New York police had failed in meeting the terms of their payroll. Hence, it was

justified for the Corleones for having taken matters in their own hands.

Realizing that his father was an easy target for the assassins, he shifted his father‘s room as a precautionary

measure, and sat by him. On feeling someone‘s presence, the Don unconsciously murmured and asked who was

there. At this, Michael answered that it was him and told him not to be afraid. The Don replied: ―Why should I

be afraid now? Strange men had come to kill me since I was twelve years old (Puzo 127).‖

Don‘s reply was heart-rending and explained that the course that he had adopted was inevitable. Since his

childhood, strange people had gone after him in order to kill him for the offence he had no knowledge of. Now,

there was only one way open to the Don to conquer the fear of his death, and that was to enter the world of

crimes.

In order to scare off the assassins, Michael went out to stand at the entrance of the hospital. When Sollozzo

came to kill the Don considering that there was none to protect him, he saw Michael standing at the entrance and

went away with dejection. He sent back the police captain whom he had bribed, in order to send Michael away

so that he could kill the Godfather. When the police captain McCluskey came, he humiliated Michael

gratuitously in the foulest language. He said to Michael: ―I thought I got all you guinea hoods locked up. Who

the hell are you and what are you doing here (Puzo 128)?‖

―Guinea‖ was a cliché used specifically for Italians for verbal abuse. Michael remained peaceful at this

humiliation and asked him about the guards supposed to be guarding his father. At this, the police captain hurled

another insult at him in the following words:

You fucking hood, who the hell are you to tell me my business? I pulled

them off. I don‘t give a shit how many dago gangsters kill each other. If it

was up to me, I wouldn‘t lift a finger to keep your old man from getting

knocked off. Now get the hell out of here. Get out of this street, you punk,

and stay out of this hospital when it is not visiting hours (Puzo 129).‖

It is disgusting to see a police captain talking in this manner to an educated man who had won medals for his

bravery in fighting for his country. The abusive words used by the captain such as punk, dago, guinea, and hood

etc., were the typical ones used to humiliate Italians in particular. Even at this, Michael remained calm and told

the captain that he would not leave until the captain put guards around his father for his security. Here, we

witness another instance of open injustice when the police captain orders his detective to lock up that ―punk‖.

The captain had ordered Michael‘s arrest without any justification. The detective told the captain that Michael

had a clean record. Michael asked the captain about the money he had received from Sollozzo for setting up his

father. McCluskey answered his question with a loud punch in his face that breaks his jaw and four teeth.

The detective objected at McCluskey‘s act by reminding him that Michael had a clean record, and he had

punched the poor lad without any reason, but the captain replied: ―I didn‘t touch him. He attacked me and he

fell. Do you understand that? He resisted arrest (Puzo 130).‖

The insult that Michael Corleone had to pocket was too much for any man of honor. He had risked his life for

the freedom of America. He had spent three important years of his youth on the borders amid bullets and bombs;

and he had disobeyed his father‘s express command by doing so. All this he had done for the sake of America.

And here is what he got as a reward; first, abusive words and then a loud punch in his face in the street.

It wasn‘t the pain that bothered him. Rather, it was the humiliation and insult that brought strain to his mind:

At all costs, he wanted to hide the delicious icy chilliness of wintry cold hatred that pervaded his body. He

wanted to give no warning as to how he felt at this moment. As the Don would not (Puzo 130).

Though the lawyer accompanied with the new guards sent by his brother sonny asked Michael if he preferred

charges against the injustice done to him, Michael plainly refused. The humiliation to which he was subjected

was too great to be indemnified by court. He had made his mind to square his account with the captain himself.



For this, we have to wait until the plot progresses further.

And this was not about just one police officer being sold out. Rather, the whole system of the country was

corrupt, and it was impossible for any self-made man like Don Corleone or Michael Corleone to survive in that

system. Hence, first Don Corleone and later Michael Corleone entered the world which gave them respect due a

human being, and in which they did not have to live under the power of the corrupt and unjust authorities.

McCluskey had not only locked up the guards of Clemenza for the sake of money, he had also removed the

official detectives supposed to be guarding the Don. He ―claimed he needed them and that some other cops were

supposed to go over and take their place but they got their assignment bollixed (Puzo 131).‘ Of course, it was

McCluskey himself who had bollixed their assignment.

As the life of Godfather was in danger if Sollozzo lived because he was planning another attempt on the

Godfather, Sonny decided to get rid of him. Sonny set a meeting between Michael and Sollozzo in order to kill

Sollozzo by trick. McCluskey had again taken a good sum from Sollozzo to protect him against any attack from

the Corleones. The meeting was scheduled at late night in a far off restaurant. Captain McCluskey would be

there along with Sollozzo in order to secure him.

Michael had to finish the epic of Sollozzo in that meeting. And owing to McCluskey‘s presence with Sollozzo,

Michael will get a chance to return the insult that he was hurled at by McCluskey at the hospital. After all, he

had been unreasonably insulted in the street by a mere police officer. The blow that Michael had got in face was

so hard that his jaw had to be wired and it kept aching even after he had left the hospital.

While giving instructions to Michael about killing Sollozzo, Hagen, the Consigliori, told Michael that it was not

too late yet, and he could back out. At this, Michael told him: ―I have been riding the gravy train all my life; it‘s

about time I paid my dues (Puzo 149).‖ By paying his dues, he meant repaying the insult that he had to pocket at

the hospital. Hagen advised him: ―You shouldn‘t let that broken jaw influence you. McCluskey is a stupid man

and it was business, not personal (Puzo 149).‖

At hearing this, Michael recalls all that he had to bear at the hospital, and it drew him into murderous rage. He

turned red because of anger, and replied:

Tom, don‘t let anybody kid you. It‘s all personal, every bit of business…

They call it business. OK. But it‘s personal as hell… And you know

something? Accidents don‘t happen to people who take accidents as

personal insult. So I came late, O.K, but I‘m coming all the way. Damn

right, I take broken jaw personal; damn right, I take Sollozzo trying to kill

my father personal (Puzo 150).

So, Michael had taken that insult at the hands of McCluskey as personal. He had denied suing him and

demanding charges for that, as that would not have been enough to redeem his respect. Now, he had got a

chance to take revenge.

Sollozzo came to pick Michael to take him to the meeting place. In the restaurant, Michael shrewdly excused

himself for washroom and took the gun already planted there by his men. He came back, hiding the gun under

his coat and again sat with Sollozzo and McCluskey. Then, he suddenly took out his gun and fired at Sollozzo.

Having done his job on Sollozzo, he turned to captain McCluskey and fired at him with a smile on his lips. The

fierce fire of revenge, which had been burning in his head for so many days, had at last been cooled down.

At this killing of police captain McCluskey, we once again witness the prejudice of American system. Back at

the hospital, McCluskey had told Michael that if it was up to him, he wouldn‘t raise a finger to keep Michael‘s

father from getting shot. And the moment this police captain was shot, it appeared as if heavens had broken

loose. A day after the murder of the McCluskey, the police captains and lieutenants in every station house in

New York City sent out the word: ―there would be no more gambling, no more prostitution, no more deals of

any kind until the murderer of Captain McCluskey was caught. Massive raids began all over the city. All

unlawful business activities came to a standstill (Puzo 157).‖

All this was being done to catch the murderer of McCluskey, who was so unprincipled that he got sold to a drug

trafficker whom even the Mafia Don had denied helping. He had been working under the direct orders from



Sollozzo in return for heavy graft. Surely, Michael had done a good job by liberating the country from such a

corrupt police officer.

It‘s not a matter of just one policeman being corrupt. The hatred towards Italian Americans was borne by almost

all the Americans. Although McCluskey had been bribed by Sollozzo, but those who were not getting any graft

were also unjust with Michael. When two American detectives visited Michael‘s girlfriend Kay in hope for

getting information about Michael, they lied to her about the incident at the hospital. They told her:

On the night he left you, he went to the hospital. When he came out he got

into an argument with a police captain who came to the hospital on official

business. He assaulted that police officer but got the worst of it. In fact, he

got a broken jaw and lost his teeth (Puzo 235).

The detectives lie about Michael ―getting into an argument with the police captain‖. Michael had remained

silent even at the foul language of McCluskey. Secondly, McCluskey had not come there on an ―official

business‖. In fact, he had received a heavy graft from the drug trafficker Sollozzo for clearing the field to kill

the Don. Lastly, Michael had not assaulted the police officer; rather, he had been assaulted by him gratuitously.

This is the extent to which Italian Americans were subjected to injustices.

After that murder, Michael had run to Sicily for hiding. There, though he felt scruples for deserting his girlfriend

without a word of farewell, he never rued the murder he had committed: ―Oddly enough, his conscience was

never troubled by the two men he had murdered. Sollozzo had tried to kill his father. Captain McCluskey had

disfigured him for life (Puzo 331).‖

While staying at the house of Don Tommasino, his father‘s friend, he decided to go for a walk. He was

accompanied by two bodyguards of Don Tommasino named Calo and Fabrizzio. Fabrizzio often talked to him

about America and told him that one day, he too would go to America. Fabrizzio was an industrious youth and

he knew he had no percentage in raising his living standard in Sicily. Hence, he was eager to reach America.

While on walk in the fields, Michael saw a girl called Apollonia, fell in love with her and married her. The two

were leading a satisfied life when fate once again did injustice to him. As Fabrizzio had no chance to get to

America, he entered a deal with the rivals of Don Corleone. He planned Michael‘s death in return for getting to

America. But as ill luck would have it, Michael‘s expecting wife Apollonia got killed in the blast instead of

Michael. Michael once again got seriously injured and remained unconscious for about a week.

When he gained conscious, he saw Don Tommasino and doctor Taza sitting beside him. Michael turned to Don

Tommasino and said: ―Let your shepherds know that the one who gives me Fabrizzio will own the finest

pastures in Sicily (Puzo 357).‖

Once again, he had been subjected to severe injustice. His beloved expecting wife was killed for no reason. She

was an innocent creature who was living a comfortable life with Michael. This blow of his wife‘s death was so

severe for Michael that it decided his destiny for the rest of his life. Until now, he had led a life of a responsible

citizen and had kept himself aloof from the Family Business. But that day, he made a decision that would

change the course of his life. He said to Don Tommasino: ―Tell my father to get me home, tell my father I wish

to be his son (Puzo 357).‖

By wishing to be his father‘s son, he meant he wanted to enter the Family Business i.e. the American Mafia.

Since the society had done another injustice to him, he had decided to enter the world that would guarantee him

his freedom and rights.

With this, Don Tommasino sent message to the Godfather in America to get Michael back as soon as possible.

The way Godfather arranges Michael‘s return provides us yet another instance of injustices of American society.

Felix Bocchicchio, a young American of Italian descent, had refused to enter into the Family Business of his

family members had records of murders and other illegal activities. To distance himself further from his

criminal family, he married an American girl. He worked during days and went to Law College at nights. He

had three children and he his family lived on the meager income he used to earn.

After getting his degree, he was hopeful that his hard work would be acknowledged and he would get some



decent job. The income he generated from his job of post office clerk was not enough to raise a family of three

children. But just like other Italians of American descent, his entire burning midnight candle ended into a fiasco.

He could not get any decent job even after earning the degree in law.

When his family offered to help him, he curtly spurned their offer because he knew about their illegal activities.

One day, one of his friends asked him a little favor. It had to do with a bankruptcy fraud but was seemingly legal

because it the entailed the use of legal skills he had learned at the university (Puzo 304). Unfortunately, the

fraud was revealed but instead of catching the real culprits, who had embezzled the money, Felix Bocchicchio

was caught and the actual culprits were set free with suspended sentences.

Consequently, Felix Bocchicchio had to spend three important years of his life in jail, while the real culprits

were free enjoying the money they had embezzled. Bocchicchio had given a lot of sacrifices in order to life the

life of a respectable citizen. He could have made a lot of fortune by adopting the same path as his criminal

family, but he chose not to. But for a small crime in which he was not a direct accomplice, and had not even

committed it deliberately, he was sentenced to spend five terms in jail.

All his dreams were shattered because even after completing his term in jail, he could never get a respectable

job because of his record. The doors of progress had been virtually closed on him because of this conviction.

Hence, when he come out of prison after three years, he decided to take not a job, but revenge. He got a pistol,

and shot his friend dead who had asked him that favor. Then, he searched out the two business men who were

the real culprits, and shot them both. After doing this, he himself surrendered to police.

Instead of feeling guilty for the previous injustice that had been done to him, his judgment was made even more

merciless. He was given the death penalty.

Don Corleone promised Felix that his wife and children would be taken care of, and convinced him to confess

the murder of Sollozzo and McCluskey. After Felix‘s execution, it was safe for Michael to come back to

America.

As Michael had told Don Tommasino in Sicily that he wanted to be his father‘s son, he instantly took charge of

the Family Business in once he returned to America. It was now Michael‘s responsibility to take revenge from

all who had done injustices to the Corleone family. His elder son Sonny had been killed while he was in Sicily,

so he had to avenge his brother‘s death also.The Godfather retires from his position and Michael takes over the

position of Don of the underworld. But Michael would never get the respect due a Don; rather, he would have to

earn it. He would have to prove his worth by taking right moves in order to settle all the accounts of his family.

Michael starts from strengthening the economy of his business. Their gambling business had been losing money

so he decided to buy some more casinos in Las Vegas. Moe Greene owns a share in a casino owned by Corleone

family. But the casino had been losing money for some time. Michael offered Moe Greene to sell his shares to

him which Greene offhandedly rejected. Two days later, Greene is shot dead.

After this, he settled the matter of death of his expecting wife. Fabrizzio was located by Michael running an

Italian pizza shop in America. Michael sends Rocco Lampone to get him killed.

And then, he turned to the most important matter of all. The murder of his elder brother sonny had yet to be

avenged. Although many months had passed since the killing of Sonny, Michael had not forgotten it. As,

according to the Godfather: ―Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold (Puzo 408).‖ Hence, gets the

accomplice of Sonny‘s death killed by a newly recruited personnel named Albert Neri.

It is pertinent to analyze the life of Albert Neri as it would tell us why Neri entered into this dirty business

although he had once been a cop. Like many other Italians, he had been subjected to severe injustices that later

decided his destiny as a mercenary. Albert Neri was a conscientious cop who had an ―unbending attitude

towards what was right and wrong (Puzo 419).‖

He was an honest man bearing no bias for his Italian country men. Once, he found a few boys molesting girls

and passersby at night. He made them stand in a line, and asked them about their names. The first three boys

were Irish. He scolded them and made them leave that place. The fourth one was an Italian, and he smiled at

Neri with confidence as if to claim some sort of kinship (Puzo 420). At this, he hid the boy hard with his

flashlight and snarled: ‗you son of a bitch, you‘re a disgrace to the Italians. You give us all a bad name…Now



get home. You‘re lucky I‘m not your father (Puzo 420).

Neri‘s honesty was never acknowledged by the bigoted officials. Instead of promotions, he used to get transfers.

Neri implemented law equally on rich and poor without any fear. One day, while he was patrolling on his

official car, he received a call about a deadly assault. Neri hurried to the scene and located the tenement house.

The tenement was echoing with the cries of a little girl. When Neri entered the house, he saw a twelve year girl

and a twenty five year old woman lying on the floor bleeding extensively with razor cuts. Wax Baines was the

assaulter who had a reputation for torturing his mistresses. Neri had arrested him some days before for torturing

a broad in the street. Thanks to the American law, Baines was let free on bail the very next day.

Today, Baines was doing the job on two women. When Neri saw that, became furious. ―Baines‘ brazen breaking

of the law infuriated him. And the sight of the little girl all cut up with the razor sickened him (Puzo 423-4).‖

Neri told Baines to drop his razor that he was under arrest. Bines,instead of surrendering, hurled that knife

toward Neri in order to hit him. Neri reacted instantaneously, and caught his thrust. Meanwhile, he hit Baines in

the head with the flashlight. The assault proved fatal, and Baines died in the hospital.

Neri had risked his life to save the two helpless women. He had hit Baines because Baines had resisted arrest

and had tried to kill him with his razor. It was an accident that Baines died because of Neri‘s counter hit. When

the case was brought to the courts, the glorious American Law once again shows its strange notions about

justice. Instead of rewarding Neri for having saved two helpless women, the jury suspended Neri for using

―excessive force‖ and proceeded criminal charges against him. May be America didn‘t need conscientious and

dutiful policemen more than it needed brutal animals like Baines. Albert Neri was struck dumb by the verdict of

court. His companion policeman had also testified Neri‘s murder of Baines.

By this time, he was so filled with a baffled rage and hatred of all society that he didn‘t give a damn. That they

dared to send him to prison for killing an animal like that pimp-nigger! That they didn‘t give a damn for the

woman and little girl who had been carved up, disfigured for life, and till in the hospital (Puzo 424).

The justice that had given Baines bail the very next day of his arrest sent Neri to jail for ten years. This was the

reward that Neri got for saving life of two innocent women by risking his own life. Just like Don Corleone and

Michael Corleone, Albert Neri too was now disillusioned by the American Justice. His fate was decided by the

injustice he received for fulfilling his duty. He too, just like Michael, enters the Mafia after coming out of jail.

Albert Neri will prove to be a great help in American Mafia because of his strong physique and violent nature.

A few days after the Godfather died of heart attack in his garden; Michael Corleone made a big move and

settled all the past scores with those who betrayed the Corleone family. He sent Rocco Lampone and Albert Neri

to kill Barzini, Tattaglia, Tessio and his brother-in-law Carlo Rizzi. By taking revenge from all the traitors,

Michael regained the respect Corleone family had lot in its downfall. Now, Michael had earned the respect due a

Mafia Don. After accomplishing their missions, Neri, Lampone, Hagen and Clemenza enter his living room and

address him formally: ―DON MICHAEL (Puzo 441)!‖

6. Significance of The Study

According to the FBI, American Mafia is the most invincible criminal consortium in America. The research will

help highlight the underlying motives behind the formation and working of this crime group. It is important for

all of us to learn from the experience of America because according to a journalist: ―for better and for worse, the

America‘s past would become the future of many other nations of the world (Doyle)‖. The research is

significant as it will show the price that America paid for denying its citizens social justice.

The research owes its significance to the fact that it will encourage the administrators realize the importance of

social justice in order to free their states from crime and violence. A philosopher states that: ―If states do not act

according to principles of justice, the injustices they perpetrate will harm not just other states but ultimately also

their own national interest (Al-Rodhan 171).‖

It will help to make the administers of developed countries realize the importance of their role in eradicating

social injustices in other parts of the world because if social injustices continue to prevail in any part of the

world, the consequences will have to be beard by the whole world, as a black American leader said: ―Injustice

anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (Luther King Jr.)‖.



7. Conclusion

In this research the researcher has tried to explain the violent crimes of Italian Americans in relation to the social

injustices they had to face. After pocketing gratuitous insults and humiliations, and after being denied the right

to improve their social standard as honest men, the Italian immigrants create their own world i.e. the American

Mafia, that would earn them fortune as well as respect.

In all the cases of violence discussed above, there was some kind of aggression that needed to be vented.

Starting from Don Corleone, the Italian immigrant, to the second generation of immigrants i.e. Michael

Corleone, the entire novel is a chronicle of social injustices and prejudices. All the doors to progress were closed

to the Italian immigrants. Hence, in order to take their share of comforts of life, they grouped together to form

the infamous American Mafia. This criminal syndicate then committed heinous crimes in order to avenge the

injustices done to them. At times, innocents also become the victims in this game of revenge.

Still today, American Mafia is operating in all parts of the United States. FBI considers it the most impregnable

crime brother hood in the world. It poses a big challenge to the law-enforcing authorities. Studies tell us that it is

possible to curb violence by unraveling its causes. Instead of filling the prisons by criminals, it is more rational

to investigate the causes of crimes and then to eliminate those causes. Although deterrence is helpful in

decreasing the crime rate, the elimination of its causes will prove more helpful in exterminating it. As social

injustices created an atmosphere of uncertainty and made the Italian immigrants aggressive, the ultimate result

was violence. When certain individuals perceive their very existence threatened, they turn to violence as their

last resort (Al-Rodhan) and his is what we witnessed in America.

If a state wants to eradicate crime and violence from its land, it is paramount to eradicate its causes first. A state

can progress only if it ensures social justice and equality for its citizens, and as such, it should be the primary

goal of the government. As the great philosopher Al-Rodhan writes in his book: ―Our new concept of ―just

power‖ argues that the promotion of justice should be the aim of modern statecraft, not for altruistic reasons, but

because it is the only sustainable way that states can promote progress and stability in a globalized world (Al-

Rodhan 13).‖

If peace is to be sustained in a country, then social justice is inevitable. Any peace that is made without social

justice would be essentially short-lived as the preamble of ILO constitution says: ―universal and lasting peace

can be established only if it is based upon social justice."

Acknowledgement

We would like to express our gratitude to Miss Khadija Mushtaq (NUML) for her unconditional support and

guidance on every step of this research.

References

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