COMMENT Choose one little -- and I mean little -- detail or quote that most likely nobody else noticed.
It must be something that shows HOW DIFFERENT the values, lifestyle, mentality, etc. are from those of ordinary people.
REPLY to one comment that seems particularly interesting or meaningful.
When Luca Brasi comes to congratulate Don Corleone on his daughter's wedding, he does something l perceive as strange. Luca Brasi wishes for Don's grandchild to be "a masculine one". l know that he means he wishes for Don to have a boy but l don't quite understand the importance of having a boy in the family. My guess is that the family needs a strong male figure to continue to lead the Corleone family. This idea is echoed when Puzo discusses which Corleone son will take over after Don dies. l guess this isn't a totally foreign concept, just aggressively patriarchal.
ReplyDeleteI noticed this too. Gender was brought up a couple of other times too, like when the Don talked about how men would go to hell and women to heaven, or when he would call them simple. I kept reminding myself that it was a different time and culture, but still his and others views on women bothered me.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTotally agree how masculinity is a big theme throughout the novel. Gender roles in the novel stuck out to me as women are seen primarily as very sexual, yet they do not really show the women with a lot of power within the story.
DeleteOne quote that surprised me was when the Don told Hagen that "they are not murderers" after Amerigo Bonasera left the room in chapter 3. At first I was confused by it because it seemed to contradict the story that Micheal was telling Kay Adams in Chapter 2 about Luca Brasi killing six men to avenge the godfather. It never actually said that the Don actually ordered the hit, so I suppose Luca could have been acting on his own. Either way, it was interesting to see that there was a line that the Don would not cross. He seems like he's ready to commit any crime apart from outright murder.
ReplyDeleteWhen Amerigo Bonasera goes to Don Corleone to ask for justice for the assault of his daughter, Corleone questions why Bonasera went to the police first and not him. He tells Bonasera that he wants him to be his friend before he does Bonasera any favors. I found this part quite ironic. Don Corleone is a mobster and is most likely planning to hurt these people yet he is asking Bonasera for friendship and then he will carry out justice. From this, we see how loyalty plays a huge role in Don Corleone's life and work.
ReplyDeletePuzo seems to place a lot of importance on sexuality and the difference between the sexual organs. I found it very weird that he describes Lucy Mancini as having a very big vagina and Sonny sporting an equally large package. It was very jarring to read this in the middle of a wedding scene. Throughout the novel, it becomes a decade long subplot told through the perspective of Lucy. I think it really illustrates the importance of gender in this male dominated culture. Sonny is revered for his "deformity" while Lucy is humiliated for hers, even if they are mirror images of each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Though I caught this earlier when he described the baker's daughter having already been plump and "with a mustache", and how she did not hold herself back from rubbing her butt on Enzo when passing through the bake shop. I think it shows how important sexuality is to this book, and perhaps Italian culture at the time. Everything is very black and white, male or female, ugly or hot. I think it sort of adds to the drama that is to come.
DeleteIt seems Puzo puts a very big emphasis on appearance in general. Even when describing Connie, it was said that she wasn't very pretty and that she would become "shrewish" later in life. It feels very brutally honest, like listening to a family member gossip about the rest of his family.
DeleteOne small detail I came across was the description of the groom's muscles bulging from the jacket of his tux (pg 15). I thought this detail was interesting because in the movie, the Don had his suits tailored. I thought if the groom - who was not the favored choice for marrying Connie - had his shoulders bulging from the tux, that it was a sign of an ill fitting suit. Perhaps this was a detail mentioned by the author not only to describe him as having good looks over any other quality, but also of lower character because his suit was not crisp and tailored. I think this is a good way to describe his appearance in order to place him in the ranking of this "royal family".
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think appearances and images of their family are really important to the family. We do not see this in everyday life as the Corleone family does. They must all have good looks, muscles/manly and perfect bodies to be considered part of this elite family in the community. Clearly it was important to showcase their body image in the book.
DeleteI found it interesting when Michael and Kay were speaking of Tom Hagen. Michael had explained that Tom was homeless and recently had lost his parents when Sonny found him wandering the streets. However, even though the Don took him in and (assuming) raised him like his own son, the Don did not formerly adopt him. When Kay asked why not, Michael said "Because my father said it would be disrespectful for Tom to change his name. Disrespectful to his own parents." Obviously respect is very important to the Don, but I found it a bit contradictory to consider an act of generosity and welcoming as an act of disrespect towards Tom's late parents.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very odd for Johnny Fontaine to ask the Don Corleone for help to get into a movie. It really showed how much they put their trust and hopes into him. How could a mob boss help him with movies? Clearly, they believed in the Don more than we normal people would in any other regular person.He is elevated by the family and other people in the community. We, as "normal" people do not see this in our everyday life. Johnny believes he could do anything and almost comes to him like praying to God. It's interesting to see how they come to him for things even non gang related.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. I think this part gives a hint or idea on how much influence or power the Don has in order to get things done.
DeleteI found interesting when Amerigo Bonasera asks for justice from Don Corleone. He wants him to kill the men who assaulted his daughter. But Don Corleone refuses to do so. He says it's not fair to kill those men of his daughter is alive. They did not kill his daughter so those men deserve to live as well in the eyes of Don Corleone even thought they harmed someone's life. This was pretty interesting to see how he doesn't kill people and trys to keep justice.
ReplyDeleteOne detail that stuck out to me was the fact that Clamenza remembered to take the cannolis out of the back of the car to bring home to his wife. Even after murdering Paulie with Rocco, he still remembered to do what his wife had requested which hints that family was an important part of the characters lives.
ReplyDeleteOne comment that struck me was when at the wedding Brasi told the Don that he wishes for his grandchild to be masculine. I thought this was interesting because I think that the men were overly worried about who would continue on the family name and take over the Don's position.
ReplyDeleteThe Don says "I say to you: you shall have it." This is so crazy to me that he is like a genie that grants wishes.
ReplyDelete