One of the clearest messages that I got from The Godfather was that: once you get involved with crime and criminal activity, it is difficult to escape. The film demonstrates this via the transformation of Michael Corleone from an honest, hard-working war veteran to underworld mafia boss. Unfortunately, Don Vito’s favorite son and the only child (Connie aside) to become a respectable, legitimate, law-abiding citizen, turns away from his American lifestyle when his family is threatened and begins to engage in the family business which he had earlier claimed “wasn’t him”. Through a series of unfortunate events, the one man that could make the Corleone name more respectable and help them assimilate into American culture, is turned into the monster he eschewed. This illustrates the volatile nature of gang warfare and how hard it is to cut oneself away from the life once he or she has become even remotely involved. However, it is not a simple matter of choosing to not join in any gang or crime related behavior, because the gangs and the crime have greater influence over someone than they can ever realize. Even doing a simple favor for a gang or gang member makes you into their ally and an enemy to the gang’s opposition. There’s no way of just leaving because you have impacted a very complex web and your presence will never be forgotten by others. This makes someone liable for helping a gang or participating in criminal activity and that fact can never be wiped off of your slate. Therefore, Michael’s inclusion in the family business is by no means something that he actively chose to do. Instead he was almost forced into it. First the Tattaglia’s attacked his father; his family; which he holds very dearly. This is a step over the line for Michael and he extracts revenge upon those involved in the attempted assassination. This makes him liable for gang activity and even though he is subsequently sent into hiding in Sicily, old wounds are not forgotten. Despite spending lots of time there, he is eventually tracked down and his wife is accidentally killed by those looking to murder Michael. This type of occurrence is precisely why it is so hard to escape and leave gangs, because even if you run away from it someone or something will find you and bring you back in. This was the case for Michael, no matter how hard he tried to break away from the family business, he couldn’t stand by and let his family die, and once he extracted his vengeance, he had a gang stain that would be impossible to get rid of.
You need to format your wall of text into smaller paragraphs. I can't read it the way it is no matter how interesting it is.
ReplyDelete@Will I agree. It's hard to follow your organization here. I think you can see the need for clear paragraphing. More importantly, though, I think the piece needs a more personal connection--you got the message that it's hard to "escape" from a life of crime, but really, is that something that you will need to worry about in your own life? I think there might be more to be said.
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