The Godfather (novel)
Material from Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
The current version of the page has not yet been checked by experienced participants and may differ significantly from the version checked on October 7, 2016; checks require 3 edits.
The current version of the page has not yet been checked by experienced participants and may differ significantly from the version checked on October 7, 2016; checks require 3 edits.
Go to: navigation, Search
This term has other meanings, see Godfather.
The Godfather The Godfather
Signet Publishing house version Genre: drama
By Mario Puzo
Original language: English
Date of first publication: March 10, 1969
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons[d]
Cycle: The Godfather[d]
Previous: Corleone family[d]
Next: Sicilian
"The Godfather" (eng.
The Godfather is a novel by Mario Puzo, published in 1969 and tells about the life of one of the most powerful mafia clans in America — the family of Don Corleone.
In Russian, it was first published in the magazine "Znamya" (1987, № 10, 11, 12; translated by Maria Kahn and Alexandra Ilf)[1].
In 1972, the work was adapted by Francis Ford Coppola.
Content
1 Plot 2 Artistic features 3 Heroes 4 Film adaptation 5 Notes 6 Literature
Plot[edit / edit wiki text]
The novel begins in August 1945.
Don Vito Corleone's mansion is full of guests: the leader of the most influential mafia clan in New York marries his daughter Constance.
In addition to her, the head of the family has sons Santino (Sonny), who is considered a likely successor to the Godfather; Frederico (Fred), devoted to the common cause, but does not have the courage of an older brother; Michael, who chose a different path for himself — he served as a volunteer in the Marine Corps, received awards, and after demobilization entered Dartmouth University.
The Sicilian Vito Andolini, who left his native places in his teenage years and took a new name in America — Corleone (after the village in which he lived), for many years formed his empire, eliminating opponents and taking under the protection of those who needed support His legal business is the supply of olive oil, he also has underground structures - gambling and bookmakers, but the general control of the Corleone clan extends to many areas, including power and power structures; this power irritates representatives of the" five families " of New York.
Shortly after the wedding celebrations, the Godfather agrees to accept the businessman Virgil Sollozo, but he refuses his request to help with money and legal protection in a project related to drug trafficking.
The Tattaglia clan behind Sollozo expects that after the death of the unyielding don, the power in the Corleone family will pass to the more compliant and less experienced Sonny .
An attempt is made on the Godfather, he ends up in the hospital.
Michael, who previously did not want to participate in the family business, is also involved in the inter clan war that has begun.
The challenge forces him to meet with Sollozo and the police captain McCloskey, who is covering for him; after killing both of them in a restaurant, Michael leaves America and takes refuge in Sicily.
There he is overtaken by the news that Sunny's brother has been shot.
Contrary to expectations, Don Corleone, after the death of Santino, does not respond with a blow to a blow: having gathered the heads of the largest American "families", he calls on them to stop internecine strife.
At the same time, he takes action to legally return Michael to America.
Returning to New York, Michael for three years takes over the experience of his father, who is gradually retiring from business, delves into the specifics of business, acquires connections.
Don Corleone does not hide that the truce with representatives of hostile syndicates is a forced and temporary measure: "Revenge is a dish that should be served cold."
However, the Godfather does not have time to wait for their common plans to be realized: he suddenly dies of a heart attack.
The funeral brings together the heads of all New York mafia associations; the leader of one of them — don Barzini offers Michael to discuss further conditions for peaceful coexistence.
He learns that behind this proposal is the betrayal of Tessio — one of the caporegime of the Corleone family, who dreams of taking power into his own hands.
Tessio is being killed.
Barzini, Tattaglia and a former Sicilian guard named Fabrizio, who turned out to be a traitor, are killed by bullets.
With the help of the garrote, Corleone's men take the life of Carlo Rizzi, Constance's husband, who was involved in Sunny's death.
Having dealt with all those who encroach on the Godfather's empire, and ensuring the development of the family business in the West, the youngest son of Don Corleone gains a reputation as the head of the most powerful clan in the United States and receives the title "Don Michael".
Artistic features[edit / edit wiki text]
Works that tell about the activities of mafia structures and their influence on society were published long before the appearance of the book by Mario Puzo; many of them were written on the basis of police archives and could be used by the author of The Godfather as working materials that help saturate the novel with the necessary details.
However, unlike other writers, Puzo refused both a documentary chronicle created on the basis of criminal essays, and a "canonical image" of the life of gangsters with shooting and chases.
He was one of the first among writers to show how the hierarchy is formed in family clans, what is the management mechanism when making decisions and implementing them, introduced readers to the way of life of criminal syndicates.
Researchers suggest that the" artistic persuasiveness " of the novel is associated with a good knowledge of the topic: Puzo spent his childhood in the Italian quarters of New York[2].
According to the journalist and writer Peter Weil, "The Godfather" is based not on "gangster flavor", but on "the sound thoroughness of a family epic", which brings Puzo's novel closer to John Galsworthy's " The Forsyte Saga "and Roger Martin du Gard's" The Thibault Family".
In the life of Don Corleone and the members of his clan, the main thing is the family.
In it, everyone has their own role and their own responsibilities; the rules have been formed for decades[3]:
The firstborn is appointed as a successor, the youngest goes into the people, the daughter asks for consent to affection.
At the head is the father, the boss, the judge, the arbiter.
Specifically, the classic American self — made man, a "self made" emigrant who has gone from a ragged hard worker to an all powerful ruler, Vito Corleone.
One of the principles of the Sicilian family: "There are few of our own, all of others are strangers."
There are exceptionally cordial relations within the clan; evidence of this is the gentle treatment of relatives (Sonny, Freddie, Connie), preserved rituals, the willingness to accept those who come to the Corleone house "for the sake of getting rid of the risk of personal responsibility, in search of peace and warmth".
In the hour of trials, even those who previously defiantly withdrew from the activities of the Godfather stand up to protect the interests of the family.
Therefore, the novel, which on the first pages resembles ethnographic sketches or a "physiological essay" in style, acquires the features of a "tragedy of high style" closer to the final [3].
Heroes[edit / edit wiki text]
Frank Costello is one of the alleged prototypes of Don Corleone
There is no consensus among researchers regarding a possible prototype of Don Vito Corleone.
According to the historian and international journalist Igor Geevsky, the image of the main character is collective, but there are noticeable features of some real representatives of the criminal world — in particular, we are talking about the "prime minister of the mafia" Frank Costello (they are united by the desire to expand influence by introducing "their" people into political structures), as well as Vito Genovese, who, like a romantic Godfather, after the assassination attempt decided to hand over the reins to his son[4].
At the same time, Peter Weil discovers the similarity of Don Corleone with a literary character — King Lear[3].
Frank Sinatra
The biography of the Godfather embodies the "history of the American mafia": Vito Corleone, like the real leaders of organized crime Costello, Genovese, Lucky Luciano, began building his clan with participation in street groups; then he founded a legal business, under the cover of which large scale criminal activities were carried out; later he tried to form civilized relations between competing "families": "The time of shooting and stabbing has passed.
It's time to take smart, resourceful, since we are business people " [5].
Each of Don Corleone's sons has his own qualities.
The elder Santino has a hot temper, is prone to risk and does not know how to calculate the consequences of his actions.
The younger Michael is a model of tough determination and self control; he joins family affairs much later than Sunny and Fred, but understands better than his brothers what goals the family faces: "Sunny is the mafia's yesterday, Michael is a new type of leader"[5].
Don Corleone's godchildren include the popular singer and actor Johnny Fontane, who receives lucrative contracts and prestigious professional awards with the support of his family.
According to some researchers, this character resembles Frank Sinatra, who was associated with a good relationship with the Chicago gangster Sam Giancana.
There is a legend that when meeting Mario Puzo, Sinatra expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that some elements of his biography were reflected in the novel: the singer, who sought to maintain the image of a respectable performer, "was harmed by talk about his connections with many mafia leaders"[6].
Film adaptation[edit / edit wiki text]
Main article: The Godfather (film)
The gangster drama "The Godfather", filmed by Coppola in 1972 based on the novel by Mario Puzo, presents, according to the critic and philosopher Pavel Kuznetsov, "the largest image of the patriarch's father"; the hero, embodied on the screen by Marlon Brando, "has sacred power and almost inhuman charisma".
Don Corleone replaces American justice, protests against the development of the drug business, supports the desperate, gives wise lessons to his successors[7].
Mario Puzo and Coppola were repeatedly accused of idealizing the mafia, but if they did it, it was probably quite intentionally: the gangster epic became an ironic paraphrase of traditional family sagas and a sarcastic commentary on the evolution of the human race in the twentieth century[7].
For film critic Alexey Gusev, the evolution of the hero is important in Coppola's film: the director traced the path from a "reckless, dexterous kid" who arrived in a foreign distant country to "God the almighty", who is able to subdue the most influential officials and politicians[8].
The publicist of the" Independent Philological Journal " Lorenzo Chiesa writes that Coppola's message, representing the family "as a unifying and authoritarian patriarchal structure", raised certain questions from critics who believe that "the protection of these collective and at the same time limited values is conservative in itself"[9].
Notes[edit / edit wiki text]
Содержание The content of the magazine "Znamya" for 1987.
Ге Geevsky I. A. Characters and prototypes of M. Puzo's novels / / Puzo, Mario.
The Godfather; Sicilian.
- M.: Politizdat, 1990.
- p. 565 — - ISBN 5-250-01278-7.
↑ 1 2 3 Vail Peter Family business (Florence Machiavelli, Palermo Puzo) / / Foreign literature.
— 1997.
— № 6.
Ге Geevsky I. A. Characters and prototypes of M. Puzo's novels / / Puzo, Mario.
The Godfather; Sicilian.
- M.: Politizdat, 1990.
- p. 564 — - ISBN 5-250-01278-7.
↑ 1 2 Geevsky I. A. Characters and prototypes of M. Puzo's novels / / Puzo, Mario.
The Godfather; Sicilian.
- M.: Politizdat, 1990.
- P. 567 — - ISBN 5-250-01278-7.
Ге Geevsky I. A. Characters and prototypes of M. Puzo's novels / / Puzo, Mario.
The Godfather; Sicilian.
- M.: Politizdat, 1990.
- p. 563 — - ISBN 5-250-01278-7.
↑ 1 2 Kuznetsov Pavel Fathers and Sons.
Background of the issue // Session.
— № 21/22.
Alexey Gusev is a guest worker.
Background of the issue // Session.
- No. 43/44.
↑ Lorenzo Chiesa "Are you from NATO?": demystification of the Italian heritage in the "Soprano Clan" / / Independent Philological Journal.
— 2014.
— № 3(127).
Literature[edit / edit wiki text]
Geevsky I. A. Characters and prototypes of M. Puzo's novels / / Puzo, Mario.
The Godfather; Sicilian.
- Moscow: Politizdat, 1990.
- pp.
563-574 — - ISBN 5-250-01278-7.
Zasursky Ya.
N. Social diagnoses of Mario Puzo / / Znamya.
- 1987.
- Vol. No.
12. - pp.
170-172.
Works by Mario Puzo
Novels
Arena of Darkness (1955 • * The Happy Wanderer (1965) • Davy Shaw's Summer Escape (1966) • Six Graves on the Way to Munich (1967) • The Godfather (1969) • Fools Die (1978) • The Sicilian (1984) • The Fourth Kennedy (1991) • The Last Don (1996 • * Omerta (2000) • Family (2002)
Other works
The Last Christmas (1950) • Work on The Godfather and Other Confessions (1972) • Inside Las Vegas (1977)
Screenplays
The Godfather (1972) • The Godfather 2 (1974 • * Earthquake (1974) • Superman (1978) • Superman 2 (1980) • The Godfather 3 (1990) • Christopher Columbus: The Conquest of America (1992)
The Godfather Series
Novels The Godfather • The Sicilian • The Return of the Godfather • The Godfather's Revenge
Movie trilogy The Godfather • The Godfather 2 • The Godfather 3 • The Godfather.
The trilogy.
1901—1980
Video Games The Godfather (1991) • The Godfather: The Game (2006) • The Godfather II (2009)
The Corleone Family Vito Corleone · Michael Corleone · Santino Corleone · Fredo Corleone · Tom Hagen · Constance Corleone Rizzi · Carmela Corleone · Apollonia Vitelli Corleone · Kay Adams Corleone · Anthony Corleone · Mary Corleone · Vincenzo Mancini Corleone · Sandra Corleone
The creators of Paramount Pictures · Mario Puzo · Francis Ford Coppola · Nino Rota
Source — "https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The Godfather (novel)&oldid=82849219»
Categories: Literary works alphabetically by Mario Puzo Novels of 1969 Novels of the USA
Hidden Categories: Pages using magic Links ISBN Wikipedia:Articles with redefinition of the value from Wikidata
Navigation
Personal Tools
You did not introduce yourself to the system Discussion Contribution Create an account Log in
Namespaces
Article Discussion
Variants
Views
Read Current version Edit Edit wiki text History
More
Search
Navigation
Title Page Heading Index A Z Selected articles Random article Current Events
Participation
Report a bug Community Portal Forum Recent edits New pages Help Donate
Tools
Links Here Related Edits Special Pages Permalink Page Information Wikidata element Quote Page
Print/Export
Create a book Download as PDF Printable version
In other projects
Wikicitatnik
In other languages
العربية Azərbaycanca Belarusskaya (tarashkevitsa) Bulgarian বাংলা Čeština Deutsch English Español فارسی Suomi Français हिन्दी Magyar Հայերեն Italiano 日本語 한국어 Makedonski मराठी Nederlands Polski Português Slovenčina Srpski Slovenscina / srpski Svenska ไทย Türkçe Ukrainian O'zbekcha/Becca Tiếng Việt 中文
Edit links
Last modified on this page: 13: 48, January 4, 2017.
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license; in some cases, additional conditions may apply.
For more information, see Terms of use.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the non profit organization Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Contact us
Privacy Policy Wikipedia Description Disclaimer Developers Cookie Agreement Mobile Version
