Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Godfather, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Crime and Justice
Power
Masculinity and Patriarchy
Family
Loyalty and Betrayal
Summary
Analysis
Captain Mark McCluskey is in his office putting betting slips into envelopes. His raiding parties had confiscated the slips from bookmakers, and he plans to sell the slips back to the “bookies” for a profit. McCluskey comes from a family of police officers. Yet he engages in “clean graft” to earn extra money for his kids’ college funds because of the dangerous nature of his work and its relatively light compensation. An old friend of Bruno Tattaglia, McCluskey found it easy to collaborate with him and Sollozzo, especially since he believes no Mafia hood would dare kill a police officer.
McCluskey is a symbol of legitimate power and an enforcer of the law, but like the criminal Don Corleone, McCluskey places boundaries on his “graft.” McCluskey sees nothing wrong with making money off illegal activity. However, much like Don Corleone, who rejects the “dirty” drug business, McCluskey limits his corruption to so-called “clean graft.” In reality, however, both men find themselves beholden to forces they cannot fully control.
Themes
Tom Hagen arranges the necessary documents for Michael to flee the country, including a false passport, a seaman’s card, and passage on a freighter bound for Italy. Meanwhile, Clemenza instructs Michael on how to shoot the gun he will use to kill McCluskey and Sollozzo. Clemenza warns Michael that the hits will pit the Corleones in a war with all of the Five Families but insists that “these things have to happen once every ten years or so. It gets rid of the bad blood.” Michael’s now-wired jaw is still swollen and painful.
Michael’s preparation to murder Sollozzo and McCluskey makes him a willing soldier serving in what will become a Mafia war. This is a fitting development for a man who served his country as a soldier in wartime under the premise that loyalty to family does not override loyalty to country. Now, however, Michael takes the steps that will lead him to the opposite conclusion: where he once fought for country, he will soon fight for Family and Family alone.
Themes
Sonny finally learns that the meeting between Michael, Sollozzo, and McCluskey will happen at Luna Azure restaurant in the Bronx. Tessio knows the restaurant well and is confident that Clemenza can stash the gun in its bathroom. Sonny warns Clemenza to hide the gun well. “I don’t want my brother coming out of that toilet with just his dick in his hand,” he says. Hagen cations Michael not to take the broken jaw from McCluskey personally, but Michael says that Don Corleone taught him “it’s all personal, every bit of business […] it’s personal as hell.”
Among the reasons that Michael eventually assumes leadership of the Corleone Family is his willingness to recognize that being in the Mafia entails total dedication. While Hagen continues to separate what is “business” from what is “personal,” Michael understands that such a separation is impossible, and that to succeed in the underworld necessitates taking all aspects of the criminal business personally.
Themes
Michael waits outside of a restaurant on Broadway for Sollozzo’s car to arrive. When it does, Michael finds himself riding with the Turk, McCluskey, and the driver. McCluskey assures Michael that he harbors no hard feelings over their previous meeting. A Corleone Family tail car follows behind them, and Sollozzo’s driver crosses the state line into New Jersey before swiftly doubling back into New York to shake the tail. Soon, the car parks outside of Luna Azure restaurant, and the men go inside.
Sollozzo’s car plays the role of hearse delivering bodies to the funeral home. It symbolizes the impending murder at the restaurant where Michael plans to “make his bones” and thereby finalize his commitment to Mafia lifestyle. The ease with which Sollozzo’s driver shakes the Corleones’ tail car signifies that Michael must perform the deed alone if he is to save his father.
Themes
Get the entire The Godfather LitChart as a printable PDF.
McCluskey, Sollozzo, and Michael begin their meeting in the restaurant. The Turk and Michael converse in Italian. Michael demands that Sollozzo end his attempts on Don Corleone’s life. Sollozzo says he cannot promise anything, and that by refusing to share his political contacts, Don Corleone is preventing him from running his drug business. Now convinced that the Turk will not stop until the Don is dead, Michael excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Inside the stall, Michael retrieves the gun and returns to the dining room.
Meeting with Sollozzo confirms Michael’s earlier suspicions about the Turk’s true intent: he has proposed the meetup to lull the Corleones into thinking that Don Corleone will be safe afterwards. Now assured that killing Sollozzo and McCluskey will save his father’s life, Michael prepares to make his first hit.
Themes
After conversing for a few more minutes, Michael rises from his chair and shoots both McCluskey and Sollozzo in the head. Michael then flees the restaurant into Tessio’s waiting car. Tessio asks him if he did “the job,” an expression normally reserved for matters of sex. Michael replies affirmatively and Tessio drives off. The next day, police departments across the city declare that contacts with the Mafia will cease until they find McCluskey’s killer. An assailant tosses a bomb into the Corleone mall, and two Corleone soldiers are murdered in another restaurant. The Five Families War of 1946 has begun.
Tessio’s use of a sexual metaphor to characterize Michael’s hit on Sollozzo and McCluskey invokes a sense of release and even euphoria over the act. Much like a man ceases to be a virgin following the act of sex and ejaculation, Michael is no longer a “virgin” in the Mafia because he has released his bullets to commit his first kill. Moreover, as Clemenza predicted, the murders bring war to the Mafia underworld, indicating the Michael’s violation has severe consequences.
Themes
