Wealth Symbol Analysis

The Godfather is a novel about American wealth viewed through the context of the Mafia. The Corleone Family’s vast wealth is a symbol of how the American obsession with money inevitably erodes any moral obstacles to getting rich. America is therefore fertile ground for unscrupulous organizations like the Mafia to thrive. The Corleone Family earns millions from illegal rackets such as gambling, bookmaking, extortion, prostitution, bootlegging, money laundering, and murder. Even Don Corleone’s “legitimate” holdings in banks, real estate, and olive oil operate as fronts for his criminal activities. Although Don Corleone is a criminal, the morality by which he acquires wealth is a matter of degrees when compared to other wealthy Americans. “Like any good businessman he aimed at holding a monopoly by forcing his rivals to abandon the field or by merging with his own company,” Puzo writes. “Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient.” Breaking the law may be central to Don Corleone’s business, but he is hardly the only businessman who breaks the law. In an American society that prioritizes making money above all else, even the law eventually ceases to deter those seduced by the almighty dollar. Like any business, the Mafia’s primary goal is to make money, albeit through illegal means. While the Godfather professes adherence to higher motives such as “justice,” “loyalty,” and “friendship,” these motives are themselves means to acquiring the wealth that bolsters his power. He is therefore not an aberration from American society, but a reflection of it. That the Mafia views the law as a trivial obstacle towards accumulating wealth is the logical result of a society in which money trumps all, even family.