The Godfather

In a very dangerous, serious business, Don Corleone gathers and wields immense power. He does this by living by a set of simple principles, some of which are defined by Sicilian culture, and some of which are his alone. But they all bring him success. Three of the most important principles are: to be reasonable; to keep one’s thoughts and feelings to oneself; and to always keep one’s word. The Don addresses each of these in his own thoughts, and the reader also learns about them through the people around him—particularly Tom, Michael, Sonny, and even Johnny. Through their interactions with him, they absorb some of the characteristics and beliefs that make the Don such a successful man and a force to be reckoned with amongst the Mafia families.

First and foremost, the Don acquits himself with reasonableness. From the beginning of his career, in the confrontation with Fanucci that would set him on his path, Vito Corleone had taken the same approach: “I’ll reason with him,” he says, words that would “become a famous phrase in the years to come” (266). Tom Hagen, maybe more than any other man, strives to learn the Don’s methods and employ them. He has watched the Don remain reasonable for hours during a negotiation: “‘Never get angry,’ the Don had instructed ‘Never make a threat. Reason with people.’”(66). This concept of reasonableness is underscored by the idea that, when the Don “asked opponents to sit down and reason with him, they understood it was the last chance to resolve an affair without bloodshed and murder” (266). Reasoning sounds mild, but underneath it is the understanding that the other person is being given the opportunity to change their mind before serious consequences occur.

Michael employs another of the Don’s methods: revealing nothing to an adversary. When he is struck by Captain McCluskey, Michael follows his instincts to emulate the Don: “At all costs he wanted to hide the delicious icy chilliness that controlled his brain, the surge of wintry-cold hatred that pervaded his body. He wanted to give no warning to anyone in this world as to how he felt at this moment. As the Don would not” (164). Even in the grip of great emotion, the ability to maintain one’s composure and hide one’s emotions is a great asset. As the Don says to Sonny when his son shows emotion at a meeting, “Santino, never let anyone outside the Family know what you are thinking” (90). Tom, reflecting on Sonny’s outburst, thinks, “Did he really not know what a dangerous mistake he had made this morning? If that were true, Hagen would never wish to be the Consigliere to the Don of Santino Corleone” (91). This shows that he understands the Don’s strategy perhaps better than anyone else and knows that this piece of the Don’s code is essential to one’s success.

Lastly, one of the main reasons Don Corleone garners such success and gains so many connections and relationships is that his word is unimpeachable. This is why the other families move ahead in the peace process; since Don Corleone has given his word that he will not take vengeance, there is no chance that it will happen. Even Phillip Tattaglia, who stands to lose his family and his life if the Don breaks his word, takes the Don’s assurance as ironclad fact. However, although the Don, and later Michael, hold to the letter of this axiom, they utilize a loophole that allows them to seize control of the Five Families and win the war with the Barzinis and Tattaglias. They hold their peace while Don Vito is in power, keeping his word that he will not seek vengeance. But immediately upon his death, Michael begins putting their plan into action to claim vengeance for the murders of Apollonia and Sonny and the attempted murder of the Don. Michael utilizes this same loophole when he tells Carlo he will not kill him, but then has Clemenza do so. He upholds the most important tenet of the Don’s code, to never break his word, but is also able to find ways to circumvent this code when he needs to, as did the Don.