Characterization of Michael Corleone

     Michael Corleone comes from a rich, wealthy and very important family however, none of this seems to matter to him. He is not interested in being apart of the Mafia, like his family members which is why in the movie, he appears very different and distant from his relatives.

     His girlfriend, Kay Adams is interested and fascinated about how much his family is involved with crime, but she becomes aware that Michael isn't like that.  He says to Kay, "that's my family Kay, not me."  He does everything he can, to make himself not look like a Sicilian.  For example, Michael wears an army suit, brings his girlfriend, (who isn't Sicilian), to the wedding.He seems to follow American ethics whereas his family follows the Sicilian ethics.

     By not becoming involved in the Mafia, I think Michael is being smart however it is pulling him farther away from his family unit.   He seems like the type of person who doesn't let people make decisions for him as well as he doesn't let the views of his family change his own opinions, ethics and beliefs.

     In my opinion, it seems like it is trying to be portrayed indirectly that Michael shouldn't be apart of the  Corleone family, based on the characteristics of the family. He is very interested and cares a lot about the American Law, which is something his family doesn't care for.

     Aside from this, Michael is a very well rounded person. He is very kind and a great gentlemen. He is polite, calm and smart.  He is thoughtful, sensible and kind-hearted.  In my opinion, I think Michael is the nicest person (in the film), and he portrays himself as a very well brought up individual throughout the film.  Although, just because Michael isn't like his family, doesn't mean he doesn't love them. The affection which he showed towards his father when Don was in the hospital was very deep; he showed that he loved his father very much.  Michael loves his family a lot although, he just chooses to be different then they are.

Literary Features Hunt- Contrast & Symbol

      When watching the Godfather, I became fascinated with the use of contrast.  I think that contrast really illuminates the central idea throughout the movie.  This literary feature really exemplifies how the Godfather is truly higher and more powerful than everyone else.  The lighting really represented the literary feature, contrast because it compared two how the Godfather is completely different from everyone else.  An example of contrast was in the beginning of the movie when the Godfather was sitting in his chair at the desk.  The lighting technique was so profoundly used in this scene as the power of the Godfather was clearly evident.  By this I mean that the lighting technique was used to create a halo around the Godfather.  The halo around the Godfather was the only radiance in that room as everything else was black.  In my opinion, light symbolizes purification and black symbolizes darkness.  It almost seems as if everything in the room except for the Godfather, is damaging deathly.  If you look at it this way, it's hard to understand why the Godfather would be considered good, as he is the head leader of the Mafia and why everything else is considered damaging or deathly.

     Symbolism illuminates the central idea because the Godfather is a very important person and he is symbolic to people.  Symbolism was another literary feature used as well as it connects with the literary feature, contrast.  Contrast and Symbolism connect with one another because they both show how the Godfather is more powerful than everyone else.  

Class Act

     In class, we enter into deep discussions and develop strong ideas about the Godfather. We stop throughout the movie so that we can highlight and capture the key and most important scene. However, even though this makes the movie slightly confusing to understand, it still allows us to understand more in depth as to what is going on; probably something we wouldn't understand if we were to watch the video the whole way through. This technique also helps to identify characters and the action which is taking place.

     There was an example in the movie, when the film director adjusted the lighting so that it created a halo around the Godfather. Everything else in that one scene was completely black except for the lighting around the Godfather. The lighting made the Godfather look more powerful then he already is. Also, an idea which came to mind when watching this scene was how the white represents purity and something good, whereas black represents darkness and something bad. The lighting technique made the Godfather look like he is the most powerful person in the world, which most people consider him to be.