In The Godfather, Michael Corleone so far follows The Hero’s Journey. The first step in The Hero’s Journey is Stage 1, the departure. In Stage 1, “the hero is called to adventure, although he is reluctant to accept”. In the beginning The Godfather, Michael is talking to Kay Adams about the family business, where he says “That’s my family Kay, that’s not me”. His intention was not to be involved with the family business, however once his father was shot, he starts to get involved with “Stage 2: Initiation: The hero crosses a threshold into a new, more dangerous world, gaining a more mature perspective”.
Michael Corleone is a very confident man, especially when he is talking to Sonny on the phone in the hospital letting Sonny know that no one is in the hospital. Michael tells Sonny “I won’t panic”. The scene where Michael and the baker, Enzo, are standing outside the hospital, Enzo is really scared and nervous, which is showed through his shaking hands when he tries to light his cigaret. However Michael is calm, and shows through lighting Enzo’s cigaret for him.
The scene in the hospital with Don Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone, Michael kisses his father’s hand and says “I’m with you now”. The kiss symbolizes Michael giving his father his loyalty in the mafia business.
The next stage for Michael is “Stage 3: The Road of Trials: The hero is given a supernatural aid, endures tests of strength, resourcefulness, and endurance”. The test of strength and endurance is next when Michael plans to shoot Clemenza and McCluskey.
I'm not sure if this is about The Hero's Journey archetype or the characterization of Michael or both :P but I'm going to assume it's both.
ReplyDeleteI agree that as the film progresses, Michael moves into each stage of The Hero's Journey. What I find interesting is that the way Coppola chose to depict Michael's personality and modus operandi, if you want to say, doesn't really change throughout the movie though Michael moves past his stage of denial.
Thus far, Michael keeps his calm demeanor -- he doesn't panic in the face of trouble. The only thing that has really changed is the way he sees himself: he now sees himself as a member of the mafia, and in fact suggested his own "trial" -- shooting McCluskey and Sollozzo.
I think you made a typo there by the way, Michael wasn't going to shoot Clemenza. Since McCluskey was a New York Police Captain, Michael would be doing a task nobody had ever done before -- a situation he would have never gotten involved in, let alone willingly, at the beginning of the movie.
I think that the changes we see in Michael are not of his characteristics, as those have remained the same thus far, but his level of self-realization -- it is as if he is slowly beginning to realize that perhaps he belongs in a life of organized crime.