Michael Corleone, The True Hero

Throughout any story or film, there is always a hero.  Although it might be hard to identify a hero but there is always one.  According to Joseph Campbell, there are many different types of heroes, “Hero as a warrior, hero as a lover, apocalyptic hero, a denied hero ...” (Joseph Campbell).  Even though there are many different types of heroes, they are not hard to identify.  For example Hercules was a warrior hero and Super man is a super heroic hero.  The tricky part is identifying who is the hero.  In the film The Godfather, I do not think that Vito Corleone is the hero because he does not follow the hero’s journey.  According to Joseph Campbell, there are five stages in the hero’s journey, the departure (the hero is called to adventure), initiation (the hero crosses a threshold), the road of trials (the hero endures tests), the innermost cave (the great trial or test), and the return and reintegration with society (hero returns home).  Vito Corleone does not follow these stages; however, Michael Corleone does.  I believe that Michael Corleone is the true hero of the file The Godfather.

From the parts of The Godfather that I have watched, Michael Corleone has already started his hero’s journey.  Michael Corleone’s departure or call to adventure is not show in the film but started when he was born.  Michael Corleone was born into a family that was the head of a mafia group.  At the moment that he was born, he was already destine to go on a dangerous journey because of his heritage.  Considering that we have only watched the beginning 30 – 45 minutes of the film, there are no other evidence of the hero’s journey; however, when Michael Corleone says “that’s my family Kay, not me” implies that he is reluctant to accept that fact that he is the true hero.  This is part of the first stage of the heroes journey, the hero is called to adventure but is reluctant to accept it.

Considering that next four steps of the hero’s journey, we can in a way predict what will happen in the next step of Michaels Corleone hero’s journey.  In the second step Michael Corleone could kill someone to let him cross a threshold into a new world.  The third step can consist of carrying out tasks given by the Godfather which acts as his dad but also as his guide or aid.  In step four, when the hero descends into the innermost cave, Michael Corleone could have to go somewhere foreign to kill someone of importance to finally gain his father’s approval, and the final step when the hero returns home can be when he finishes the task and is not thought of as part of the mafia life once again.