In the section of the film The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, the idea of Michael Corleone being the real hero really took off. In the past scene, Michael Corleone had found out about his father’s shooting and is now preparing to murder Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey. This part of the movie can be thought of the initiation or the ritual. The initiation is when the adolescent comes into his maturity with new awareness and problems, and the ritual is when the actual ceremonies the initiate experiences that will mark his rite of passage into another state. I think this because it seems like the family will accept Michael Corleone into the family again if he kills Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey. It is like that Michael has to do this job to finally gain his family’s respect again.
In this stage of the Hero’s Journey, the hero usually has some sort of mentor. Considering that the Godfather is in the hospital, which rules him out as a possibility. I think that Michaels’s mentor is Clemenza. It seems that throughout the film, he was always there are Michael in times of need. Clemenza is a loyal member of the Corleone council and is also very devious. He guides Michael through the murder and figures out a way for Michael to be untraced back to the murder. In the Hero’s Journey, the mentor plays an important role in aiding the main character on his heroic quest. He is the one that that main character goes to for advice, solutions, and answers. In the film The Godfather, Clemenza seems like the character so far that does this for Michael Corleone.
I also think Michael is the "hero" of The Godfather. I also agree with your assertion of Michael setting out to kill Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey being the initiation of his "Hero's Journey". Like you stated, Clemenza is most likely Michael's mentor, because he has helped him determine how to kill the two aforementioned characters. Additionally, the mentor commonly provides the hero with a magical or unique weapon to aid them in their quest. In the case of The Godfather, I think the silenced gun that Michael plans to use to kill Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey is this weapon.
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