Hyman Roth Vs. Michael Corleone
Hyman Roth versus Michael Corleone
Arguably one of the greatest movies of all time, The Godfather pt 2 stimulates audiences by portraying two culturally different crime syndicates and their leaders in a power struggle. Although both men are exceptionally powerful and prominent characters in Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Hyman Roth and Michael Corleone are extremely different. Throughout the film, we see differences in Roth and Michael’s means of conducting business. Whether it is the way they handle certain situations or deal with their problems, we see a sharp contrast between these two protagonists. Due to their different personalities, there is an evident schism seen in the way these two men run their respected organized crime syndicates. …show more content…
Roth attempts a hit on his life, and makes Pentangeli think Michael ordered it. This upset him immensely, and in revenge Pentangeli becomes an informant against the Corleone family. According to Gambetta’s analysis, an effective Mafiosi must have an advantage in coercion, information management and advertisement. Being the effective Mafiosi that he is, Michael utilizes these advantages and is able to foil Roth’s attempt to get him imprisoned. As I noted above, to Sicilians, family and honor are of the utmost importance. Being the old school Mafiosi he is, Pentangeli holds these values incredibly dear to him. That is why Roth did not foresee the effect Michael’s actions would have on Pentangeli’s testimony. By bringing in Pentangeli’s older brother from Sicily, Michael is utilizing his information edge coupled with coercion to make Pentangeli realize that what he was doing was incredibly wrong. Fear never crossed Pentangeli’s brother’s mind in the courtroom, instead there was just a look of utter disgust on his face. This resonated deeply with Pentangeli as he was breaking “omerta,” or the mafia code of silence (Alcorn, “What is the Mafia?”). When Elster states that honor’s “aim is sheer self-assertion and self-esteem,” it is clear to the viewer the value Pentangeli places on family as he commits perjury in order to avoid losing his honor in front of his brother (Elster (1989),
Arguably one of the greatest movies of all time, The Godfather pt 2 stimulates audiences by portraying two culturally different crime syndicates and their leaders in a power struggle. Although both men are exceptionally powerful and prominent characters in Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Hyman Roth and Michael Corleone are extremely different. Throughout the film, we see differences in Roth and Michael’s means of conducting business. Whether it is the way they handle certain situations or deal with their problems, we see a sharp contrast between these two protagonists. Due to their different personalities, there is an evident schism seen in the way these two men run their respected organized crime syndicates. …show more content…
Roth attempts a hit on his life, and makes Pentangeli think Michael ordered it. This upset him immensely, and in revenge Pentangeli becomes an informant against the Corleone family. According to Gambetta’s analysis, an effective Mafiosi must have an advantage in coercion, information management and advertisement. Being the effective Mafiosi that he is, Michael utilizes these advantages and is able to foil Roth’s attempt to get him imprisoned. As I noted above, to Sicilians, family and honor are of the utmost importance. Being the old school Mafiosi he is, Pentangeli holds these values incredibly dear to him. That is why Roth did not foresee the effect Michael’s actions would have on Pentangeli’s testimony. By bringing in Pentangeli’s older brother from Sicily, Michael is utilizing his information edge coupled with coercion to make Pentangeli realize that what he was doing was incredibly wrong. Fear never crossed Pentangeli’s brother’s mind in the courtroom, instead there was just a look of utter disgust on his face. This resonated deeply with Pentangeli as he was breaking “omerta,” or the mafia code of silence (Alcorn, “What is the Mafia?”). When Elster states that honor’s “aim is sheer self-assertion and self-esteem,” it is clear to the viewer the value Pentangeli places on family as he commits perjury in order to avoid losing his honor in front of his brother (Elster (1989),