Manny Week Three: Class Act

As we all sat inaudibly staring at the screen that projected the Godfather, we witnessed the transformation of Michael becoming the Don of the Corleone family. As we all know, the Don has the final say and his family must listen to it. Every soul in the room became bewildered when they heard that Tom Hagen was not going to be Consigliere anymore and to make matters even worse, Michael was making Carlo his right hand man. Now why would Michael make Carlo his right hand man when Carlo does not have any experience in the Mafia?

Maybe it is a part of a plan the Michael hopes to execute in the revenge of his brother Santino. We all know how the fate of Carlo ends up in the end of the movie.

I think that Michael wanted to make Carlo feel a part of the family business and that everyone trusted him. When Carlo got comfortable with the Corleone family, he thought that they were on his side. So when Michael told Carlo in the end of the movie to go home and wait, Carlo obeyed him not only because Michael is the Don but also that he feels that Michael is on his own side.

Francis Ford Coppola does a great job integrating a well-known cliché into the story o the Godfather. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”