Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Individual
Group Discount
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews May 9, 2024 May 2, 2024
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount
Qty: 00
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
We're sorry, we could not create your account. SparkNotes PLUS is not available in your country. See what countries we’re in.
There was an error creating your account. Please check your payment details and try again.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Bonasera: “I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in American fashion. I gave her freedom, but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a boyfriend. Not an Italian. She went to the movies with him. She stayed out late. I didn’t protest. Two months ago, he took her for a drive with another boyfriend. They made her drink whiskey. And then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So they beat her like an animal. . . . Then I said to my wife for justice we must go to Don Corleone.”
(The Godfather)
The Godfather trilogy opens with these words. They are said by the undertaker Bonasera, who requests that Don Corleone render “justice” on two American boys who beat his daughter and got off with only a suspended sentence. Bonasera’s words implicitly link the boys’ crime with the failure of the legitimate American justice system. As such, his statement becomes a strong condemnation of the society to which he has moved. American justice having failed him, Bonasera requests Sicilian “justice,” by which he means murder. In his request, we see the first example of what will become a common occurrence throughout the trilogy: the use of euphemism to describe the mafiosi’s violent, criminal acts. Vito responds by saying, “We are not murderers.” But of course killers is exactly what they are, and killing, or at least maiming, will be the chosen response. The way the Mafia uses language to cover up, even excuse, their criminal actions is another important theme introduced in this opening.
Lastly, Bonasera’s words make clear that we are dealing with an immigrant community. The characters may be rich and powerful, but they still face the same struggles that all immigrants confront every day. Assimilation is not easy, and immigrants, when unaware of local customs, can be taken advantage of, as is Bonasera’s daughter. The tragedy that befalls her makes Michael’s genuine, loving relationship with the blue-blooded American Kay Adams seem all the more remarkable. At the opening of the movie, Michael presents himself as a totally assimilated Italian-American. Later in the trilogy, when he becomes Godfather, he grows obsessed with the idea of making the family “legitimate,” which, in a sense, is a euphemism for “assimilated.” Michael wants to de-Sicilianize the family, to take the crime out of it, so that the Corleones will be as American as anyone else.
Please wait while we process your payment