Alex Rivas Year 11

Mr Mills
Assessment Task Number 5: Area of Study; Power
7th September 2010
Alex Rivas
Alex Rivas Year 11

Power, as defined by the Apple dictionary is 'the ability to do something or act in a

particular way' , and as such, is a vacillating concept. Power, may be the force propelling a
good idea, yet it facilitates villainy, selfishness and greed and has the ability to destroy,
corrupt a nation, family or individual. Power as interpreted by Lincoln describes its ability to
reveal ones true moral character, which is explored throughout William Shakespeare's
1606 renaissance tragedy Macbeth, a pinnacle of canonical literature. A parallel to this text
is Mario Puzzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, the story becoming even more widespread
after Francis Ford Coppola's cinematic adaptation in 1972. The Godfather supports the
orthodox views of power, through the actions of Don 'The Godfather' Corleone and his
mafiosi, where they keep women out the ‘family business’ and allow men to keep control of
a situation. Whereas, Shakespeare's tragedy clearly opposes this traditional standpoint,
because throughout the play it becomes evident that Lady Macbeth takes more control on
a situation, and her power hungry nature reveals her true character. Both authors in their
respective genres, use characterizations, stylistic features, themes and motifs to show the
many outcomes that power has on people.

“It’s business, not personal.”, along with several variations is the tag line of The Godfather.
In the book, Don Corleone’s men, the mafiosi euphemistically refer to themselves as
business men, hence the mantra. Puzzo frequently uses euphemisms such as; “the family
business” and “an offer he can’t refuse.”, which characterises the mafiosi and uses the
manipulation of language to reveal the basic discomfort to the amount of power they have.
The frequent use of this line highlights the mafia desire to keep the business and their
personal lives separate, however as the story progresses we see that these two aspects of
life come together, when Don Corleone is attacked in the street. In order to protect his
father, Michael Corleone hides Don and tries to find out why Don’s bodyguards weren’t
with him at the time, his snooping leads to him being bashed and knocked unconscious.
After speaking to someone who works for his father, Michael arranges for a quiet dinner
with his assaulters to make peace, and kills them. This ironic as throughout the story
Michael is constantly enforcing how he did not want to be part of the family business.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth almost contradicts the tagline “it’s business, not personal.”, in the
play Macbeth’s actions are very much personal. “Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my
black and deep desires.” (I,iv). When Macbeth is dubbed Thane of Cawdor, he
immediately gains a sense of self power and greed. “I have no spur to prick the sides of
my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself” (I, vii). As he deliberates, it
becomes clear to Macbeth that his “vaulting ambition” urges him to the heinous act of
regicide and his aspiration is nothing other than personal gain and decides this is not
enough justification to kill Duncan. However is driven by his wife to kill Duncan in order to
gain kingship, this is business side of things. “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
So all hail Macbeth and Banquo” (I, iii). This quote comes from the beginning of the play
when the witches prophesise that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and Banquo will
not become king himself, but his sons will become kings. This is when matters personal for
Macbeth, in order to secure his place as King of Scotland, Macbeth kills his close friend
Banquo and his son Fleance. Although both texts contradict each other in the way that, the
affairs the mafiosi are involved in are strictly business, and that Macbeth’s slowly evolves
Alex Rivas Year 11

from being about business to becoming more personal. Both stories present their
characters with a certain power, thus revealing their true characteristics.

Shakespeare challenges dominant assumptions in regards to gender. Through the

characterization of Lady Macbeth and her husband, Shakespeare reveals their true moral
characters. He does this by presenting the characters with a complication and putting them
in a stressful situation, in this case Lady Macbeth with a situation that could potentially give
her immediate power through Macbeth becoming king, driving her to convince Macbeth to
kill the king. Thus revealing her true nature. In the play, Macbeth is manipulated by his
wife and his manhood constantly questioned. "When you durst do it, then you were a
man; / And to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man". Lady
Macbeth act as a catalyst, leading Macbeth to commit murder. Following her suite,
Macbeth goads the murderers he hires to kill Banquo, by questioning their manhood. The
acts of Macbeth and his wife equate masculinity with aggression, whenever manhood is
discussed, violence is soon to follow. It also noticeable in the play, that women are sources
of violent and evil. The prophecies made be the witches prompted Macbeth’s aspirations
and encouraged his violent behaviour, with Lady Macbeth providing the will and the brains
behind her husbands actions. The complications within the play, arguably can be traced
back to women, giving the play an almost misogynistic feel. While male characters are
prone to evil like the women, the sheer aggression and violence shown by Shakespeare
through the the female characters , is quite significant as it goes against the prevailing
expectations of the behaviour of women at that time. Puzzo contradicts this idea, and
suggest that women and men live in completely different realms. “Women and children can
be careless. Not men.”, is the advice that Don Corleone gives to his son, shortly after
Michael becomes head of the family. He suggests that in the world of the mafia, men
shouldn’t discuss “business” with women, women should never question the judgement of
men. He believes that women can be careless and that make mistakes as it will have no
repercussions, in this case the repercussions being death. Essentially meaning that
because women are not involved in the family business, and having minimal power, allows
them to leave a carefree life. A life unknown to the men of the mafiosi. To signify this
barrier between men and women Puzzo uses doors as a motif. They separate rooms of
the house and the divide the home between the female domain of family and the male
realm of business. Whenever “business” need to be discussed, the study door is always
shut on the women. Another example reinforcing the idea that the lives of men and women
are kept separate is when Michael discovers his partner visiting his children after she has
left him, he closes the door in her face. The overwhelming sense of power the men gain
from business in the mafia, leads them to think that they have ultimate control over
women’s lives.
Alex Rivas Year 11

In Macbeth Shakespeare contrasts the idea between a kingship and tyranny. He

constantly refers to Duncan as a “king” where as Macbeth soon becomes known as a
“tyrant” due to his ruthless actions. The difference between the two types of rulers, is
expressed in a conversation in Act 4 Scene 3, when Macduff meets Malcolm. In order to
test Macduff’s loyalty, Malcolm pretends he word make a worse king then Macbeth. Telling
Macduff of his reproachable qualities, including a violent temperament and a thirst for
power, characterizing Macbeth to pinpoint accuracy. However on the other hand, Malcolm
says, “The king-becoming graces [are] justice, verity, tempʼrance, stableness, Bounty,
perseverance, mercy, [and] lowliness”. Stating that the perfect king offers Scotland and
embodiment of justice and order, also comfort. Under him, his subjects should be
rewarded, as when Duncan made Macbeth thane of Cawdor, and most importantly they
must be loyal to the kingdom. In contrast to this, Macbeth brings only chaos to the
kingdom of Scotland, offering no true justice only the habit of capriciously killing people
who pose a threat to his rule. As he is the epitome of tyranny, he must be overcome by
Malcolm so that Scotland can have a proper king. These two characterizations are
somewhat similar to those present in The Godfather. Puzzo writes about Don Corleone, a
character who has unlimited power and influence throughout the east coast, however he
still remains a respective man and negotiates rather then commands. “Don Corleone was
a man whom to everybody came to for help… it was not important you had no means to
repay him.. It was only required that you proclaim your friendship.” Don is the King Duncan
and Malcolm of The Godfather. He believes in solid relationships and good ties, using his
power to benefit his loved ones. His rival Solozzo shows similar traits to that of Macbeth,
using his power to strong-arm his supporters and reigns terror on his enemies. He is
presented almost like a coward, and relies on his allies and maintains that power to pursue
others to help him. “Sonny will come after you with everything he’s got.. You gotta talk
some sense into him, the Tattalgia Family stands behind me with all their people.” Both
authors use the amount of power each character has, to reveal what their true moral
character is.

Power is a vacillating concept, interpreted by Lincoln as having the ability to reveal ones
true moral character. The 1606 renaissance tragedy Macbeth and the 1969 novel The
Godfather contain themes and ideas that support Lincoln’s quote of; “Nearly all men can
stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power". Although the
texts contradict each other on their views on power, both Shakespeare and Puzzo alike
use characterizations, underlying themes and motifs to show how a man’s moral nature
can be changed in an instant when presented with power. For The Godfather, the
traditional sentiment behind power is shown through Don Corleone and his mafiosi,
whereas Macbeth challenges the orthodox views of power, in that women, rise against
men and gain control of situations, particularly through characters like Lady Macbeth and
the witches. The texts help us make the assumption that the “truth is powers one true
enemy.” (George Orwell, Animal Farm).