Previous
Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Godfather, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Crime and Justice
Power
Masculinity and Patriarchy
Family
Loyalty and Betrayal
Summary
Analysis
A year passes before Michael is able to return to New York. The scheme to bring him back involves a Bocchicchio Family member named Felix, who bucked the Family business to become a lawyer. However, when two of Felix’s associates defrauded Felix and exposed the Bocchicchio’s criminal activities, Felix ended up serving three years in prison. After his release, Felix’s Bocchichio blood got the better of him, and he murdered the lawyer and the businessman in full view of witnesses. A judge sentences Felix Bocchicchio to the electric chair.
Here, Puzo further reiterates the intractable pull the Mafia has on even those who attempt to escape its clutches. In theory, Felix obeys the laws of legitimate society and builds a lucrative career outside the realm of organized crime. Yet, his Family ties draw him back into the underworld and lead him to commit a brazen murder that he will pay for with his life.
Themes
When Tom Hagen and Don Corleone get word of the affair, they propose to the Bocchicchio Family that if Felix (who is doomed anyways) confesses to the murders of Sollozzo and McCluskey, thereby-exonerating Michael, the Corleone Family will provide for Felix’s family for the remainder of their lives. The Bocchicchios agree, and Felix’s confession clears the way for Michael to return home.
Like Sonny Corleone before him, Felix Bocchicchio plays the role of martyr who sacrifices himself so that the Corleone Family may live. By taking the fall for Michael’s crimes, Felix clears a path for the Corleone Family to reestablish its power in the underworld.
Themes
