The Godfather Analysis – The Rise and Fall of Michael Corleone [Corruption Character Arc Explained]

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The Godfather analysis — We track the Corruption Arc of Michael Corleone and the film's Bitter Ending.

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Chapters:
00:00​ What is a "Bitter" Ending
00:50 Protagonist Wants & Needs
02:37 Four Endings Overview
03:37 The Corruption Character Arc Explained
04:24 Introducing the Character's True Self
07:55 Crossing the Threshold
11:47 Story Resolution
13:42 Final Takeaways

Michael Corleone — the youngest son of a Mafia family who rises from passive non-participant to assume the throne as the next Godfather. In the screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, the tragic tale of Michael Corleone’s rise and fall is nearly Shakespearean. In this character analysis, we will follow Michael’s fall from grace, the perfect example of a Corruption Arc, and discover what it takes to craft one of the 4 ending types — the Bitter ending.

In her book, Creating Character Arcs, author K.M. Weiland describes the Corruption Arc as “perhaps the most moving of all the arcs, since it features a character who is good — or at least has a great potential for goodness — but who throws away that chance and consciously chooses darkness.” When we first meet Michael Corleone in The Godfather, he is purposefully detached from the family’s organized crime. In an early scene, he confesses to his girlfriend, “That’s my family, Kay. That’s not me.”

But when his father is nearly assassinated, Michael pledges his loyalty and vows revenge. Along this path of vengeance, Michael assumes control over the Corleone family and loses his soul bit by bit. In character development terms, this is a Negative Change Arc which leads to a Bitter ending, one of the four types of endings.

In a Bitter ending, the protagonist achieves neither their Want nor their Need. But what is the difference between Want vs Need? When constructing a character arc, their Want is something tangible, external, a goal that they actively pursue. A Need, on the other hand, is internal, a change the character needs to make to help them become a better person.

In the case of Michael Corleone, his initial Want is to live a normal life with Kay, outside the Mafia. His Need is to avoid the corruption that comes with such a life. At the end of The Godfather, Michael has become the new head of the family and lost his soul in the process. If you’re interested in learning how to write character arcs, one fantastic yet tragic example can be found in Michael Corleone and The Godfather, written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola.

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