SOURCE: "The Middle Mythic Mode: Godfathers as Heroes, Variations on a Figure," in Italian Signs, American Streets: The Evolution of Italian American Narrative, Duke University Press, 1996, pp. 86-118.

In the following excerpt, Gardaphe examines elements of myth and cultural assimilation in The Godfather, contending that it "has done more to create a national consciousness of the Italian American experience than any work of fiction or nonfiction published before or since."

Three narratives will represent the middle mythic period of Italian American narrative: Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1969), Gay Talese's Honor Thy Father (1971), and Giose Rimanelli's Benedetta in Guysterland (1993). Within these three works the figure of the godfather surfaces as a direct response to the attempts of Italian immigrants to "make America." Puzo's romanticized version, Talese's historical version, and Rimanelli's parodic version all represent variations on the heroic theme this figure has come to embody. Besides containing the characteristics of...