The Godfather Research Paper

Up until October of 1963, director Edgar J Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation denied the presence of La Cosa Nostra in the United States. It wasn’t until Joseph “Joe Cargo” Valachi testified in federal court confirming and detailing the mafia’s American existence that the federal government recognized the mafia (“Joseph Valachi” Bio.com). Fictionally reinforcing the tales of the first informant of the mob, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather has been called the most accurate fictional depiction of the mafia by historians and people of the ‘Lifestyle’ from Hollywood to the library. The life and experiences as a second generation Italian American influenced Mario Puzo’s writing and his work throughout his lifetime and career. Mario Gianluigi

Puzo won six awards and was nominated for eleven. He received two Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium for The Godfather. For The Godfather Part II Coppola and Puzo won Best Writing, Screenplay Base From Other Material. Puzo won one Golden Globe for Best Screenplay also for The Godfather. For Best Dramatic Presentation, Puzo won a Hugo award for Superman, along with a variety of Superman crew members. Puzo won Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium from the Writer’s Guild of America for the Godfather, and The Godfather Part II alongside Francis Coppola. Puzo was also nominated for awards from the WGA, Razzie Awards, the National Society of Film Critics, and another Golden Globe. (“AWARDS”

He largely wrote about the Italian-American mafia, and this is what he was pretty much known for. He did not exclusively write about organized crime, however, he also wrote about Italian American life and culture, and about World War II. Common themes in his writing included love, crime, family bondage, old world morals, and honor. At age 30 he wrote a short story titled The Last Christmas. This was probably his most famous short story (The Famous People). It was published in American Vanguard in 1950. His novels are more famous than any of his short stories or non-fiction works. His most famous are The Godfather, Omertà, The Sicilian, The Family, and The Lost Don. These could be considered his most famous novels because he was known for his mafia related stories. The Godfather follows the powerful Corleone family, and their operations in the streets and politics of New York. The Last Don, The Sicilian, The Family, and Omertà follow different mafia plotlines of different crime syndicates and figures. Puzo’s screenplays include The Godfather Part I, II, and III, Superman I and II, The Sicilian, and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery. The Godfather and Superman are the two he won awards for. His non-fiction works are a shorter list consisting of The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions, Inside Las Vegas, and Test Yourself: Are You Heading for a Nervous Breakdown. (Petri,