ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the trajectory of TheGodfather, analyzing key scenes that involve writing and food. The undertaker Bonasera is particularly revealing as a negative example, a textbook case of everything you should do when dealing with the Godfather. The correct model for interaction in this gift economy is provided during the wedding scene by the baker, who asks the Don to help his future son-in-law remain in the US The image of the Corleones in the film is compelling because it offers the possibility of reconciling capitalism and personalism, work and family, the public and the private realm. Food symbolism also conveys the “before picture” of the traditional Old World gift economy that Michael is about to transform. The written and the oral are key symbols for this refracted image that plays upon contradictory ideas about business and family.
