Nikola Ricchiuti Mrs. Baker Honors English 1 Period 2 10 February 2016 How Vendettas are Perceived in Different Countries The mere mention of the word vendetta to most Americans brings about images of Marlon Brando’s portrayal of a cunning Don Corleone, or even a son avenging his father’s death at the hands of evil aggressors. This over-romanticized, almost even revered portrayal of vendettas in american media is a stark contrast to other countries like Italy, which has been the center of many bloody wars and feuds over the last dozen centuries. Although blood feuds and vendettas are still a serious problem in countries such as Italy and Albania, as they are embedded in the local culture, some vendettas are revered in countries like Japan and the USA as classic tales of romance, mystery, bravery, and loyalty. The Mafia is perceived by many as a bunch of gangsters and thugs like those seen in movies such The Godfather, Boondock Saints, and Goodfellas. The mafia is actually a lot more complex than this, with its own hierarchy and customs. The original Sicilian Mafia in Italy was just a group of families controlling various territories and parcels of land. These …show more content…
One famous feud is the one between the Strangio-Nirta and Pelle-Vottari-Romeo families, members of the 'Ndrangheta crime organization. After a fight at a carnival celebration in 1991 turned ugly, two young men from the Stangio-Nirta family were killed, leading to a series of feuds (Holmes 1). Both families engaged in retaliatory killings, but none caught the public’s attention until the “Duisberg Massacre”. This bloody massacre occurred on 15 August 2007, when six men belonging to the Pelle-Romeo family were massacred in front of a pizzeria in broad daylight (Holmes 1). This is only one of the many examples of blood feuds in Italy that result in a mindless circle of killing, as one death leads to countless
Thomas Reppetto’s book is a solid account of the events that took place between 1880 and 1995. The events are detailed and contain fact and evidence, he uses first hand knowledge, being a former chicago commander of detectives, Reppetto was well equipped to write this book. In American Mafia, and its rise to power, Reppetto shows the different parts of the mafia and their communication with the police and italian civilians. The book starts off showing the worst part of the mob, or mafia, and how bad they truly are. Using examples like how many people they’ve taken out and how they’d be one of the richest fortune 500 companies, ift was legal. The book also has how the police reacted to the crimes, in chapter one, they take you into the lives
the mafia is powerful, they know how to cover their tracks they are master of manipulation . The mafia were angry at president kennedy in this article published by (anthony and robin ), assassination
When interpreting a novel, it is easy to look too deeply into its meaning, particularly if you have never gone through the process before. To accurately excavate the meaning and or thesis within the novel the reader is required to think critically, develop a theory, and back it with details from the story. The reader cannot be afraid to become lost in the book, or speculate about the story’s implications. In the novel, April Blood, the author Lauro Martines spoils the reader by including every ghastly punishment implemented on the Pazzi conspirators. Martines’s writing does not lack in detail throughout the story, even providing an appealing and energetic approach to the story. However, he does not reach the climax of the events on April 26 until mid way in the novel. Martines greater goal here, is to show how that a mixture of aspects had to do with the attempted over throwing of the Medici.
Organized crime is a collective result of the commitment, knowledge, and actions of three components: (1) Criminal groups, who are core persons tied by racial, linguistic, ethnic or other bonds; (2) Protectors, who are persons who protect the group’s interests; and (3) Specialist support, which are persons who knowingly render services on an side-job basis to enhance the group’s interests. In order to thrive, an organized crime group needs many different elements. First, it needs an ensured continuity of members, clients, supporters, funds, etc. Additionally, it needs structure, criminality, violence, memberships based on common grounds, and a willingness to corrupt a power and profit goal. Generally, mafia organized crime groups disguise themselves behind the ownership of a legitimate business to avoid questioning from the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) regarding any financial sources. The ille...
During 1869-2014 the Sicilian mafia in America evolved in a number of ways such as: the change in rules, leaders, how it is run, the change in code and power over American society. These topics will be covered throughout this essay and will give you a detailed explanation furthermore the history of the evolution that took place. The Sicilian Mafia started in poor Sicilian ghettos in America and spread into the cities striking fear into the American society. With around 2,500 members it is seen as the most powerful and the most active Italian organized criminal group in the United States of America. The Sicilian mafia is more commonly known as La Cosa Nostra.
The Mafia is a secret criminal organization that has great economic and political control over large parts of Sicilian society and operates both criminal and legitimate enterprises in the United States. It is believed to have started during Sicily's late Middle Ages, beginning as separate bonds of strong-arm enforcers hired by local landowners. It eventually evolved into a network of independent groups governing in rural areas. With the Sicilian immigration of the late 19th century, the Mafia began to operate in several large United States cities. During the period of Prohibition it monopolized the trade in bootleg liquor and controlled loan sharking, gambling, and prostitution. Competing Mafia families established mutually recognized territories, reaching agreement by negotiation or by intimidation. By the mid-1930 the Mafia had taken on the institutionalized structure that is now typical of organized crime in the United States.
The Bicycle Thief is a portrait of Italy's collective consciousness, haunted by its disturbing past and disillusioned towards its future. Works Cited for: "The ' URL:http://www.film.queensu.ca/Critical/Bonikowski.html.
La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film “The Godfather” when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a secret society that gave protection to the people in exchange for money. This group took their name, “Mafia” based on the Arabic word for refuge. In America today, one can hear it also be called “La Cosa Nostra”, or “This Thing of Ours.” In the 1700s,Wealthy people would receive a card with a black hand drawn on and if they did not pay the money, they could expect murder, theft, and violence. During the time Mussolini was ruling Italy, this secret society was under heavy persecution and many fled to the United States. “Don (term for the boss or head of a Mafia family) Vito Cascio Ferro fled to the United States in 1901 to escape arrest. He is known as the Father of American Mafia.” (La Cosa Nostra) Many Italian immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island in New York, which is today the most important center of organized Mafia crime in the United States. The new American Mafia came to power during the Prohibition by organizing the sale of outlawed alcohol, but after Prohibition was revoked, the Mafia needed a new “racket.” During the war, the Mafia got government issued ration stamps and sold them on the black market. These days the Mafia is involved in running prostitution, unions, construction, and gambling. New York, also called the “City that never sleeps,” houses the Five Families of New York. These Families are highly influential and powerful crime families and each holds claim to certain “rackets.” The Five Families are: Gambino, Bonano, Lucchese, Colombo, and Genovese. While all people in the Mafia are required to maintain certain silence about the workings of the Family, a code of silence called “Omerta,” d...
Peter Maas declares organized crime the “biggest business in the country” (Maas). “The largest and best known organized crime group is the nationwide organization variously known as the ‘syndicate’, the ‘mob’, the ‘Mafia’, and the ‘Cosa Nostra’” (Nash, Jason O-155). Some activities of the Mafia include gambling, loan sharking, pornography, illicit drugs, and racketeering. The Mafia began in Sicily, but did not retain to just that one location. In fact, in the late nineteenth century many of the Sicilian members immigrated to the United States (Nash O-155). The Mafia in the United States contains members that are Americans with Sicilian ancestry (“Mafia” M-48). There are several Mafia groups in the United States. Law enforcement authorities agree that there are around twenty-five groups that operate in large cities across the nation (Nash O-155).
This idea of attitudes shows why a secret society such as the Mafia should luxuriate in Sicily, and could easily be transplanted into the ghettos of the New World. The associates of the Mafia are called fratellos. They are to obey a capo, which they elect. The capo then picks the consigliari (counselors), whom help him to make justice and judgments. When one of the fratellos finds himself in any sort of difficulty, the association tries to help and assist him.
It is early November, 1997 in London where the government has almost total control of its citizens. Everyone has been stripped of culture, music, art, and any creative thinking. All seems normal until the House of Parliament explodes followed by fireworks, which have been outlawed. The government hurries to figure out what happened but also avoids the truth by telling the people it was just a scheduled demolition. Just as things seemed to be calming down, another attack happened on a train, leaving two dead. In the midst of all the chaos, the most famous broadcaster is kidnapped by the man who carried out all the attacks. While being held against his will the kidnapper gathers all of his doll collection and burns them in front of the broadcaster, scarring him and leaving him in a trance-like state. when typing the title, you will use quotation marks.
The Mafia was first developed in Sicily in feudal times to protect the estates of landlords who were out of town. The word Mafia, derived from the Sicilian word, Mafioso, means family. Today, Mafia is a name which describes a loose association of criminal groups. These groups can be bound together by blood, oath or sworn secrecy. Many people had considered the Sicilian Mafia as the most ruthless mobsters of the twentieth century.
From one perspective, even though murder and honor killing as revenge seem very abhorrent, it does induce a fear in everyone, preventing anyone from sabotaging anyone’s honor and dignity. Everyone is aware of the consequences if someone’s virtue is forcefully taken away, resulting in the damage of a family’s image. However, from another perspective, killing is morally and lawfully wrong. Behind the idea of honor killing as revenge, there may lay the forces of dominant but primitive ideologies of culture and society. The desire to take vengeance is inevitable. All the emotions and feelings in the Vicario brothers was driven by the thoughts of revenge as well as the pressures of society, traditions, or a belief. All the occurrences in this play culminate to the major theme of revenge.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s, great fear had been spread throughout Italy. A group known as the Brigate Rosse, or Red Brigade, had developed and left its mark on the Italian political scene. Fear was commonplace as bomb plots, kneecappings, and assassinations became the norm. As we go through this paper, the fascinating yet horrifying story, including the history, ideology, and current activity of the Red Brigade will be told.
The movie that I watched was titled V for Vendetta and was a tremendously deep story that followed a girl named Evey Hammond. The movie was set in a futuristic totalitarian Britain, where there were many strict laws and curfews that must be followed. (Alex W. 2005.) Evey was out late one evening, just after it had hit the curfew time and was attacked by a group of men who seemed to want to either rape her or murder her. A masked man who called himself “V” saved her from the life-threatening situation and then invited her to the rooftop of a building.