Do The Right Thing And The Godfather Sparknotes

The struggle of attaining the American Dream is often the subject of American cinematic classics, such as “Do the Right Thing” and “The Godfather”. James Truslow Adams described the American Dream as a “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement... regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth.” “Do the Right Thing” and “The Godfather” depict the stories of Mookie and Michael Corleone, respectively, on their way to achieving the American Dream.

Mookie, a young African-American from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is the main character of Spike lee’s “Do the Right Thing”. Back at home Mookie has a son, Hector, and girlfriend, Tina,

They are what motivate him to take up a job as a pizza delivery boy at Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. This road to his dream isn’t the most effective, although it’s in the right direction. Delivering pizza isn’t the most rewarding of jobs, and often times Mookie and Sal argue over his paycheck. Despite his issues with income, Mookie manages to support his small family. He was on his way to achieving his American Dream. However, due to the riot at Sal’s Mookie loses his job and has to start over again. Because Mookie and Michael have different renditions of the American Dream, they pursue it in different ways. Michael Corleone, the son of Vito Corleone, is a second generation Sicilian immigrant living in New York City. “The Godfather” follows Michaels transformation from a law abiding civilian outside of the family business, to a ruthless mob boss at the head of the Corleone family. It was Vito’s version of the American Dream for his sons to have a better life than he. Vito wished for Michael, his youngest son, to be the first college-educated member of the family. Michael fulfilled his father’s dream and followed his own. When we meet Michael