今日导读
汤姆·汉克斯在电影《电子情书》里说，《教父》是“智慧的总和，是一切问题的答案”（The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question）。在《教父》的世界里，友谊是通行的货币，忠诚是上好的礼物，缄默是必守的规则。自其创作至今的五十年来，《教父》已不仅仅是一本书，一个系列电影，它更成为了一种文化现象。今天就让我们跟着雪梨老师一起，认识一下这部被称为“男人的圣经”的经典之作，读一读它成为经典的原因，和现代人对它的担忧。
新闻原文
“The Godfather” turns 50
Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" is reputed to be the fastest-selling book in history. By early 1971, 7m copies had been printed.
In many respects, it deserved its success. "The Godfather" is more than competently written. Puzo aspired to literary greatness and only conjured up Vito Corleone and his family's adventures and misadventures to escape debt. "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse", the Don's cynical quip, has become a figure of speech. Some scenes—such as the planting of a racehorse's severed head on the bed of a Hollywood producer who did refuse the Don—have passed into folklore.
The author got a lot of things right: the subtlety of communication between Sicilians in particular and Italians in general; the incorporation, often reluctant, of mobsters from other ethnic backgrounds into the American Mafia; and, above all, Cosa Nostra's usurpation of responsibilities that belong to the state, including the dispensing of justice.
"The Godfather" also gets things wrong, though. It portrays gangsters the way gangsters like to be regarded, as fundamentally honourable types who offer genuine services and seek no more than to be respected for their contributions to society.
It can be argued that in the book and in the first movie, Puzo managed to strike an acceptable balance. But its sequel is a whitewash: the young Vito Corleone transformed seemingly overnight from a loving husband into a homicidal, yet still essentially decent, Don.
That is not how youngsters become Mafiosi in real life. They are co-opted from among the most brutal of their peers and then subjected to a process of systematic, additional brutalisation until they are ready to kill to order. Puzo's version is seductive, but insidious.
带着问题看讲解
Mafia 指的是什么样的群体？
“主持公道”用英文怎么说？
为什么作者认为《教父》存在“隐患”？
新闻正文【译】
“The Godfather” turns 50
《教父》50 周年
Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” is reputed to be the fastest-selling book in history. By early 1971, 7m copies had been printed.
马里奥·普佐的《教父》被传为史上卖得最快的书。到 1971 年初，《教父》的印刷册数就达到了 700 万。
In many respects, it deserved its success. “The Godfather” is more than competently written. Puzo aspired to literary greatness and only conjured up Vito Corleone and his family’s adventures and misadventures to escape debt. “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”, the Don’s cynical quip, has become a figure of speech. Some scenes—such as the planting of a racehorse’s severed head on the bed of a Hollywood producer who did refuse the Don—have passed into folklore.
从许多方面来说，《教父》的成功都是名副其实的。这本书的文笔过于出色了。普佐有志于追求文学上的伟大成就，当时他想像出维托·柯里昂和他的家族所经历的各种冒险与灾难，只是为了摆脱债务。“我会给他一个他无法拒绝的条件”，黑手党头目这句轻蔑的嘲弄，已然成为了一个“梗”。一些场景也成为了坊间奇谈，比如一位好莱坞电影制作人当真拒绝了教父的要求，他的床上就被人偷偷放了一颗被砍下来的赛马头颅。
The author got a lot of things right: the subtlety of communication between Sicilians in particular and Italians in general; the incorporation, often reluctant, of mobsters from other ethnic backgrounds into the American Mafia; and, above all, Cosa Nostra’s usurpation of responsibilities that belong to the state, including the dispensing of justice.
作者对于很多事情的理解都是正确的。他描绘出了意大利人，尤其是西西里人之间，交流中的精妙之处；表现了将其他种族背景的黑社会成员并入美国黑手党，这一通常是充满阻力的过程；以及，最重要的一点，展现了西西里黑手党对于国家职权的篡夺，其中就包括了“主持公道”。
“The Godfather” also gets things wrong, though. It portrays gangsters the way gangsters like to be regarded, as fundamentally honourable types who offer genuine services and seek no more than to be respected for their contributions to society.
但是，《教父》也弄错了一些事情。它用黑帮成员喜欢的方式去刻画他们的形象，把他们描绘为本质上高尚体面的那类人，他们提供“真正的服务”，并且对这种社会“贡献”不求回报，只想要获得相应的尊重。
It can be argued that in the book and in the first movie, Puzo managed to strike an acceptable balance. But its sequel is a whitewash: the young Vito Corleone transformed seemingly overnight from a loving husband into a homicidal, yet still essentially decent, Don.
可以这么说，在原著和第一部电影中，普佐达到了一种令人满意的平衡。然而续作却是对黑手党的洗白：年轻的维托·柯里昂似乎在一夜之间，从一位饱含深情的丈夫转变成了一名嗜杀成性、本质上却依然正派的黑手党头目。
That is not how youngsters become Mafiosi in real life. They are co-opted from among the most brutal of their peers and then subjected to a process of systematic, additional brutalisation until they are ready to kill to order. Puzo’s version is seductive, but insidious.
在现实生活中，年轻人可不是这么变成黑手党成员的。黑手党成员是从他们最凶残的同龄人中拉拢过来的，然后他们会经受一系列系统性的、变本加厉的残忍训练，直到他们准备好奉命杀人。普佐对这一过程的描述充满了吸引力，但也有许多隐患。
重点词汇
个人笔记
拓展阅读
马里奥·普佐与《教父》
马里奥·普佐于 1920 年出生于美国纽约曼哈顿，他的父母都是意大利移民，因此，他的许多作品都像《教父》一样充满了意大利风情。
其实普佐在《教父》之前就出版了几部作品，这些作品更加符合他的文学理想，出版之后也获得了专业评论家的好评，但是全部都卖得很一般。比如 1955 年出版的普佐的处女作《黑色竞技场》（The Dark Arena）仅为他带来了 3,500 美金的收入。
马里奥·普佐虽然是一个收入不稳定的作家，生活中却样样讲究。因此到了写教父的时候，他早已是债台高筑。当时虽然他十分不情愿，却也只能决定放下他对“严肃文学”的追求，着力写出一部能够畅销的书。
普佐在 1972 年的回忆录中写道：当时他跟编辑聊了一个小时关于这个“黑手党故事”的设想，编辑马上点头，让他开始写，并且预付了他 5,000 美金的稿费。普佐的长子后来告诉记者，当爸爸正在写《教父》时，如果孩子们去打扰他，他就会说：“我正在写一部畅销书”（I’m writing a best-seller）。虽然当时大家都觉得他在说笑，但是这本“缺乏”文学性的小说确实成为了史上最赚钱的小说之一。
《教父》受到黑社会成员追捧
《教父》对于黑帮生活生动的描写，一方面为它赢得了读者和观众的喜爱，同时，其中对于黑手党的艺术处理和美化也得到了黑社会分子的喜爱。
在 2017 年的一项叫做“黑手党人生”研究中，Federico Varese 调查了大量有组织的犯罪活动。他发现，这些犯罪团伙的头目，都有模仿《教父》的倾向。
纽约五大黑手党家族之一甘比诺家族的重要成员 Louie Milito 在 1988 年去世后，他的妻子说，他生前把《教父》看了 6000 遍。而甘比诺家族的首领 John Gotti 更是有过之而无不及，他学习《教父》中的台词，并根据电影改变了他的着装和举止。
