The Sicilian Girl, Essay Example

Without a doubt, I believe that one of the primary reasons as to why the Italian mafia has been so successful throughout history in its quest of expanding throughout Southern Italy is fear. This fear is instilled in the citizen’s lives as well as the government, which makes no one questions the many unethical, immoral, and illegal actions that take place within the mafia. Therefore, as long as the mafia is able to keep scaring a variety of individuals into doing whatever they please, a number of people will not questions how they are being coerced into doing certain things that they do not necessarily want to do.

In relation to The Sicilian Girl, it is truly admirable how a young girl is able to grow up and have the audacity to go against the Italian mafia regardless of how other individuals are too scared to do the same. The movie allows for one to see how one individual is more than willing to make a difference when faced with a variety of adversities throughout one’s life. Not only that, but the movie is also able to portray how there are some people in this world that have had so many things done to them (such as when Rita Mancuso’s father and brother are killed) that they no longer care much for the things that can happen to them because they have something inside of them that pushes them further every single day to be able to bring justice into the ordeals that their family members were introduced to in an earlier point in the person’s life.

When thinking about Peter Robb’s “Midnight in Sicily”, it becomes evident that the majority of the things that were portrayed in the film The Sicilian Girl holds true because of how things are run in Italy, according to the book. The book is able to introduce a reader into just how the mafia got started and to how it became such a major force into the dealings of the government overall. Taking this into consideration, it is easy to understand what a big risk Rita Mancuso was taking when she decided to go against the whole mafia. Despite the fact that she was indeed successful in being able to bring in a number of mafia members during the time (some of the trails are ongoing up to this day), it goes without saying that what she did required an audacious spirit and a bold heart.

When taking both The Sicilian Girl and “Midnight in Sicily” into account, it is evident that the line between violence and justice becomes blurred. This is because of the manner in which the mafia is able to control such a big majority of the things that go on throughout the government. Because of this, it is reasonable to assume that if a mafia member performs something illegal, he or she would have enough influence over the government in order to persuade (or force) the individuals to disregard such a crime. Because of how this is run, it becomes easy to understand how the mafia has been able to maintain itself as such a powerful force throughout Southern Italy. It goes without saying that if the government or another neighboring country does not interfere, then absolutely no change will be able to be made in regards as to who has the power within the government. Until this happens, the mafia would continue to have a totalitarian position on Italy’s government. Of course, this is not to say that all individuals who work in the Italian government are part of the mafia, but it is fair to say that they may certainly be influenced by them.