Pitiless Cruelty: Cynicism, Capitalism, and Gambling in the Writing of Mario Puzo

Document Type

Blog

Publication Date

1-1-2020

Publication Title

Popular Culture Review

Volume

31

Issue

2

First page number:

1

Last page number:

12

Abstract

The Godfather made him a wealthy man, but Mario Puzo’s long years as a struggling writer and childhood in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen conditioned him to treat money—and those who made a great deal of it—with suspicion. This paper explores how Puzo’s cynical views of capitalism were buttressed by his experiences as a self-described “mildly degenerate” gambling, and how they are expressed in both his fiction and non-fiction.

Keywords

Mario Puzo; Gambling; The mafia; Cynicism; The Godfather

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing

Language

English


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