Abstract
We read together the story of David in 1 Samuel 16-2 Kings 2 and that of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. They both begin outside the main power structure, the kingdom of Saul and the crime family, and then rise, often through the use of violence, to the top: King and Don. David’s decisive slaying of Goliath is matched by Michael’s assassination of Sollozzo and McCluskey. After the killings both are now recognized as serious “players” in their respective structures. As they move up the power chain David and Michael, as characters in biblical narrative and modern film, are haunted by the possibility that their stories could have been different: the innocent young shepherd and the decorated Marine. Both could be separate from the violence and corruption of Israelite monarchy and of the Corleone family.
