The Godfather manipulates language like its characters manipulate social structures: playfully. This wordplay introduces us to the family’s puppetry. As The Godfather opens, Bonasera describes the crime against his daughter: “The judge sentenced them to three years in prison… suspended sentence. Suspended sentence! They went free that very day.” By suspending the first sentence with the phrase “suspended sentence” and enacting a kind of suspended, half-formed sentence in the second, the dialogue emphasizes its own form and power. This prepares viewers for the Godfather’s response, in which he reveals his interest in certain types of order and his ability to infiltrate and overpower others.
Earlier in this scene, Bonasera says the perpetrators “beat [his daughter], like an animal.” Though the singular “an” makes it clear that the daughter is the animal, the phrasing of “like an animal” requires a moment’s thought as to the animal’s identity. This could easily have been phrased as “like she was an animal” or in a similarly clear way. Through this phrasing, the dialogue creates near-ambiguity as to whether Bonasera is referring to his daughter as an animal, or to those who attacked her. This near-ambiguity winks at the irony of Bonasera calling his dear, victimized daughter an animal.