Capítulo 3 de 9 · 4'23"
A Turk with poppy fields wants a million in cash and the politicians kept "in your pocket, like nickels and dimes." The family hears the money first. The answer is still no: gambling can pass as "a harmless vice," but "drugs is a dirty business."
Politicians Like Pocket Change
A Final No to the Drug Deal
Tom brings the Sollozzo notes. Sollozzo, the Turk, has poppy fields in Turkey, heroin plants in Sicily, and the Tattaglia family behind a narcotics deal. Santino sees money in the powder. Tom warns that other families will take the trade if they stay out. Sollozzo then asks for a million in cash and politicians carried like nickels and dimes. The answer he gets is a final no.
The notes call Sollozzo the Turk and name narcotics as "the future." Stay out, and "maybe the five families" buy more police and political power, then "come after us." The pitch asks for a million in cash and politicians "you carry in your pocket, like nickels and dimes," promising "three, four million dollars" in the first year, and "then it would go up." Respect comes first: "a serious man, to be treated with respect." Gambling is "a harmless vice"; "drugs is a dirty business," so political friends will not stay friendly. Someone then starts "The Tattaglias would guarantee our..." and is stopped with "Wait a minute." A "sentimental weakness" for children who "talk when they should listen" leads into "my no is final," congratulations, and interests that "don't conflict."
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
“Why do you come to me? Why do I deserve this generosity?”
Two questions turn a gift back on the giver: why me, and what have I done to deserve it.
Formal
“Signor Sollozzo, my no is final. I wish to congratulate you on your new business.”
A final no dressed in courtesy: the politeness makes the refusal harder to challenge.
Formal
“It doesn't make any difference to me what a man does for a living.”
It draws a line between judging a trade and judging a person.
Neutral
“I need those politicians that you carry in your pocket, like nickels and dimes.”
A cold metaphor that turns political allies into small change you can spend at will.
Formal
Siguiente · 04sleeps with the fishesLa escena: Luca Brasi Sleeps with the FishesHis political friends will tolerate gambling as a harmless vice, but not drugs. He calls that trade a dirty business and a little dangerous, and those friends would not stay friendly. The offer of millions does not move the no.
A million dollars in cash, protection from the police, and the politicians Don Corleone carries like nickels and dimes. He puts the return at three or four million in the first year, and offers to take care of the Tattaglia family out of his own share.
Sollozzo offers a Tattaglia guarantee on security. Someone picks it up with "The Tattaglias would guarantee our..." and is stopped with "Wait a minute." The next lines admit a sentimental weakness for children who talk when they should listen. The eagerness was not supposed to show.
The wording says a man's living makes no difference. What he will not risk is political friendship: gambling can pass as harmless, drugs cannot. The stand is about the cost to his friends in politics, not about policing another man's living.
The refusal comes with congratulations and good luck. He has already treated Sollozzo as a serious man, calls the no final, and adds that their interests do not conflict. The bargain stays closed without an insult.
